There seems to be a common thread amongst the hundreds of happy and successful people I’ve interviewed over the years.

Generally, they all spent a great deal of time – many years in some cases – envisioning what their happy, ideal life looked like.  They used to think about what it was they really wanted to be doing in their work, the types of dreams they had for their life, the kind of relationship they wanted or what their world would look like if they actually took control of their finances.

But they also all remember the exact moment when they made the leap from dreaming and envisioning what it was they wanted in their life to deciding to go for it.   And yes it was scary.  And yes it was fraught with risk.  And yes there were naysayers in their lives that said “IT WILL NEVER WORK!”

But they had a greater fear of an unfulfilled life.  They had more anxiety of growing old and unhappy.  They had less concern about what others were saying and more concerned about looking themselves in the mirror every day knowing that they didn’t at least try to follow their dream.

The red-hot fire in their gut overcame the cynics.  The risk was worth the chance if it meant they could live a life happy and fulfilled – to live the life they dreamed.

Are you more consumed with thinking about living a life of potential then actually doing it?  Is fear holding you back?  Fear of jumping out of a comfort zone, even though in your heart of hearts, you are are not comfortable at all?  Are you full of anxiety about what others might think if you choose to follow your dream?

Once you decide – and I mean really decide – to follow a dream of being happy, of achieving success in your life and of living the life you really want, you will see that everything else falls begins to fall into place.  There is a new found sense of confidence, determination and excitement.  You’ll realize that there are other people and helpful resources that will guide you to get to where you want to go.  You’ll see that any risk you worried about can be managed by through reasonable and measured steps you can take to reach your goal over a period of time.  You’ll also come to understand that the greatest fears and anxieties were really self-fabricated; in other words, you’ll be amazed at how much will power and self discipline you really have to accomplish amazing things.

But first, its time to decide.