6 Steps to Successfully Launching a Dream
There’s a profound impatience for those of us who are building our own platforms. We want what we want — and we want it now. But we sometimes fail to see what it takes to see a dream through to the end.
Photo Credit: samthe8th via Compfight cc
We see Seth Godin fund his Kickstarter project in hours.
We watch Michael Hyatt launch a book, WordPress theme, conference, and community all in the same year.
We see a quiet guy named Jeff get hundreds of people to sign up for his online course and sell tens of thousands of books without leaving the comfort of his home.
So how do you do that? How do you and I get what those people — those successful influencers and authors — have? How do we successfully launch our dreams?
We can read the books and buy the courses (and I suggest you do), but at some point we must take action for creating our own art. Because it’s not enough to dream; we must do the work.
Do what they do… not just what they say
Dave Ramsey says if you want to be rich, then you should do rich people stuff.
I want to grow my platform, so I’m doing what people with larger platforms have done. I’m following the advice my teachers have taught: not just taking the tests, but doing the homework.
I didn’t just study; I applied the concepts. And it worked.
Here was my dream for this year: Self-publish a book in every format imaginable for my readers — and do it four more times in the same year. I’ve already done it once. Here’s what it took:
1. Decide to do it
No one picked me. No one said “You’re a writer.” I had to choose myself. I didn’t ask permission to make my work matter; I had to take it. And after years of reading books, I finally decided to act.
Convinced I could create my own art, I decided I wanted to write a book. And I did it.
2. Fall in love with 5 a.m.
My friend Jon built a powerful personal brand in a short amount of time. How did he do it? By being selfish at 5 a.m.
There are no excuses before the sunrise, nothing holding us back from writing that book or working on that business plan. Other than our own laziness, of course.
I get up early, because I have three very young kids. For me, it’s the best time to get my work done and still be a good dad and husband. Chances are, you’ve got your responsibilities, too. The secret to pursuing a dream is doing it before your world wakes up.
3. Follow a process
Success is not an accident. Not for those who build powerful platforms. It’s a result of consistency and following the habits of those who have come before.
A little course called Tribe Writers helped me identify my worldview, build habits to become more consistent in my craft, and determine the best route for publishing a book.
Without an intentional process, I wouldn’t have been able to do it.
4. Be transparent
Admit it: In an age when everyone can have a voice, we’re drawn to people who don’t have it all figured out. It pays to be transparent — and that’s part of the beauty of building your own platform.
You have to pretend to know everything; in fact, it’s more interesting when you don’t.
The best part about being transparent is you don’t have to pretend. People want heroes, but they also need sojourners. Fellow travelers. Your goal is to be both.
5. Be generous
When Michael Hyatt launched his book, he gave away a ridiculous amount of content to his readers — just for buying a $25 hardcover. Most of us love to consume abundance, but we’re afraid to give it. It’s just human nature.
In less than a month, over 600 people signed up for free copies of my book. It took me three years to build my email list to that many people, and in three weeks, I doubled it. Generosity wins.
What’s more, the most common feedback I’ve gotten from those who downloaded my book is that they loved it so much they’re playing on buying it, anyway.
6. Ship your work
If you are hesitating to ship something — and “shipping” means it’s in the world, not on your hard drive — then post a public deadline.
I’d never written a book before, but I put out a deadline of mid-January for my book. And I stayed on schedule. Not because I tried to be perfect, but because I shipped.
Perfection is a myth and more often an excuse to not ship. Thankfully, I’m not a perfectionist; but unfortunately, I’m not a great finisher. Publicly declaring a deadline has been exactly what I needed to ship. And it caused me to finish.
Maybe by following these six steps you’ll be able to do the same.
Note: Andy just released his first book, Early to Rise. You can join him on his publishing journey (and learn more about how he self-published this book) here.
What’s your dream? How have you launched it? Share in the comments.
