It is said less than 3 percent of the people in the world come close to achieving their true potential. I personally suspect even that estimate is high.

Why do the other 97 percent settle for so much less?

It is because they do not allow themselves to even imagine what could be possible in their lives -- let alone pursue it. And if you can not imagine it, you will never create it.

Here is Where it Starts

Every super successful achiever I have ever known has said the same thing about where true success and achievement begin: It is in the dreaming of (and commitment to) big, expansive, seemingly impossible dreams.

There is simply no faster way to dissolve your so-called personal limitations than to have a really big dream. To focus on the wonderful life you are creating -­ and the super achiever you are becoming.

When you begin to create truly big dreams, your self-esteem and self-confidence begin to soar almost magically. You immediately feel more confident about your ability to handle whatever life deals you.

An Amazing TRUE Story

One of my former coaching clients is today one of the highest paid MLM pros in the entire United States. But he did not start at the top.

After one especially intense mentoring session, Rob (not his true name) set a goal of doubling his income in the coming year -­ truly a major goal in this challenging business.

He had no idea how he would accomplish his impossible dream, but he set a goal of achieving it.

Rob began by absolutely committing to no longer accept any excuses from himself. He then passionately threw himself into analyzing his downline business builders -­ his current bread and butter.

He looked carefully at each business builder, and discovered that about 20 percent of his downline executives were creating over 80% of his income. (It is odd, but this 20/80 percent rule seems to pop up again and again in almost all types of business and life situations.)

Robs further analysis revealed that he was actually spending more time and energy on his low-producers than he was on his important high-producers. In short, he was over investing in the losers -- and under investing in his winners. This discovery shocked him deeply.

We talked it over, and Rob decided to share his findings with all of his downline executives. He scheduled a tele-conference, and fully explained his thoughts to his entire downline business-builder team.

He then explained that from that day forward, he was redirecting his energy. Although they would all continue to receive his monthly newsletter -- only his top producers would receive his personal support and coaching.

In effect, Rob drew a line in the sand. Then he encouraged all of his serious business builders to follow his lead, and only work with their highest producers.

He then redirected his energy to create a very tight and motivated top executive team. They worked together to create a profile of the type of business builders they wanted to attract. Then they jointly invested their energy and resources into a very focused advertising and marketing campaign.

They began to dream -­ and put focused action behind their dream.

Rob did not double his money that year. He went beyond that and increased it 368 percent. And Rob's 20 percent prime business builders did equally well. Plus four of his previously weaker producers even caught the fever, and began to excel.

The 3 Steps to Achieving a BIG Dream

There are only three secrets to achieving your big dreams: Clarity, commitment, and focus. Here is how it goes:

Step 1 - The whole process starts with achieving clarity. You must have clarity about who you are, and exactly what it is you want to achieve. Like Rob, you may also benefit from doing a close examination of your priorities. Time is really what we have in life. Be sure you are investing it wisely, and in ways that clearly support achieving your goal.

Step 2 - Commitment is the fuel that keeps your fire burning. The stronger your commitment to achieve your goal -- the more fire and desire and belief you will manifest. And the more you begin to accomplish the things that are truly important to you, the stronger your self-confidence will become. The process feeds itself.

-- Energy builds energy

-- Belief builds belief

-- Commitment builds commitment

Step 3 - Focus is not a casual part of this process. It is absolutely essential that you hold your mental focus on exactly what you want to be, have, and do. Apply Rob's 20/80 percent rule to everything you do, and especially to how you invest your basic life currency ­- your time.

To Summarize

Here is the strategy I recommend when I help my coaching clients put their own feet to the fire:

-- Allow yourself to dream a really BIG dream

-- Balance how you use your time and resources

-- Focus on those things that can make a real difference in your life or business

-- Take consistent, focused, committed action

As YOU allow yourself to dream really BIG dreams, you will find yourself moving closer and closer to achieving your true potential. This is tremendously exciting and gratifying.

Along the way you may have to trim-away some activities or habits that aren't really a good investment of your time and energy -­ but you will come up stronger and more successful for it.