We all have dreams that we would like to pursue and achieve for our own good or for the good of others. That is why I created an acronym called DACA to give you clear visual steps to achieve your dreams. This article is meant to highlight the importance of following DACA steps to make your dreams come true.
What is DACA?
DACA is an acronym to help people logically follow their dreams. The term DACA stands for Dream, Action, Create, and Achieve. DACA signifies that if you have a dream you want to pursue, it will not be possible until you have chosen to take a specific action and created an environment to make your dream a reality. And only when you create a conducive environment will it be possible and easier to achieve your goals. DACA is intended to help get your dream or idea off the ground into a fruitful stage where you can begin to reap its benefits.
Many people have dreams that never materialize, maybe because they have not made their dream clear, do not know where to start, what action to take, or have self-doubts. DACA will make it easier to visualize the process of pursuing your goals.
Dream
a dream is simply a cherished aspiration, ambition, or ideal that we would like to become. We all aspire to become something bigger than ourselves or have a purpose of changing the world. It may be easy to have bigger dreams and aspirations, but that alone cannot make your dream come to fruition unless you do. As put well by John Maxwell, dreams don’t work unless you do. You must put in countless hours of work to even realize a tiny bit of success toward your goals.
The first step is to identify and narrow down your dreams to what you are passionate about. Then state the purpose and goals of your dreams, as this will give you a clear vision and direction on how to pursue them. These steps are crucial because having ambiguous dreams and goals will not take you far. It is only when you follow what you are passionate about and put in a lot of work that you will accomplish your dreams.
Action
A dream alone is just a dream and cannot become a reality through magic unless you sweat. You must take a particular action to lay down the groundwork for your dreams to become a reality. Inaction has been known to be the most obvious killer of dreams. That means the more you wait, the more your dreams fade away through the length of time. Therefore, you must act with clear intention and vision.
So, before your dream become a victim to inaction, you must quickly act and figure out the steps necessary to begin working toward your vision and goals. Inaction is a by-product of fear of the unknown, and it will stop you from taking your first step. That is why it is essential to act fast without reservations. Another vital step you must take is to associate yourself with like-minded people in your field, as this will help you ask the right questions and get the correct answers, not opinions. Also, networking is the key to the progress, especially when you are just starting out.
Create
Once you figure out what steps to take toward your goals, you must create a product or service. The creation stage is where the rubber meets the road in this DACA process. You must turn your dream into a product or service that people will purchase. The product or service creation step needs creativity from you. It is a hands-on approach that you will quickly realize if you are built for it or not. Nevertheless, if you create a product or service that helps improve other people’s lives, the chance of turning your dream and passion into cash is possible.
It is true that success indeed comes to those who try and fail than those who fail to try. However, most people are likely to abandon or accept defeat if their product or service does not materialize as expected. So, if you do not try to pursue your passion, you fail yourself. It will serve you better if you are mindful that failure is possible in this product creation step.
Achieve
Achieving your goals is a product of your hard work and determination. The achieving stage is where you start to see your passion and vision come to fruition. It is equally important to stay motivated because it is hard to score a win. You must celebrate your small victories to stay encouraged, focused, and determined to achieve even bigger wins. You must know that before you stand up, you must crawl first. So that is why it’s equally important to stay motivated to continue building on smaller wins that you have achieved.
As you know, a dream is only just a dream until you act and sweat to achieve it. There are many dream killers that you should avoid at all costs.
One of the well-known dream killers is fear. Fear will most likely stop you in the beginning stage of your journey. Many people are afraid of failure, loss, and rejection by others. Another dream killer is insecurity. We all possess insecurity and doubts about ourselves. Most people have internal negative perceptions about themselves, such as who will listen to me, who will believe me, or I will just make a fool of myself, and so on. Such internal doubts have killed dreams on the spot. The third kind of dream killer is uncertainty. Starting something that you have never done before is downright scary for most people. And it is uncertainty that leads to indecision that may spell your failure to pursue your dreams.
The last kind of dream killer is inertia or procrastination. Many people will give themselves mental excuses and become reluctant to act to pursue their dreams. As proven, failure to perform is the downfall of many dreams; therefore, if you dare to dream, you must act, create, and achieve (DACA) your goals without compromise.