5 Reasons You Haven’t Yet Achieved Your Dreams

When you decide to chase something, what you decide to chase starts to run away. But what if there was a way to work around that?

From Wile E. Coyote’s first appearance on Looney Tunes in 1949, this ambitious character had one goal in his life: to catch the Road Runner.

Over that time, the coyote has been featured in a whopping 48 episodes that have continually aired. He has been chasing the same roadrunner for 68 whole years. He had all the tools. He had anvils, weather balloons, fans, bird seed, glue, grease, boulders, bumblebees, invisible paint, missile launchers, you name it.

Yet, how many times has he caught his prey?

Zero.

Wile E. Coyote spent 68 years of his life with one goal in mind: To eat a roadrunner. Yet, here you are, watching the same show for over half a century, seeing that when you chase after something, you will never attain it.

Why?

Because when you decide to chase something, the object or goal or dream you decide to chase decides to run away. You could have all the tools, all the resources, all the knowledge and all the power, but none of that matters.

Each time you get closer to grasping your goals, it just slips out of your hands. It turns into an endless game with zero positive results.

For example, I spent my life chasing the dream of getting rich. Each time I tried, even if I had some success, a new obstacle came my way. I failed with multiple ventures until I gave up.

So, if you don’t chase your dreams, then how do you accomplish what you have set yourself out to do?

You attract your dreams to you.

But what does that mean?

It means that by creating value in the world, you attract success in all shapes and forms. I’m living proof of this example. I stopped chasing the cash. But as a byproduct of helping others, opportunities came to me easier than before. This helped me attract my prior dream of having more cash.

By creating value in the lives of others when I became a Top Writer on Quora, I was able to upgrade my network, connect with others, find business partners and start writing for publications. In a two year timespan, I hit 10 million views on my content and collected over 50,000 followers on social media. Because of that, I’ve received thousands of messages in regards to requests for mentorship or consulting, where people have wanted to learn what I have been able to do.

Adam Stone of Speedlancer, a recent graduate of the 500 Startups accelerator, says “Opportunism often leads to a loss of opportunity.”

With that said, let’s look at the mistakes Wile E. Coyote made:

1) He worked alone

Wile E. Coyote was a one man show. He had no team to back him up on his conquest. He set out to do things on his own.

No successful entrepreneur has made it to the top by going at it alone. They formed a team. Even the rare founders who own a 100% controlling stake in their companies like Sara Blakely have a team of employees who have their back.

2) He thought he could use force

When you start to use force to attain something you want, it goes the opposite way.

Think of it like a pushy salesperson. If I tried to force someone to buy something from me, then they would block all forms of communication with me. But if I gave them a reason as to how they could benefit from the conversation, then I may end up with a sale or even a strategic partnership.

Instead of forcing your dreams to enter your life, become the type of person who can attract your dreams to you.

3) He thought if he chased, he would catch

Wile E. Coyote spent over half a century chasing. He chased and chased and chased. Yet, for some reason, he couldn’t see that none of this worked. But he kept on doing it.

When any successful person hits a roadblock, they have to take a step back, analyze their situation and figure out how to go at it again. Sometimes, they have to change their strategy completely.

Instead of chasing down your customers, try to attract them. Anticipate their needs in advance. Showcase how you’ve solved problems similar to theirs with others, so when they go looking for a solution, they find you. Offer a free consultation or a trial with your service. Blog. Answer questions on Quora. Help people out. Then, they will start to refer customers to you.

4) He had tunnel vision

He was too focused on his mission. That made him depend too much on ACME for his success. When you depend too heavily on your tools, you can’t see the lay of the land anymore. Wile E Coyote thought his rocket launcher and anvil would catch his prey. He depended heavily on the brute strength of his tools. Yet, they were not enough.

Sometimes, you get into analysis paralysis. You get stuck by chasing after yet another traffic hack or marketing tactic instead of figuring out what your customers truly want. Learn, engage and connect with your customers instead. They will tell you what they want and teach you how to sell them.

5) He was monomaniacal about the wrong things

Wile E. Coyote wasn’t trying to solve a problem. He wasn’t trying to make life more convenient. He just wanted to use all his wealth and resources to get what he wanted: A yummy meal.

That meal must have been out of this world for him to work so hard to try to attain it.

But you see this all the time. People work in their businesses strictly for the money, but they don’t have any true desire to do what they are doing. Like the person who went to become a doctor because their parents told them to or the engineer who didn’t care about technology, but got their degree solely on the basis that they would earn six figures for life. Make sure you are passionate about the right things. When you are, your dreams will ultimately fall in your lap as a side effect of your efforts.

Have you chased a dream before? Did you happen to catch it? Or did you come to realize that you have to attract your dreams to you instead? If you need help in achieving your dreams, check out my company InfluenceTree. We teach you how to achieve true career success by positioning yourself as an expert within your industry.

Originally posted on Inc.

Leonard Kim is Managing Partner at InfluenceTree. At InfluenceTree, Leonard and his team teach you how to build your (personal or business) brand, get featured in publications and growth hack your social media following.

Image Credit: Chuck Jones Center for Creativity / SITES. Looney Tunes Characters © & TM Warner Bros.

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