Jun 08

7 States Down, 43 to Go

Goal Setting No Comments »

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:

  1. Marathon in North Carolina.
  2. Half-Marathon in Maryland.
  3. Marathon in Virginia.
  4. Marathon in Illinois.
  5. 15k in Florida.
  6. Marathon in South Carolina.
  7. 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 18

What are Your Goals This Week?

Live Your Dreams No Comments »

Ahhhh…Monday.  The fresh start of a fresh week. 

And one of the best things you can do for yourself today is to decide what you want to accomplish by Saturday.

I have three main goals this week:

  • Write at least 25 pages on my novel.
  • Run three 8:00-minute miles on Saturday.
  • Record a video for you that shares my secret confidence building formula.

I’ve already started on the first goal.  I outlined the section of my novel that I want to write this week, so I’ll be ready to start writing like crazy tomorrow.

I’ll be doing strength and cardio workouts everyday to prepare to hit my fitness goal on Saturday.

I have a script for the video written, but I’ll need to edit it before I record anything.

In other words, I didn’t just set goals for this week; I also created an action plan.  That means I know what I need to do in order to hit all my goals.

Setting goals and creating an action plan is a good start, but a Champion Dream Doer actually follows through and TAKES ACTION. 

Are you a Champion Dream Doer?  What goals are you going to achieve this week?  What is your action plan to make them happen?

Now that you’ve got that figured out, go TAKE ACTION!

To your dreams,
Bonnie Jean

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Jan 11

Game On!

Live Your Dreams 1 Comment »

Finding a way to do what you dream should be fun, exciting and adventurous.  Why bother otherwise, right?

That’s why I’m making achieving my goals—like writing my second novel—into a sport.  I get to practice my writing.  I get to play games with my writing.  I get to earn points for my writing. 

And the sport of Dream Doing begins today.  Game on!

But it’s not going to be much fun if I don’t get to be part of a team.  After all, belonging to a team is the best part of any sport.  Your teammates encourage you, support you and challenge you to always be better.

As a team, you get to work together to achieve your goals.  That’s what being part of the Dream Doer Team is all about…belonging to a group of people who want to help you make your dreams happen.

If you’re reading this blog right now, you’re my Dream Doer Teammate.  Our team’s mission is to find a way to do what we dream every day.

Your dream to do something about can be anything you want it to be.  You also don’t have to wait to live your dreams.  No matter how old you are, you can find a way to do something you enjoy doing every day.

I enjoy writing, so my personal mission is to work on my novel every day.  Except Sundays.  I’ll take a break from writing on Sundays to keep from getting burned out.

Between now and January 28, I want to complete a very bad first draft of my second novel.  To get me closer to that target, I wrote a very basic outline of half the story today.

I like to outline on index cards, so I put the major action of each chapter at the top of the index card.  I now have 28 cards with a one-line summary of each chapter.

Then what I like to do is summarize the action in that chapter on the card.  I find the system that works best for me is to write out the action of about five chapters at a time.  Then I’ll write the actual story, summarize the next five chapters, write, etc.

I filled out five index cards today and plan to write those five chapters tomorrow. 

That’s how I did something about my dream of writing my second novel today.

How did YOU find a way to live your dreams today?  Leave a comment and let me know!

To your dreams,
Bonnie Jean

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Sep 21

Why Should You Live with Integrity When You Chase Your Dreams?

Find a Way, Goal Setting No Comments »


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

To find a way to do what you dream, you have to be a person capable of making anything happen. Like we talked about in last week’s post, that starts with being yourself.

The next step or Dream Doer Rule, is to be trustworthy. This involves four characteristics or ‘champion traits,’ and we’ll talk about Champion Trait I today: live with INTEGRITY.

Why should you live with integrity?

Why should you live with integrity?

And what does that have to do with living your dreams?

Well, you should live with integrity because it makes trust possible. When you live with integrity, it is possible for other people to trust you and for you to trust yourself and because you know you are a truth teller.

When you live with integrity, you know you’re being true to who you are and going for dreams you are capable of achieving.

What is Integrity?

Integrity is being honest and truthful and devoted to a moral code.

When you stay true to your values (values like telling the truth), you become a person whose dreams are honorable and worth chasing.

You also understand your own potential and your own limits. Then you’re able to focus your attention on goals you can achieve instead of goals that aren’t possible for you.

How Can You Live with Integrity?

To help you be honest and live with integrity, answer these three questions for every goal you set as you chase your dreams:

  1. Is this goal possible based on my talents?
  2. What will I have to do to achieve this goal?
  3. Am I being honest with myself and willing to do whatever it takes to reach this goal?

What Can You Do NOW to Live with Integrity Today?

One thing you can do now to live with integrity is to set some standards to follow as you find a way to do what you dream.

Start by thinking about things you are not willing to do to get what you want. For example, you can choose to never lie, steal or cheat to get what you want.

If you know you’re willing to be honest as you pursue your dreams, choosing to live with integrity when you’re tempted to break the ‘BE TRUSTHWORTHY’ rule will be easier, and you’ll improve your character.

In next week’s post, we’ll talk about the second champion trait you need to develop to follow Dream Doer Rule #2: depend on your consistency.

Until then, 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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Aug 30

The Best Way to Achieve Your Goals

Goal Setting No Comments »

You have a gift. A talent. A strength. When you discover what that talent is and actually DO something with it, it becomes a strength. And when you set goals that let you use your talents and strengths, you’ll always find a way to achieve your goals.

How do I know you have a gift that makes you talented in a special way? Because you got your gift from God, just like I did.

God has blessed every single person in the entire world with some sort of special gift. Since you’re a person living in this world, YOU have a special gift. It says so right here in I Peter 4:10:

“As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

The cool part is that your gifts/talents ignite your passion AND make a positive difference in other people’s lives…when you use them.

So it’s your job to find out what your talents are, then use them to do what you dream.  When you’re living your dreams, you’re happy and you make the people around you happy, too!

To your dreams,
Bonnie Jean

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