Robert Hruzek on Jan 16th 2007 at 7:00 am goals

Turning Dreams Into Goals

If you're new around these parts, I just want to say how much I appreciate your dropping by! Oh, and you may want to subscribe to my feed. Thanks, and a tip o' the hat to ya!

Note: This post is my submittal to yet another writing contest I just heard about over at Scribbit. If you’re in the contest mood, you might drop by and try it!

Some years ago, the son of a friend of mine joined the navy in order to became an air traffic controller. His first assignment (which he volunteered for) was spent on the lonely island of Diego Garcia (pictured here), a naval base pretty much smack dab in the middle of the Indian Ocean. His second tour was in Iceland! Want to know the kicker? He voluntarily chose to go to both places!

You may be wondering why a young navy man would WANT to spend six years of his life on two isolated islands smack in the middle of a vast expanse of ocean. Well, I’ll tell you! (You knew I would anyway, right?)

It seems this young fellow started checking into duty assignments and he found that in the navy, air traffic controllers assigned to ship duty gained experience very slowly. It turned out the duty mainly went to the most senior ATCs. He realized early that the fastest way to gain the experience he wanted was to choose land-based assignments. And, by choosing duty stations that were in, shall we say, less desirable locations (Honolulu is – you guessed it – the #1 choice), his opportunity to advance was far greater. Thus when he left the navy after 7 years, he had considerable experience which he then used to get a job as an ATC in sunny southern California!

I say all this because the thing that struck me the most was: here’s a guy who knew what he wanted. But more than that, he found out what he had to do to get it, and then followed through! He once had a dream, but he found a way to turn it into a goal and then achieved it.

It’s not enough for you to have a dream. If you don’t make the effort to figure out what you need to do to achieve the dream, then it simply remains a dream. But – and this is a really BIG but – it’s only when you make that effort that dreams turn into goals.

And only then can goals become reality.

All right, here’s the question. What dreams are you holding close to the vest right now? You know, the ones you’ve held on to for so many years. Every now and then you take it out and look at it, admire the sheer beauty of it, you think again how wonderful it would be if it were real…. But what have you done to achieve it? What actual, concrete steps have you taken to turn the dream into a goal?

Ouch!

So what dreams are you still holding on to?

You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!

10 responses so far

10 Responses to “Turning Dreams Into Goals”

  1. # Bobon Jan 24th 2007 at 12:18 am

    I appreciate the kind words, Janie. Thanks!

  2. # Janie Hickok Siess, Esq.on Jan 24th 2007 at 12:18 am

    Your post should be required reading in every high school in America.

    Great job.

  3. # Bobon Jan 24th 2007 at 12:18 am

    Thanks for the kind words, Geekwif! It was a serendipitous moment - I actually wrote the post about four hours BEFORE I heard of the contest! Must be psychic.

  4. # Geekwifon Jan 24th 2007 at 12:18 am

    Great story, and great application. Thanks for the food for thought. And congratulations on being a runner-up!

  5. # Bobon Jan 24th 2007 at 12:18 am

    Yep, that’s it all right. For most of us, the main problem is simply… getting off our butts! You may want to see Nothing a Size 18 Boot Wouldn’t Fix for more on this subject.

    Thanks for dropping by, Rory!

  6. # Roryon Jan 24th 2007 at 12:18 am

    This really gives me something to think about, Robert. It is good to read.

    Goals without actions are just dreams. So true.

  7. # Bobon Jan 24th 2007 at 12:18 am

    You’re welcome! Now I finally know what people do during those long nights up there…

  8. # scribbiton Jan 24th 2007 at 12:18 am

    Thanks for mentioning the contest and for the entry, it’s a great addition.

  9. # Hey, I Got Plans | Middle Zone Musingson Oct 4th 2007 at 6:02 am

    [...] See, I’ve been making these great plans to help me get where I want to go… but if I’m not executing them, well… what good are they? But – and here’s where the rubber meets the road – what real, tangible things am I doing, right now, to accomplish them; to turn my dreams into goals? [...]

  10. # Bonus WILF: What I Learned From Bob Ledbetter | Middle Zone Musingson Nov 9th 2007 at 6:46 am

    [...] remember that turning dreams into goals always takes a fair investment in blood, sweat and tears (yuk – who thinks up these metaphors, [...]

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