Many of us have goals and dreams that we never realize. Why? Because we get caught up in our daily to-do lists, the small stuff, forgetting that how we live our days is how we live our lives. Below are eight strategies for carving out time and focusing on those important but not urgent action steps we can take to make our goals come true.

1. Visualize your goal in great detail. Imagine that it has already come true. What does it look like? How do you feel? What are you doing? What is your life like? Spend five minutes writing your response to these questions.

2. Free-associate the steps needed to make your goal come true. Capture these steps and ideas in a mind map. Make it colorful and fun.

3. Start at the end and work your way forward. Imagine that you have achieved your goal. What was the last step you took to finalize it? What was the step right before the last one? Now work your way backward to the beginning. What's the first small step you need to take to get started?

4. Share your goal with a friend, someone who will support you and hold you accountable. Make a pact with your friend to do something every day to move closer to making your goal a reality.

5. Give your goal credibility by allotting it space in your life. Think about it every day and take one action that brings you closer to achieving it. How were the pyramids built? Slowly, one stone at a time!

6. Write affirmations about your goal. Post them where you will see them every day. Carry them with you. Review and repeat them aloud at least three times a day.

7. Make a collage of your goal come true. Use photos of yourself, family, and friends. Cut out pictures and words from magazines and glue them to poster board. Write your goals on the board. Add colored paper, mementos, and whatever else fits in with your goals. Post your collage in a prominent place at home or work.

8. Celebrate every success on your way to achieving your goal. Congratulate yourself for having the courage and tenacity to continue in the face of obstacles and critics. Completing any one step along the way is of itself a goal come true!

Copywrite. Mary Jeanne Vincent