So I have this beat up notebook, with Wonder Woman on the cover.  (It’s just a cover – not implying anything :P) It includes my “Dream List” inside that I had started in 2005.  It all started when I listened to the audio book, “Universal Laws of Success and Achievement” by Brian Tracy in 2005.  It was a very motivating book.  These laws can be applied to every aspect of life.  One big takeaway for me in this book was the concept of creating a “Dream List”.  A “Dream List” is a list of your dreams, EVERYTHING you want, want to achieve, want to have, want to be — you get the point.  When creating your “Dream List”, you cannot have any doubts.  You need to have the mindset that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE and THERE ARE NO LIMITATIONS.  I usually don’t wait until the New Year to create “New Year’s Resolutions”, but I do refer to my “Dream List” which is a list of my “lifetime” goals/ dreams and prioritize them according to what I’d like to accomplish through the year.

I bring my notebook with my “Dream List” with me almost everywhere I go and I refer to it almost on a daily basis.  My list includes goals/ dreams that are spiritual goals, family goals, fitness/ health goals, career/ financial goals, travel/ adventure goals, and more.  To share a few, some goals in my “Dream List” are:

Spiritual –

• Achieve the highest level of faith
• Always perform my duties cheerfully
• Bear a million fruits
• Always be prayerful and trusting in the LORD
• Always be thankful

Family/ Friends –

• Make my parents proud
• Free parents financially
• Remember family/ friends’ birthdays without the help of social media
• Be a better friend/ family member/ etc..

Health /Fitness – 

• Compete in an NPC figure competition (check)
• Do an obstacle race (check – done Spartan Races, Alpha Warrior, etc.)
• Do a CrossFit competition (check – done a few)
• Do the TriFitnessChallenge
• Do A Spartan Ultra Beast
• Go Ruck Challenge
• Deadlift 300 lbs.  (currently at 245 lbs.)
• Great Wall of China Marathon
• 150 Double Unders (Current max is 70; 60 was goal last year)
• Handstand walk 100m
• World’s Steepest Race in Europe
• Have a six-pack
• Be healthy

Achieved the Spartan Trifecta and more!

Travel/Adventure – 

• Thailand
• Croatia
• Jerusalem
• Hawaii (check)
• Puerto Rico & Bioluminescent Bay
• Colorado (check)
• Chicago & deep dish pizza (check)
• Australia & Snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef
• New Zealand & Sky Diving
• Shark Cage Diving (check)
• Skydive (check)
• Catch a record-breaking fish!

Puerto Rico / Bioluminescent Bay

Croatia – Plitvice Waterfalls

Career/ Financial –

• Own a Gym
• Coach/ Train
• Work in another country

Other Categories – Personal/ Skills/ etc…

• Be a positive person
• Be kind
• Be helpful
• Always smile
• Look and stay youthful
• Simplify my life
• Live a peaceful and happy life
• Do a volunteer activity at least once a month
• Learn to sew
• Build a house
• Build a car
• Learn to speak/ write in Japanese
• Master wilderness/ survival skills
• Learn photography skills
• Learn how to make a website
• Be a better writer!

And the list goes on and on and on………..This is just a glimpse of some goals I have in there.  Throughout the years, I have added more things to the list, I have checked things off that were accomplished and I have crossed things out that I no longer want or desire.  Out of all the pages and pages of goals in there, it may be surprising to most to know that I have nothing about getting married/ having kids in there which some would have deadlines for.  I’m a firm believer that one needs to FOCUS on his/her individual goals most especially spiritually and if God’s will, God will direct someone towards the same path – someone with similar goals and direction.  And when each individual’s paths cross, both will inspire and enhance each other’s visions to work towards each other’s dreams.  But that’s another blog entry : )

Once you create a list of goals and dreams, it does not stop there.  There must be action in order to have those goals come to life! The reason I carry the list with me everywhere and refer to it daily is to remind me of the actions I must take in order to work towards my goals.  I want to make sure that every thing I spend time on each day is helping me work towards my goals.

I believe everyone should have a “Dream List”.  It is a great tool to help you really think about what you really, really want and so you can work towards those goals and not aimlessly sometimes.  I have written a guide on how to create a “Dream List”.

How to Make a Dream List

1) Make a DREAM LIST – create a list of things that you want to be, things you want to achieve, things you want to have (there are NO LIMITATIONS/ anything is possible!!) e.g.  run a 4 minute mile, achieve the highest level of faith, save up a  million dollars, ANYTHING!  (This list should be long.  You can update this and add things to this list – this list is ongoing).

2) Rank each goal on your list either:

• A = number one priority in your life (should be spiritual goals, family goals, health, etc.) and you desire it most intensely;
• B = like to have or be or like to achieve but not as important as your A goals; 
• C = nice to accomplish or to have but don’t care about it too passionately (e.g. ride a motorcycle)

3) Transfer your A goals onto a sheet of paper, B goals into another sheet of paper and C goals into another sheet of paper.  Rank each goal in your A goal list (since these are top priority).  Number each goal in order of importance.

e.g.

A1 = Salvation

A2= To achieve the highest level of faith

A8 = Be healthy….

C20 = Go on an African Safari

**My top goals are spiritual followed by family then health, etc.

4)  Now separate each goal onto its own sheet of paper.  Write the goal on the top of the paper and list 20 or more actions that will HELP you achieve that goal.  Everything in this action list should be aligned with that certain goal and you should be able and willing to do these action items.  You will find there are actions you aren’t doing at the moment. This will help you evaluate where you are now and help you move forward towards achieving the goal.  I noticed that my goal of “Be Healthy” includes a lot of other goals I have so I want to focus on this so I can achieve other goals simultaneously.   Here is an example of one goal with some action items:

A8 = Be Healthy

Actions:

1. Pray for good health
2. Eat clean, balanced, unprocessed foods
3. Walk a minimum of 10,000 steps a day
4. CrossFit at least 4 times a week
5. Play – have at least one outdoor activity a week – hike/ run/ kayak/ bike/ etc.
6. Floss twice a day
7. Have annual physical exam
8. Drink at least 10 glasses of water a day
9. Sleep 7-9 hours
10. Dental cleaning twice a year
11. Drink Green Tea at least twice a day
12. Yoga at least once a week
13. Consume 3-5g fish oil daily
14. and more!!!

As you can see, most of these actions are “daily” or “weekly” goals.  As long as I am following through the actions that I list down, I am working towards my main goal of  “Be Healthy”.  You will also find that some actions should be a “main goal” as well and then you’ll need to make action items for that specific goal.

Do this process for each goal or dream in life that you have.  NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE.  THERE ARE NO LIMITATIONS especially when we pray for God’s guidance.  As long as you’re following through with the actions aligned with the goal, you get closer and closer to achieving your dreams! : )