It is important to remember though that thinking big is not the same as dreaming big; in fact, I would argue that they are quite different. Everyone has big dreams – and these dreams are no more than merely hopes and wishes. The ability to think big, however, requires a different state of mind, mental discipline and re-programming, and actually thinking differently than the majority of the mediocre individuals we are constantly surrounded by. Thinking big entails action, changing our perspective, overcoming the voices of fear and doubt, believing in ourselves and our dreams, developing the ability to not worry what others say or think, and establishing goals and a plan that will result in big actions that reflect our big thinking.

Perhaps one of the greatest examples of changing our perspective, re-programming our minds, and thinking big and differently is demonstrated in one’s ability to get out of the typical employee mindset. This unfortunate mindset is not only detrimental to one’s potential, but it is so commonly accepted that it has become cultural. It is made evident in actions and mentalities such as: doing just enough work to keep your job, only doing work that falls under your responsibilities, thinking of your own schedule and needs rather than the company’s or customers, getting excited about pay-raises and promotions, thinking that working for 40+ years for a meager retirement is somehow desirable, and believing that resumes and GPA’s and job titles are what determine your abilities and potential.

Thinking big and thinking differently, in regards to getting out of the typical employee mindset, would entail doing more than asked or required, setting lofty goals and working hard to achieve them, becoming a producer and never trading time for money, not believing that grades or standardized test scores or institutions attended dictate your career potential, and realizing that this employee mindset carries over into every aspect of life and is thus the leading reason as to why people so often fail to accomplish their goals, dreams, and become successful in life. Those individuals who continue in this unfortunate mentality develop a dependency upon a boss or company for their career advancement, daily survival, and personal and social approval; and because of this, they fail to develop the necessary attributes for success in anything – which are: thinking big, developing self-confidence, desiring success, believing in themselves and in their dreams, taking risks and overcoming fears, learning from failures, and being willing to be different and do whatever is required to obtain success.

This employee mentality is but one example and situation as to how we can think differently and think big; the reality is that the same principles apply to any circumstance, situation, challenge, goal or dream. Never forget, however, that just because these principles are applicable to any setting or goal we have – we still need to apply the principles! Thus, thinking big is a futile endeavor unless followed by action. To become and accomplish more entails not only a change in mentality but also a change in habits.

Decide now to always think big. Establish lofty goals and specific plans to achieve and realize your dreams. Develop the ability to think differently. Never fall victim to the dominant culture of contentedness and the ease of mediocrity. Train your mind to never worry what others think or say, and learn how to eliminate the voices of fear and doubt. Commit now to doing whatever necessary – as hard and long as it may be, and despite the failures that inevitably result – in order to accomplish your goals and dreams. And always remember that in order to accomplish big things, you must always think big, talk big, and act big!

The great Og Mandino said it so well when he wrote: “My dreams are worthless, my plans are dust, my goals are impossible. All are of no value unless they are followed by action.” Sadly, the majority of ‘dreamers’ fail to accomplish their dreams because they fall victim to one of these mistakes or excuses:

1) Failure to ACT NOW: We need to stop waiting for future events to come and heal our present day problems; for when those events arrive, they become the present problems and we go on still waiting for future remedies. Life’s opportunities to accomplish a goal or dream do come, occasionally, but they usually come before we are prepared and are gone before we realize it. If you are waiting for more time, money, experience, credentials, or knowledge to accomplish your dreams – you will be sorely disappointed when either you don’t obtain them, or actually do obtain them but realize it was not those things that prohibited you from accomplishing the dream. The ability to overcome fears and doubts, take a risk, and develop the attributes of believing and persistence will do far more in life for you than any amount of money obtained, degrees earned, jobs worked, connections made, institutions attended, or knowledge gained.

2) More Scared of Actually Accomplishing the Dream: I have personally found that the vast majority of people are far more scared of accomplishing their dreams than actually failing to achieve them. Being mediocre is certainly easier and less-risky than the work necessary for success in anything! Despite our potential, we allow our fears and doubts to become traitors – and the result is always inaction and regret. Marianne Williamson said it best when she said: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.” However, while we each may have this light, power, and potential, the question really is – do we have the work ethic necessary to become and accomplish the light, power, and potential within us all?

3) Don’t Believe in Themselves or that the Dream is Possible: The failure to act on a dream is always the result of the inability to believe the dream is possible. If one truly believed their dream was possible, they would do everything and anything to make it a reality. Likewise, being scared to accomplish a dream because of the potential work necessary to get there is evidence of a lack of belief in oneself. Dreams never have, and never will, be accomplished until the dreamer believes in themselves and that the accomplishment of their dream – while obtaining it may be difficult – is possible!

So, the question really is not ‘what are your dreams’ – the question that should be asked is ‘do you believe in yourself and in your dream, and are you willing to put forth the work necessary to make your dreams a reality?’ If not, your dreams will simply be just dreams, ideas, thoughts, hopes, wishes, and not much more. The only satisfaction and enjoyment you will obtain from such dreams and thoughts is the hope that some future event will come and heal your present problems; but until belief and actions accompany those dreams, those future remedies that always arrive will only become present problems – and thus, success will be lost because you dreamed big but didn’t act now!

The reality is that each of us, in some way, can improve on applying this principle more fully in our lives. Thankfully, regardless of our situation, location, age, and circumstance in life, we can decide right now to change and improve. Success, living up to our potential, and achieving our goals and dreams IS possible if we can learn how to Dream Big & Act Now!

I know, the analogy of a pancake seems silly, right? Actually, it has incredible application to our goals and dreams in life. First of all, why do we make pancakes into a circular shape:

1) Due to gravity and the laws of physics, pouring batter onto a grill or pan will naturally result in a relatively circular shape – thus, we do what is natural.

2) We each are busy and often do not have the time it would require to make a pancake into any other (more difficult) shape.

3) Anything other than the usual circular shape would require creativity on our part – and heaven forbid using brain power on such a menial task.

4) Habitually, we often do what we see others do, and if mom raised us on round pancakes, round they will continue to be.

5) And finally, let’s be honest, making pancakes in a circular shape requires no additional effort on our part.

Thus, pancakes continue to be made in a circular shape because people simply do what is natural or expected, they are unwilling to put in the time or effort required to do things differently, they gravitate to things that are easy rather than difficult, they become content with commonality and resist creativity, and they persist in comfortable habits instead of changing for the better. Don’t worry, I know what you are thinking – it’s just a pancake, right? No, this has nothing to do with pancakes actually; it has everything to do with the mentality, attributes, and actions necessary in order to accomplish any goal or dream in life!

We literally can become and accomplish anything; however, most often our potential is never reached because of a lack of belief, unwillingness to attempt, and a detrimental culturally ingrained mentality that must be eliminated. This unfortunate mentality is made evident in the masses who become content with mediocrity, believe that success is dictated by circumstance, persist in idle habits, conform to others’ expectations, never develop the ability to be creative and think independently, and continually fail to put forth the effort success requires. Said in other terms, these people keep making ‘pancakes’ that are round simply because it is natural, easier, habitual, expected, and requires no additional effort.

In fact, the ability to question why ‘pancakes’ are round is an attribute that is vital to our success. The act of questioning things, in this sense, is certainly not defined in terms of someone being difficult, challenging, or argumentative. Rather, to properly question things should suggest that one thinks differently, becomes inquisitive, seeks changes, thinks independently, and uses creativity. Questioning things and thinking differently invokes wondering and pondering which inspires improvement, adjustment, progress, imaginativeness, problem solving, discoveries, new and different ideas, and is the seedbed for achievement.

So, what are your personal ‘pancakes’ in life? Remember that there is nothing necessarily wrong with ‘pancakes’ that are round; but, realize that it is these ‘pancakes’ – the mentality, attributes, and actions – that are usually the reason why our goals and dreams are never realized. Success depends upon us thinking different, being different, and making pancakes that are not round!

(The above photo is of my son, Brenden. He loves it when we make Mickey Mouse pancakes for him!)

In order to achieve success – in anything in life – we must first desire success. However, to desire is relatively simple given the fact that desiring is merely wishing, hoping, or longing. Granted, a stronger desire produces increased motivation, but desire itself is not a mentality or action that requires effort. Believing is the next attribute necessary to possess in order to achieve success; however, to believe in oneself or that a dream is possible is extremely difficult, requires a change in mentality, and certainly must be coupled with action to be effective and produce results. But, in order to succeed, we must first believe that we can – believe in ourselves and believe that our dreams are possible.

The great teacher of the principles of success, Napoleon Hill, perfectly explained the power of belief when he penned: “you can be anything you want to be, if only you believe with sufficient conviction and act in accordance with your faith; for whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” Thus, success will be realized when we first truly believe that all the necessary attributes, knowledge, or abilities to accomplish anything already lie within us, or that they can be obtained and developed; and then, we must believe that putting forth the required effort and persisting in action will produce the very results we initially only believe are possible.

It is important to note however, that belief precedes the action. Belief gives meaning and purpose to the action and is the initiator and drive for continual action. If this was not so, actions become merely futile motions that rarely produce results because the absent belief can not inspire the action, or give encouragement during failures, or even give reason for persistence.

And therein perhaps is the greatest secret of those who become successful – they continue to believe in themselves and their dreams despite the occasional mistakes, challenges, and failures that they always encounter along the journey towards success. Initial belief is not sufficient – continual belief is essential! Thus, the great mystery and challenge in pursuing a goal with unyielding belief is not initially knowing how many steps need to be taken, attempts tried, money lost, time spent, or even failures experienced.. However, the great reward and achievement only come to fruition if belief is combined with action continually until the destination’s end has been reached.

Of all the necessary principles required for success, it is consistent daily action that is perhaps the most difficult. Desiring, thinking big, believing, completely committing, overcoming fears, and even setting goals are relatively easy steps compared to the effort required in the step of daily action. Consider the personal application in what Cecil Selig taught when he said: “when the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, it may be that they take better care of it there.” How often do we dream big, desire, hope, set goals, believe, compare, or wish we had the ‘greener grass’ on the other side of the fence – but then we are unwilling to put in the work necessary to achieve that hope, dream, goal, or ‘grass’?

In life, opportunities to achieve success always come before we are prepared and leave before we realize it. And yet, even if and when we do realize those opportunities, the majority of people consciously choose not to take advantage of them because they realize the work required and are unwilling to put forth that much effort. Being content with mediocrity is perhaps one of the greatest plagues of an individual’s and our society’s development. These same people also wrongfully assume that if they attempt and fail that they personally are failures. Never forget that the greatest salesmen receive far more no’s than yes’s; the highest paid baseball players hit the ball only three out of ten attempts; and the greatest politicians only receive a portion of the votes and pass only a fraction of their proposed bills. Despite the potential failures, rejections, strike outs, and unpopularity, these individuals still make the sales calls, step up to the plate, and run for office – and they get paid quite well for failing most of the time! Why? Because they are willing to fail occasionally, act consistently, and succeed eventually.

Always remember however, that there is a difference between acting now and acting consistently. Acting today is easy; acting tomorrow is much more difficult. The initial moments of excitement, motivation, inspiration, and even action always seem to dissipate once someone realizes the continual effort and action required in order for their anticipated success to be achieved. The descent into and ascent out of the Grand Canyon is not realized in one step, but continual steps. And never forget that your personal ‘Grand Canyon’ victory will entail descents and ascents – and often there are many. The difficulty is focusing on the next step, not the journey’s reward; the challenge is forgetting about the blaring sun, the blandness of the desert, or the heaviness of the back-pack; and the hardest part is fighting the continual mental battle against doubts, fears, weaknesses, and even the occasional failures.

But the victory does come – it just comes to those who do not wait, and especially to those who continually act and persist. Yes, you need to think big and believe more; but, much more importantly – you must act now and act consistently!

The Japanese proverb of ‘fall seven times, stand up eight’ should not be interpreted to suggest that the victory and success will be realized on the eighth time you get up after you fall (or fail). This is the great secret that all successful people can agree on – that in pursuit of their goal and dream, not only did they fall and fail several times, but they also never knew whether or not success was around the next corner. But they continued to get up, they consistently persisted, and they always hoped and put in the effort necessary that around the next bend the prize would be realized – and if it wasn’t, they kept going!

Never give up on your dreams! Never give in to the voices of fear and doubt that scream in all of our minds. Never fall victim to the dominant culture of being average and the ease of mediocrity. Never forget that success requires not only effort, but continual effort. Always remember that those individuals who have realized their goals and dreams and accomplished success in life originally started in the same situation you are in – they didn’t have the time or knowledge, most did not have any money, they too had others doubt and criticize them, they had to start at the bottom and work their way up, they likewise feared failure, and they certainly were tempted to quit MANY times along the journey. But they never gave up! It is these people who epitomize that desire, belief, effort, and persistence are far more important in accomplishing their goals than any amount of knowledge, talent, ability, or even money. They achieved success because they refused to quit!