Quick Steps for Professional Dreamers

Hello again, it’s been some time. All I can say is I’ve been busy. While cruising for something substantial to write about, I decided to skip daily news and write about positive business advice. I came across “How to Be a Visionary Thinker” by Maria Tabaka from Inc.com. This amazing article is a guide to putting our professional dreams to work. By professional dreams, the article means “something that we are excited and passionate about—and will also be very profitable” (don’t let "profitable" throw off social/non-profit entrepreneurial dreams). It is viable, practical and strategic.

Tabaka used advice from Marcia Wieder. Wieder is CEO of Dream University and a “personal transformation expert, former president of the National Association of Women Business Owners, and has been the catalyst for thousands of individuals turning their dreams into realities over the past 20 years”. She says, “I think that sometimes people forget that we need to marry the two ideals, passion and strategy, to achieve success.”

Wieder advises to take time to explore our dreams and really ask ourselves if our dream is our passion and are we willing to put in the work to make that dream a reality. This “passion quest” should then manifest into mastering “the skill of enrollment”. Wieder describes enrolling as “sharing your vision in a way that inspires others to join you, hire you, or even invest in you”. During the enrollment process, it is very important to articulate your dream well to others and have them see your dream from your eyes.

Tabaka delivers Marcia Wieder’s “four-step process” for professional dreamers (I’m not listing every word - so please read the article):

1. Establish Rapport

Get people to trust you in order to have them work with you and/or invest in you. “In the enrollment process you are inspiring people, not selling to them.”

2. Build Value

“To build value you must understand what your customers want.” Communicate with your target audience - use social media, talk to them, survey them.

3. Overcome Obstacles

Continue the conversation with the people around you. “Make it easy for people to say yes to you by encouraging them to share their ideas with you”. Ask open questions - What? When? Where? Why? - inspire people to open up and stay open. Often, obstacles are not overcome because those involved are not communicating and it leads to misunderstanding.

4. Secure an Agreement

“Don’t leave a discussion without determining the next step”.  When the conversation has ended, understand from where it continues.

These four steps can be applied to everyone - dreamers, workers, executives, etc. Specifically for professional dreamers, if you have already decided that your dream is real and practical, these steps help to get others to become part of the dream and help you to better mold the dream into reality.