To be successful, one cannot plan and never follow through.  Henry Ford once said,”you cant build a reputation on what you’re going to do”. The essence of these statements is to follow through even if you don’t know how. This article is about how I will execute and how you can take these steps a little at a time yourself.

With that being said, its time to not only to map out my attack plan by “dreamlining” but to offer advice. 5 things you can do to get closer to acting on an impossible dream. First, you brainstorm things you want to accomplish, things that inspire you, things you are really good at and passions. Envision it, is the second step, and write up a personal mission statement. Think of your target market/demographic and find ways to bring this product/talent or service to a small group for free. Promoting and telling people your why and your how comes third, this is where you start to embody the thing you are working for because you have invested something concrete and tangible into it. Whether its investments, exposure in the industry, time or money, you now have something at stake. This leads seamlessly into the fourth phase: now you have put things in momentum. By promoting and telling people about your dream you can help to speak it into existence. Last, you have to ask yourself what it will take to do this thing.

How much money, time, support or resources. Do one thing a day to get towards this. As you see the progress your goals will change. It’s important to revisit old goals to not get side-tracked by things that don’t align with either sustaining your way of living or reaching your dream. That’s when you can start asking for what you want, ask for sponsorship, input, collaboration, donations, a platform, an audience, motivation, mentorship, and opportunities. Find people who are doing something similar to what you seek to do and pick their brains, interview them to find out what makes them successful in their day to day operations. Don’t just scheme about it, be about it.

There are 5 things I hope to accomplish over the next 3 months. I have to have Linglobal set up in one nonprofit or educational institution. Be better at Russian and Mandarin Chinese, Chinese at an HSK level five. Travel to the UK, Iceland, and France, document while there. Maybe get a bit fitter…maybe. Not a big priority, just want to take a dance or yoga class and eat more of a plant-based diet. Lastly, I want to be more present and engaged, interacting more and spending more time with family and friends and not daydreaming or being in my head in social situations.

Yes, I know it’s not about what you’re going to do, I’ve made some moves. But now I’m stuck! How to get unstuck?

I’ll be living by the, do something principle, keeping the momentum going, The author Mark Mason describes a cycle of action, inspiration, and motivation. I’ve always been super into reading self-help books and listening to motivational speeches. So implementing and living by these principles is new. For me, 2018 is the year of doing something. I didn’t hesitate (Okay I hesitated a little) when I bought my ticket to the United Kingdom for Prince Harry and Megan Markle’s Royal Wedding in May and booked my Airbnb in SOHO (stylin!!). I took a leap! Next is booking a trip to Iceland in April.  I reserved the Airbnb I will be staying at in the heart of Reykjavik.  I have to remind myself of why I travel as well. To document, to discover, to learn and to be a global citizen. That journey of discovery doesn’t stop. It doesn’t stop when because I’m not in school anymore doing research. and it doesn’t stop because I started a new job. I always tell my Linglobal students, don’t let a lack of resources keep you from being resourceful. So if I really want to do something, the do something principle would dictate I practice what I preach.

Step one working on shopping my business proposal for Linglobal to educational institutions. This entails preparing the teaching material for language and culture classes, like gifting my students with Chinese names and connecting them with students their age living in China. My friend Emberley teaches English in China and has students who want to practice their English with native speakers. April and May will include visiting new schools to give the “Importance of Learning a Foreign Language and Traveling” lecture to plant the seed of hope and expand interest in less commonly taught languages like Russian and Arabic for Metro Detroit students.  Step 2 involves finding the best way to promote the story of traveling and why it’s important, using social media and vlogging to spread the word on behalf of Linglobal. Scripting it and making it exciting yet organic, crafting a niche for myself in an oversaturated travel blogging/vlogging market. This is ambitious enough for a few months. I do still have a boyfriend, siblings, geriatric baby boomers (my parents), a tribe and sister-wives to entertain! It will require innovation and creativity. I will want to quit or break promises to myself. But Les Brown, one of my favorite motivational speakers says, “people chasing after their dreams are unreasonable”. It takes an unreasonable person’s determination to push toward a divinely inspired breakthrough!