Making financial dreams a reality

5 simple steps to tap the power of momentum

“All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was a vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible.” – T.E. Lawrence

Steve Jobs called them “crazy ones,” T.E. Lawrence called them “dangerous men,” but both recognized that those who dare to live their dreams are powerful outliers. Although we all have dreams, very few of us follow through to make our dreams a reality.

What is your dream? Are you living it? Or is it more of a blurry vision, like a mirage teasing you in the distance? Maybe you want to lose 50 pounds, or to connect with your teenage daughter. Maybe you want to become absolutely financially free, or to finally buy that condo in Aspen.

The truth is that most people are not where they want to be simply because they never get started. Perhaps you don’t know where to start, or perhaps you have been too scared to start. Whatever the reason, now is the time to break through the excuses, the fear, the scarcity mindset. It’s time to take the first step. Because once you start, you will gain momentum. And once you gain positive momentum, it becomes so much easier to succeed.

The momentum model is specifically designed to create tangible results by allowing you to just take one step at a time. Before you know it, just like ball rolling downhill, you will pick up speed and become a driving force.

1. Put yourself in a peak state

First things first: if you want to change the results of anything, you first must put yourself into a peak state. This means you massively change your physiology in order to maximize energy levels. If you remain in a low-energy state, you will not change anything because it will only remain a concept in your head.

Do whatever you need to do to get into this state: jump up and down, dance, yell. Channel an enthusiastic sports fan or a teenage girl at a Taylor Swift concert.

2. Find your passion

Once you are in a peak state, in order to keep the momentum going, you must tap into your passion. If you don’t know what your passion is, then being in a peak state is the perfect state to be, because it as if you have primed the pump. When you find your passion, it will be like you have tapped the well and your energy will be sustained by your passion.

But, to find your passion you must ask the right questions. What do you love? What do you hate? What will you not tolerate? What makes you say, “Not another day, not another hour, this is changing now!”

Write it all down. Go on a rant. And be sure to do it with energy and passion!

3. Decide, commit, resolve

Finding your passion is going to give you tremendous energy, but to maintain the momentum, you must do the next thing. The decision really is the power that changes your life. Make this decision while you’re still in a passionate state. If you make a decision without passion, you will kill the momentum.

Decision is like war – the internal back and forth – until you say, “Alright, I’m going to make myself do this.” After you have made your decision, you must commit that no matter whether it is easy or difficult, you are doing it. And finally you must resolve. Resolve means it’s done – there is no question whatsoever.

Remember two decisions you have already made sometime in the past that changed your life for the better. Maybe it was a small but difficult decision and it led to something really important in your life. Then think of a big decision – maybe one that you came to the edge of doing multiple times and kept pulling back. But eventually you did it, and it changed your whole life for the better. What finally got you to decide? Write down two decisions, one small and one large, that if you decided today they would change your life for the better. Once you’ve decided, commit to them. Finally, be resolved, knowing it’s a done deal. Resolve brings peace because the internal wrestle is over.

4. Take immediate, intelligent, consistent and massive action

After you are resolved, the only way to keep the momentum is to take immediate and massive action. Massive action is the cure-all. If your relationship is not where you want it to be, if your finances are not where you want them to be, or your body, or your business, whatever the case, you need to take massive action. And if it doesn’t work, try something else. Continue to take massive action until you find a way forward.

Now close your eyes and decide what two actions you are going to take immediately on your first decision. Make a phone call, schedule a meeting, enroll in a class. But do it immediately because otherwise, despite your best intentions, you likely won’t follow through.

5. Be S.M.A.R.T. — and be honest with yourself

The last step to continue the momentum you’ve got is to be S.M.A.R.T. Make sure the results you are moving toward are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and anchored within a Time frame. Is your action working? Be honest with yourself. If it is not, go back into peak state and work through Step 4, with a new action. Wash, rinse, repeat — until you find an action that does work for you.

Do not be content to be mediocre when your heart aches for so much more. Be courageous enough to take the first step and allow the power of momentum to propel you into a future where your dreams become reality.