Once you've identified your goal, it's time to make plans for bringing your goals into your sphere of influence.
Whatever your dream is, whether it's having the ideal relationship, a beautiful home, building a community garden or becoming a teacher, somewhere out in the world are the tools and resources for manifesting it.
And you'll find them faster when you've got a plan. Just as you need the proper equipment and resources—fishing rod, bait, tackle—to reel in a prized fish, so also will you need a plan for fishing your dreams out of the oceans of possibility.
The second step in the IPAEN
5-Step strategy, planning, can be a lot of fun. Planning is similar to daydreaming and writing wish lists, only, now you are going to assign activities and actions to your wish list items. But there's a catch. In order to manifest what it is you truly want, you have to be sure you truly want it.
If you start chasing something you don't really want in the long run, your victories will feel empty, you will quickly lose interest in your goals or pursuing them will be an effort. Worse, your energy will not be aligned with your soul's true purpose.
Let's take the example of the woman who loved chocolate. Her story began with simple curiosity and one YouTube video about how to make chocolate. One year later she had a thriving business and her artisanal, medicinal raw chocolate bars are sold in some of the finest shops in the southwestern U.S.
The key to her success was not only her passion for chocolate making, but also her continuing interest in it. The more she practiced chocolate making, the more she saw how much more there was to learn about it. She never lost her enthusiasm for the art of chocolate. So it's crucial that you want and love the thing that you are pursuing.
IPAEN Step 1: Imagine was to free your mind to imagine whatever it wanted, and that, in order to truly succeed, your goals had to be aligned with your soul's purpose. In other words, all the planning in the world will not work if your goals are not a worthy pursuit for your soul.
Here are some guidelines for determining a worthwhile goal and increasing your chances for manifesting your dreams.
Your goals are more likely to be aligned with your soul's purpose if:
- Your interest is piqued whenever the subject comes up.
- The things and people that can lead you to your goal come into your life easily.
- You are always seeing signs and symbols and experiencing coincidences that remind you of your goals.
- Your body feels vibrant and expansive whenever you think about or have tangible evidence that your goal is within reach.
Once you've reaffirmed that your goals resonate with your soul's desires, it's time to map out a direction for them.
Here's the Plan:
1. Write down a clear goal, one from which your brain and the universe can take clear instruction. Let's say, for example, that you've always dreamed of having your own restaurant. Stating, "I want a thriving restaurant business," is not specific enough.
Set down in words and images exactly what, to your mind, a thriving restaurant business looks and feels like. What type of cuisine, location, clientele, etc. do you picture yourself working in?
2. Next, write down the feeling or emotion that comes up for you next each item or image. These "feeling states" are ultimately what lights up your brain's reward center and what you really are going after. The details are less important than your ultimate goal of feeling happy, secure, vital or whichever feeling you desire most.
3. Next, determine what you need to learn or acquire. Do you need more training in Moroccan cooking? Will you grow your own garden or source from local farmers? What neighborhood associations can you join?
Think of it as an "I Mean Business Plan." Expand your notes and ideas to include every facet of influence your goal, once manifested, would have on your life, your family, your community and the world.
4. List out everything you can think of that you would need to do, get or buy to manifest your dream. Don't worry about its affordability or attainability. You just need to identify every available tool and resource that might get you to your desired outcome or destination. This way, you will recognize an opportunity to realize your goal when you see it because you've already identified it.
5. Quantify your goals. Setting a goal of specific numbers or quantities like time, gives your
imagination something to focus on and makes it easier for you to visualize. Tell yourself, for example, "I'll sell 100 chocolate bars per day," or "I'll open an online retail chocolate shop by December 1st."
Because numbers and dates are concrete; they are not subject to your changing mood, situation on events, they can serve as a rock solid foundation for your goals.
So, congratulations on taking Step 2. Use these guidelines to have fun and remember, nothing is impossible. If you can think it, there is always a way to manifest it.
Related Articles:
IPAEN 5-Step Strategy to Manifesting Your Dreams (Overview)
IPAEN Step 1: Free Your Imagination to Realize Your Truest Self