This post is part of the #YPSportsChat Blog Series! This series will give young professionals an inside look at the intricacies of the sports business world and advice on how to navigate it.
By: Deborah Dixon, @drdixon20
“The dream written down with a date becomes a goal. A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan. A plan backed by actions, makes your dreams come true.”
— Greg S. Reid
We all have dreams and goals that we are wanting to reach in our careers, but have you ever stepped back and broke each of those goals down to see the steps that it would take to make your dreams come true? Have you asked, “What will it take so that I can become (insert title/position here)?” I know a lot of people that expect the world to be handed to them on a golden platter; news flash, that’s not how the world usually works. You actually have to put in the work and time to reach the dreams that you have.
The Dream:
What is it that you want to do? Don’t just think about what you want to do right now, but where do you want to end up in life? Think about the end; think about when you are about to retire. What do you want to have accomplished in your career? Write that down.
The Date:
Set a date for you dream. Of course the date can change; things will happen in life that will affect your time frame. However, give yourself an estimated time of when you would like to have started your dream. Write that down.
The Goal:
You have to have set goals to be able to reach your dream. These goals are more ‘short term’ dreams that you have. There will be multiple goals, you can’t just have one goal and expect to reach one dream. Each goal is a new challenge and will grow you as a person. These goals keep you motivated on the final destination. Write them down.
The Actions:
The actions are what you are doing now to meet your goals. What are you doing today that back up the goals that you have set? These allow you to grow daily and will keep you on the path to your dream. Write them down.
I have recently sat down and wrote down my career dream that I have. I then broke down goals and the actions it will take to make this dream come true. You want to know something, it made me even more excited to pursue my dreams. Writing everything down was not only therapeutic, but also allowed me to step back and asses what I have done and what I still need to do.
I want to challenge anyone that is reading this blog to write down what you want to do in your career. See if you are currently on the right path. If you are, great! Keep on going! But if you’re not, what is it that you can do to change that? What do you need to do to get on the right path to reach that dream?
