7:33am.
June 14th, 2019.
Time to get started.
First of all: these blogs will not be long.
We all have lots of things to do, places to go and people to see.
It would be obnoxiously presumptuous of me to think that reading this blog will be anyone's first priority when they roll out of bed in the morning.
So short but sweet will be our motto.
Speaking of rolling out of bed - who found it tough to do that this morning?
Who snoozed their alarm multiple times?
Who groaned at the thought of another long, tedious, thankless day?
Now I'm no doctor, but I can immediately diagnose your affliction.
Your dreams are inferior to your reality.
BOOM.
Simple isn't it?
When we wake up, and we lay there all wrapped up under our nice warm duvets on our nice soft mattresses with our nice comfy pillows, what motivates us to get out of bed?
More importantly, what motivates you to get out of bed?
If at least one thing doesn't immediately spring to mind, you have lackofdreamitis.
The good news is that it's easily curable.
Take a moment, right now, to think about what drives you and what you want to achieve.
Change the 'want' to 'will'.
I don't want to reach this goal, I will.
Consider all key aspects of life - relationships, work, fitness, learning, spirituality, finance, faith etc - and then pick one, and decide what your biggest dream, hope or goal is for it.
Step 1) Think of your what
What is it you will achieve?
Get ambitious (if you set a HUGE goal and fall marginally short you will still achieve more than setting a mediocre goal and achieving it) and get specific (e.g. I will save £3000 each year for 10 years).
Step 2) Think of your why
Why will you do this?
Ask what fuels you to achieve this dream, and be brutally honest (e.g. I will save £3000 each year for 10 years ... so that I can afford to send my children to university).
Step 3) Think of your how
How will you do this?
Create a plan of action tailored to HUGE results and stick to it (e.g. I will save £3000 each year for 10 years so that I can afford to send my children to university ... by making a separate bank account and putting £250 in it each month).
There you have it.
A simple, three-step formula for improving your life.
Enjoy.
With a dream fuelling you, life has a different meaning.
You won't wake up and groan at the shrill, piercing screech of your alarm, but instead it will be music to your ears as it signals the sound of a new day geared towards achieving your goals.
Getting out of bed will become easy.
That alarm clock, once your arch enemy, will become the anthem of your success.
Eric Thomas: 'No alarm clock needed. My passion wakes me up.'
For a man who gets up at 3am each day like ET, you may think that impossible.
I certainly did.
Recently, although I often do need my alarm, I am beginning to find myself up and raring to go long before it goes off.
Anyway, it'll be hard, but we'll build up to it together.
It can be our goal.
For now, focus on winning your daily battle of wills with your alarm clock.
Using your what, why and how, set those dreams, and thrive off them.
Living life without a purpose, without a passion, without a dream, is meaningless.
Allow me to share one of mine...
You've probably wondered why the name of this blog is 'Journey of a New York Aspirer'.
Let me explain.
Around 22 months ago, I travelled from home in England and visited Australia, and was reunited with a childhood friend who I hadn't seen for over 10 years.
Prior to that, I had little vision and few goals (I was an 'alarm clock-sufferer'), but from then on my mindset shifted.
Radically.
You see, we shared a common dream.
A vision for our lives.
To live in New York City.
The power of this transformed my life.
I'd visited the City That Never Sleeps once before, and ever since then I have been obsessed with one day living there. It felt like the centre of the universe.
I have to make it there, and I will.
The astronomical cost of living in NYC doesn't matter to me.
I don't come from a well-off (nor poor) background, but I will find a way.
That childhood friend from Australia has now become a brother for life.
Our joint dream motivates us like nothing else can.
We will not only live in New York City, but thrive there.
I want you to join me, to join us on this journey.
THIS IS NOT JUST A BLOG.
As you develop more of your own dreams and passions, you too will experience this same sense of fulfilled incompleteness.
Fulfilled with the satisfaction of taking steps towards your goals.
Incomplete due to the desire and hunger to achieve them.
Today's post focused on the very premise of this blog.
I've revealed my overriding dream, and hopefully helped you to uncover yours.
Remember to apply your what, why and how.
I hope we can grow together and support each other in pursuit of our goals.
It can be lonely chasing excellence, but remember that You'll Never Walk Alone.
Until the next time...
Alex (N.Y.A.)
Something Extra
Now for something a bit different.
I'll do this at the end of each post; a random fact, tip, habit or bit of knowledge on how something works that you've always wondered but never known.
In keeping with conquering our alarm clocks each morning, I want to share with you a little secret to use if you really do struggle to get out of bed:
The Five Second Rule.
When you wake up, lie still and count yourself down from 5...4...3...2...1...and then get up.
Easy, right?
When you first wake up, you have the instinct to get out of bed, but if you don't act on it within 5 seconds, your brain will rationalise an excuse to stay in bed.
Once you're up and moving, you feel fantastic, but the first few seconds are always hard.
Get over it.
This rule is applicable to almost all tough decisions in life, so I recommend you give it a try at least in the morning.
To find out about the science behind this, research Mel Robbins' 5 Second Rule, or watch her Ted Talk here.
You're welcome.