The Dream Doer League

YOU always FIND a WAY to DO what you DREAM when you STICK to your STRENGTHS.

Jun 08

7 States Down, 43 to Go

You ever notice how life gets a little boring when you don’t have any way to CHALLENGE yourself? I certainly have. That’s why I’ve set some challenging goals for myself and am DOING something about achieving them.

For instance, this past Saturday, I came one state closer to to living dream #90 on my ‘111 Until Heaven’ dream list. This particular dream is to compete in some sort of competition in all 50 states.

Here are the races I’ve completed so far:

Marathon in North Carolina.
Half-Marathon in Maryland.
Marathon in Virginia.
Marathon in Illinois.
15k in Florida.
Marathon in South Carolina.
15k Trail Race in Georgia (just completed on June 5!)

I gotta tell you…I thought I was in shape–until I hit that trail in Jackson, Georgia on Saturday.

The heat and humidity and hills and rocks and mud and roots made my toughest marathon seem like a lovely jog compared to this single-lane trail. At least I was able to stay in the shade of the woods most of the race. I’m not sure how long it would have taken me to run if I had to deal with the direct heat of the sun!

Before I started, my goal was to finish the race in an hour and a half. I didn’t exactly hit my time goal. My pace was about a minute slower per mile than I was able to run on the trails around home, so I finished the 9.3 mile race in 1:40:31 instead of the 1:30 time I anticipated.

I did hit my goal of FINISHING the race to the BEST of my ability. This race wasn’t easy for me, but I LOVED the challenge this race provided. It gave me a chance to push myself and find out just how tough I am. There were times I felt like quitting, but quitting wasn’t an option. I had a goal—to finish the race—and I was DETERMINED to do whatever it took to accomplish that goal no matter how sore or tired or worn out I was.

What have you done to challenge yourself lately? Leave a comment and let me know!

To your dreams,
Bonnie Jean

P.S. It turns out my time was good enough for a 4th place finish in my age group. Now I’m hooked on trail races because I’ve discovered they provide a new and different challenge than regular road races.

The next one I have my eye on is this Navy SEAL Extreme Challenge in Tennessee in October. Now this is a challenge:

http://www.smokymountainendeavors.com/SEAL_Extreme_Challenge.html

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Jan 04

What are Your Top 10 Goals for 2010?

Goal Setting 1 Comment »

It’s Day 4 of the new year. Have you figured out your Top 10 Goals yet? I have. Want to know what they are? Great! (‘Cause I was going to tell you anyway!)

Bonnie Jean Schaefer’s Top 10 Goals for 2010

Write a really bad draft of my second young adult novel, The Dream Doers and the Champion Challenge
Edit my novel so it becomes a really good story
Publish the edited novel
Sell at least 1,000 copies of each book in The Dream Doers series
Make 10,000 new Dream Doer Friends
Run a race in four different states
Run a six-minute mile (my fastest mile ever was 6:56, so I have a lot of fitness work to do!)
Learn how to play my keyboard
Find a boyfriend (this one might be the trickiest goal of all)
Earn $100,000 for my business

Your turn now. Leave a comment and let me know your top ten goals for 2010. And it’s okay to have more than ten or less than ten. Just share what you want to achieve this year.

To your dreams,
Bonnie Jean

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Tagged with: top 10 goals • top ten goals for 2010

Jan 01

Happy New Year!

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Ahhh…the first day of the new year.

This is the day of fresh starts. New beginnings. Renewed hope.

This is the day of BIG DREAMS! For some weird reason, it seems easier to dream big dreams on January 1st. It also seems easier to believe in the possibility of making those dreams happen on this particular day.

I know I’ve certainly cooked up some ambitious goals for 2010. Before I reveal what they are, though, I need to let them simmer over the weekend while I create an ACTION PLAN. I want to make sure that whatever goals I set for 2010, I know exactly what I’m going to do to hit them!

To your dreams,
Bonnie Jean

P.S. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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Tagged with: dream big dreams • goals for 2010

Nov 16

Finding Your FOCUS

Find a Way, Goal Setting 1 Comment »

It’s Find a Way to Do What You Dream Day!

Finding a way to do what you dream starts with you being a person of great character. Being a person of great character involves being trustworthy, being passionate and being focused.

To be trustworthy, passionate and focused, you must develop 12 core ‘champion’ traits. Last week, we finished with Cool Dream Doer Rule #3: Be Passionate by talking about chasing your dreams with courage.

Today, we’re going to begin the four part series on Cool Dream Doer Rule #4: Be Focused. It starts with the core champion trait of FOCUS.

Why should you clarify your focus?

As a champion Dream Doer, you must clarify your focus. The more clear you are about what you want, the more likely you are to actually get it. Plus when you’re clear about your goals, it’s easier to ignore distractions, concentrate on what you need to do to and make your dreams happen.

What is focus?

Focus is concentrating complete attention on one thing at a time. When you’re focused, nothing distracts you. You’re able to control your thoughts so that you’re only thinking about the activity you’re working on at that moment.

When it comes to goal setting, being focused means that you constantly adjust your goals so that you have a clear image of who you want to be and what you want to accomplish.

How can you clarify your focus?

To help you clarify your goal setting focus, finish these sentences:

In one year, I want to _______________. Be specific!
To help me hit my one year goal, my six-month goal is __________________. Remember, be specific.
To help me hit my six-month goal, my 30-day goal is _______________. Include details.
To help me hit my 30-day goal, my goal for the week is _______________. Remember…details, details, details!
Now…one small little thing I can do TODAY to help me reach my goal for the week is _________________.

What can you do NOW to clarify your focus?

First, complete the goal setting activity I just explained. Then, DO what you wrote in step number five. Give it a try right now!

Being able to focus your complete attention on your goals is super important. It’s also a bit tricky because it’s so easy to get distracted.

That’s why next week we’ll talk more about Dream Doer Rule #4: concentrate your ENERGY.

Until next time, remember that you always find a way to do what you dream when you stick to your strengths.

To Your Dreams,
Bonnie Jean

P.S. Have you signed up for your FREE audio novel yet and your FREE 14-day Dream Doer Crash Course? If not, CLICK HERE now!

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Tagged with: Be Focused • goal setting for kids

Oct 26

Ignite Your Enthusiasm To Find a Way to Do What You Dream

Find a Way, Goal Setting No Comments »

It’s Find a Way to Do What You Dream Day!

Finding a way to do what you dream starts with you being a person of great character. Being a person of great character involves being trustworthy, being passionate and being focused.

To be trustworthy, passionate and focused, you must develop 12 core ‘champion’ traits. So last week, we talked about the first part of being passionate and the character trait of passion.

When you express your passion, you’re ready to ignite your ENTHUSIASM.

Why should you ignite your enthusiasm?

Because it’s like setting your dreams on fire. (Just to be on the safe side, I’m not talking about real fire. So please, please, please DON’T actually set anything on fire.)

With the kind of fire I’m talking about, you feel thrilled to be alive because you know that you get to live your dreams every day of your life and nothing is going to stand in your way of making that happen.

What is enthusiasm?

Enthusiasm is emotional energy that feeds on dreams, desires and goals.

Like I just mentioned, it feels like a fire burning inside you. When that fire burns hot enough, you can see it in your eyes and feel it driving your actions so everything you do helps you find a way to make your dreams come true.

It is passion that fuels that fire of enthusiasm.

How can you ignite your enthusiasm?

To help you ignite your enthusiasm, follow these steps:

Write down one dream you feel the most passionate about.
Write down five reasons this dream is important to you. (This is the ‘fire’ of enthusiasm!)
Draw a picture of your dream.
Now draw flames around the picture to remind yourself of the five reasons you wrote down in step 2.
Put the picture someplace where you will see it everyday.

What can you do NOW to ignite your enthusiasm?

It’s hard to be enthusiastic if nobody around you knows about your dreams and the things you are passionate about.

So go tell one person you trust right now about your big dream. Let your mom or dad or brother or sister or friend see the enthusiasm in your eyes and hear the enthusiasm in your voice when you tell them what you want and why.

But no matter how much passion and enthusiasm you have, you’re going to face obstacles as you chase your dreams.

However, when you follow the third part of Dream Doer Rule #3: unleash your CREATIVITY, you can figure out how to overcome any obstacle standing in the way of your dreams. So we’ll learn about that next week.

Until next time, remember that you always find a way to do what you dream when you stick to your strengths.

To Your Dreams,
Bonnie Jean

P.S. Have you signed up for your FREE audio novel yet and your FREE 14-day Dream Doer Crash Course? If not, CLICK HERE now!

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