All successful people men and women are big dreamers. They imagine what their future could be, ideal in every... — Brian Tracy

All successful people men and women are big dreamers. They imagine what their future could be, ideal in every respect, and then they work every day toward their distant vision, that goal or purpose.

Author: Brian Tracy

Insight: We tend to think of dreamers as the opposite of doers—people with their heads in the clouds who never quite get around to the real work. But what Tracy is pointing at is actually the reverse: the most grounded, productive people he's observed all started with an almost embarrassing clarity about what they wanted. They didn't stumble into success through hustle alone. They had an ideal they could actually see, which made every mundane decision easier to justify. The tricky part most of us miss is the "every day" part. Having a big vision is the easy bit. The actual work is showing up when the vision feels distant or abstract, when today's effort seems disconnected from some goal that might take years. That's where most people lose the thread. They dream once, feel inspired, then drift back to whatever's immediately in front of them. The successful ones treat their vision like something they're actively choosing to move toward, not just something they wish would happen to them. What's interesting is that this doesn't require a glamorous dream. The vision could be financial security, mastery of a craft, or building something specific for your family. The size of the dream matters less than its clarity—and your willingness to let it shape how you actually spend your time.

Source: Goals!, p. 13, 2003