I recently came across a great quote by the author Greg Reid. This quote is: “A dream written down with a date becomes a goal. A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan. A plan backed by action makes your dreams come true.” This is a powerful idea, and one that has merit. And I am going to explore this idea in this blog article.

Creating Goals

I have written before about the importance of setting goals. And having a goal with a deadline is powerful. This is the difference between something you dream about and something you are committed to achieving.

When you have a deadline, it puts pressure on you as you get closer to that date. More importantly, you are making a commitment to yourself that you will achieve your goal by that date.

Take the time to list everything you dream about. Then think realistically about how soon you could bring those dreams to fruition. Write down these ambitions as goals with deadlines.

Breaking Goals Into Action Steps

A goal with a deadline is not enough. It is just identifying what you want to achieve. But if you only identify what you want, and don’t think about how you are going to achieve it, then chances you are you won’t accomplish it. The solution to this predicament is to break your goals down into actionable steps. This is how you will identify how you are going to achieve those goals.

For example, I dream of being the district director for my Toastmasters district. This is an ambitious goal. To get there, I have created an action plan where I serve a year as division director, followed by a year serving as club growth director, followed by a year as program quality director, and then, and only then, will I run for the office of district director. This is a plan to work up to the level of district director by first serving in the leadership roles that will give me the experience I need to be effective while serving as district director. And this plan has a deadline: I want to serve as district director the July 2027 to June 2028 Toastmasters term.

Another dream I have is getting a job as a project manager. My action plan for this dream is to actively search for and apply to jobs. My plan also includes getting project management certifications. Not only that, I have acted on this plan, and I have earned my CAPM (Certified Associate in Project Management) and CSM (Certified Scrum Master) certifications. My plan also includes earning the PMP certification in the future, which is the Project Management Professional certification from the Project Management Institute.

Acting On Your Plan

Finally, an action plan is useless unless you follow through on it. This means you need to perform the actions and do the work you identify in your plan.

I have done this myself. I ran for the position of Division I Director for District 28 Toastmasters and got elected this year. This has moved me closer to my dream of becoming District 28 Director.

Another example of acting on my plan is that I followed through on my action steps to become a certified project manager. I have earned both my CAPM and CSM certifications, which are important steps on my journey towards getting a job as a project manager.

Conclusion

As the quote at the start of this article says, you need to set deadlines to achieve your dreams. This turns your dreams into goals, and breaking your goals down into action steps is how you can move forward towards achieving those goals. But creating the steps is not enough. You need to back up your plan with action. Follow through on the steps you identify, and you will get results.

So stop dreaming, and take action. Create goals with deadlines. Create action plans with the steps you will take to achieve those goals. And perform those steps to bring your goals to fruition.