Thursday, April 29, 2010

Dreamlining

I was alerted to this concept by some reading that a friend recommended. The author, who I will leave nameless for the time because he is very controversial and hated in fact, suggests that having dreams or goals of things is not good enough. You have to set a timeline. By setting a timeline you can set steps between now and then. Dreamlining breaks down big goals into a series of smaller steps.

I've been doing this for years before I even read about it. I first did this with my career, in high school, although 2009 and 2010 has not been going as well as the plan from seven years ago predicted. I am doing this with my tens years or less until Everest, which is very much on track. It also plays a large role in my running.

This is the same author that posed the question, "what if retirement was not an option?" However, the significance is that dreamlining helps prioritize life, and thus money use, so that "dreams" are possible. So while Fidelity says that I will need 3.8 million dollars to retire at 65 with a slightly better lifestyle than I have now, by putting a little away every paycheck I might reach that. That being said my paychecks are going strait to my debt right now.

What I suggest, is considering where you want to go, both figuratively and in reality, and set a due date. Instead of the list, "Thing do do before you Die." How about, "Things to do before you are 30" or  "Things to do before you Retire." Then by looking at the list, decide one can you knock out this weekend.

"A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step," (- Lao Tzu) "and the first ten steps are the hardest." (- Isaiah Janzen)

2 comments:

  1. Dreams have a way of betraying you when you use them to escape. Ask yourself why you dream what you dream.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I can see that, a dream leading someone astray from his or her path. However, I also think that they can work in parallel. For example, my running, which serves as one of my big dreams, also serves to keep my cholesterol low and my risk of diabetes down. Those will most likely keep me healthier longer so that I can engineer longer.

    I also think that the difference between dreams and goals is often small. Many times goals refer to professional dreams and dreams refer to recreational goals. Which is to say the professional goal of being a founder in a high tech start up company that is very successful could be viewed as a dream or as a career goal. Usually, dreams are artistic and goals are strategic. Dreamlining is an attempt to make something artistic strategic.

    As far as why I dream what I dream that is pretty simple. I excelled at some things more than most things when I was younger and by picking the few things I would like to pursue it narrows my focus. I dream about the things that I am not sure I can do. Can I climb Mt. Everest? Until I actually try it I don't know. The other aspect to consider is that most of my goals either I see as a dream or others would see as a dream.

    Thanks for the comment.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.