If you don’t have everything you desire in life, or if you are having trouble reaching your goals, it is a result of self-imposed limitations. The programming you grew up with, or the maze as we call it, has a strong effect on what success you will achieve. Often, you take this programming for granted thinking that it’s just the way life is – not even considering that anything could be different.

David Neagle says that in order to reach a new goal that you have never achieved before, you will “need to give up something of a lower nature, in order to receive something of a higher nature.” Some kind of sacrifice is required. Now sacrifice does not have to be a negative thing. Sacrificing a bad habit or limiting belief is very positive. But many people just aren’t willing to make any sacrifices because their programming is so strong. They are being kept a prisoner in the world of their own making because their beliefs won’t allow them to change.

For example, let’s say a man desires to write a book. But instead of spending his time crafting the book outline and writing, he spends 5 hours a day watching TV. If he wants to be successful he needs to make a sacrifice. He needs to sacrifice the habit of watching so much TV. He is probably addicted to watching television and just doesn’t have the inner discipline to change this habit even though his true heart’s desire is to write a book. Unless he gives up the TV watching time, which is of a lower nature, he will never reach the goal of writing a book.

No vision board in the world will change that!

If you find yourself stuck, and not reaching your goals and dreams, take yourself through this simple process:

1. Set your intention.

Everyone has desires within. It is part of your soul’s journey on planet earth. You must be very specific in order to reach your goals. Decide what it is that you want and be very specific about writing a goal that is measurable. When a goal is measurable, you will know for certain when you have reached it.

For example: “I want to be rich” is not very specific! A better goal might be, “I want to earn $50,000 per month through my workshops, seminars and book sales.” You could make it even more specific by saying how many sales you want to have and how much each customer would invest. Now you have a target to direct your energy toward. You’ll be amazed how much this can shift your desire, energy and focus.

2. Recognize the opportunities when they appear.

The universe is giving you opportunities for success all the time. In fact, the universe/source/God wants you to be successful even more than you do! But when an opportunity appears, most people turn it down. They are turning down the very thing that could help them because they are not willing to make the sacrifice required.

A couple of years ago, I woke up on a Sunday morning early. I felt very pulled to attend a Unity Church service in my local area. I attended this church many years before but hadn’t been to a service for a long time. I’ve learned to trust these strong urges and figured that there was something in it for me to be there, that my angels were directing me there for a reason.

So I went along. I sat in the service and it was nice. It was nice to see people who remembered me from when I used to attend. But the whole time I was wondering why I was there! I really didn’t get much out of it for myself other than saying hi to a few people. Afterwards I felt drawn to stay for a while for coffee and snacks. Again I didn’t really know why!

Then I got to talking with a woman who I had met a few years before. She shared that she hadn’t attended a church service for a long time either, but felt drawn to go today! She also shared that she was really looking for someone who could help her with marketing her spiritual business and creating a really good website. She had been praying to her angels to bring her the person who could help. She said she was on our ezine list and admired my promotion skills.

Immediately, I knew why I was at that church service! She had set her intention and asked her angels for a person who could help her with marketing, and there I was! So I shared that I would love to help her with a new website design and marketing and gave her a nominal fee that I would charge per month.

That’s when her energy shifted. As soon as I mentioned the cost, she shut down. I honestly don’t even think she realized that the answer to her prayers was sitting right in front of her. The opportunity was right there for her that she needed, but she wasn’t willing to SACRIFICE the investment of money required to move her forward with her business & dreams.

Think about how this fits for you. Have there been opportunities that came up and you turned them down because of fear, worry, lack or limitation? If you don’t take the opportunity, you stay where you are.

3. Take action.

So when you recognize the opportunity, take action on it! Remember – fear is not real. Your programming will kick in and tell you all the reasons why this won’t work, or all the bad things that might happen. That’s might. Actually, when you are following your path, it’s very unlikely that it will go wrong. Most failures occur either because a person needs to learn from that experience, or because they were acting out of fear and NOT taking the right opportunity. When you take the opportunity, it will be successful. But the process doesn’t end there. There will be another opportunity that will come along to build on the first. It will guide you in a direction you may never have dreamed would be possible for your life. A life of joy and abundance!

Keep your momentum moving by always setting new goals and direction. Just ensure that those goals are things you truly desire in your heart, otherwise you won’t have any motivation. Make it something that you truly want.