A Plan Is The Bridge That Connects Your Dreams To Your Reality.

The difference between those that fail and those that succeed often lies in the plan. 

For years I dreamed of having a different career in which I found meaning and purpose. I found myself walking through the bare hallways of my quiet and mundane workplace pretending I was actually in a different career field. Coworkers admired my confidence and optimism, but truly they were a result of working in a career that was still only a dream. And therefore my moments of confidence and optimism were disingenuous.
 
It is not that the career I was in was beneath me, but rather it was untrue to my heart. I was unhappy and longed to be elsewhere. It was a personal experience that I alone was battling. What made the experience more disheartening was that I had dreams, but no way of reaching them. Or so I thought...
 
I began introducing uplifting and motivational speeches and readings into my routine. Many times, just a few minutes of reading or listening to someone who had found success forced me to think differently. And in time I came to realize that the key to changing my reality was creating and following a plan. 
 
The plan that I came to realize I needed was different from the plans that many of us currently follow. It was not as simple as: 
 
-Find a new job. 
- Make a lot of money. 
- Be successful. 
 
This plan had to be different. It had to answer the question of how and why. It had to include a step-by-step process. It had to include realistic goals. It had to be focused. It had to include timeframes and deadlines. And it had to include a detailed end goal. 
 
My plan of "be successful" became a blueprint. A physical and detailed plan that I laid out before me. Today, I have checklists that I carry with me in my phone and deadlines that are on each calendar I own. I have chosen a career field that makes me happy and I am learning as much as I can about it, as I am once again a student. I discuss my plan with my husband and communicate to him what I need in order to achieve each goal. And I am always conscious of the end goal.  For this is what I turn to when discouragement and a lack of confidence set in. 
 
While I am currently in the preliminary steps of the process, my bridge is being built and each dream is in sight. The process will be long and I will likely need to adjust along the way, but by having a plan before me, I will eventually take hold of my dreams.
 
It is simply a matter of time, hard work, and following the plan.