Dreams start the journey; systems finish it.
Have you seen the movie The Terminator starring Arnold Schwarzenegger?
The movie introduces Arnold as the Terminator, a relentless cyborg assassin. In the plot, in the future, humanity is at war with machines led by an AI called Skynet. The terminator has a mission and will do anything to do it.
Arnold Schwarzenegger had fewer than 20 lines in the whole movie. One line became legendary: “I will be back.” He had the iconic look. He wore a black leather jacket and sunglasses at night. His walk was slow and deliberate, with robotic movements.
We all wanted to be like him.
Back then we had no way of knowing more about the actors than what we saw in the movies.
Years went by, and the internet became common in many cafés. One of the first things I searched for online was Arnold Schwarzenegger. I learned something deep: Arnold played the Terminator so well because it mirrored his own life.
The Terminator had a mission to do and did everything necessary to succeed. In real life, Arnold followed a similar path by setting clear goals and working tirelessly to reach them.
He was a young ambitious man in Austria. He joined the military. One day, he saw Reg Park on TV winning bodybuilding competitions. And he felt inspired to be like him.
He set a goal to be a bodybuilder like his role model, then leave Austria to go to Hollywood and become an actor.
The movie *The Terminator* came out on October 26th 1984, seven years before I was born.
I watched the movie eighteen years later. I paid fifty Tanzanian shillings to enter a dark room. They hid it and covered it with curtains and carpets. Broken chairs and falling benches cluttered a small TV.
The fact I watched the movie Terminator it meant his dream came true. To me that was a fascinating process. Be inspired by someone, create a goal, and achieve it. It seemed the best way to approach life.
Over eighteen years have passed since I achieved my first goal in life. I wrote it in a diary and studied it with great attention, inspired by Arnold Schwarzenegger. During my last year at Pugu Secondary School, I created my first goal and wrote it down: “to attend the University of Dar es Salaam.”
I set that goal because my cousin attended that university a few years back. Like Arnold, I had my first goal.
I had more reasons to study hard. I felt excited to find out how to get into that university. I focused on the entry criteria, the right courses, and more. Whenever I had free time, I would take a bus to the University. I liked seeing the accomplished and lucky students there.
Three years later, I was a student at the University of Dar es Salaam, studying for a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance. I had accomplished my first goal. I remembered Arnold’s first goal, to win the Mr. Universe title.
At the time, this was one of the most prestigious bodybuilding competitions in the world. It was the same title his role model, Reg Park, had won.
I then created a few extra goals at the University to prove if the method really worked. I said I wanted to have my own car before my graduation, in my third year. I wanted to have a job immediately after graduating. I had a goal to create my first company before graduating too.
A week before my graduation day, I had my first car, a red Toyota Celica, imported from Japan. I had a contract with one of the Big Four auditing firms, PwC, and I had a company, or rather, a startup.
To me it meant that setting goals has a significant impact on life. Arnold won five Mr. Universe titles and seven Mr. Olympia titles in his body building career . He starred in over forty Hollywood movies. He even became the Governor of California.
I was so excited to tell everyone about the importance of having goals in life. But then I realised that many people would come up with goals and be excited. A few months down the line they would lose that motivation and stop.
I have seen that in my siblings, friends, relatives and even strangers. It made me curious about why it works for some people and doesn’t work for others. I wondered what made me work harder with goals than when I didn’t have them.
That curiosity made me explore more about goals, and then I landed on the concept of systems. Arnold did not merely set goals or dreams. What he created were not just goals.
Dreams and goals mean nothing on their own. You need a system.
Arnold started with a dream, then broke it down into goals and ended up creating a system. To win Mr. Universe, he had to train three times a day, eat a lot, and learn everything he could about the tournament.
He had to show up, even when he was tired, sick, unmotivated, or late. The military threatened to throw him out, but he still had to be there.
To land a job before graduation, I needed to learn about the top employers. I reviewed their past interviews and practiced for the aptitude test. I also attended every career day I could find.
I missed some classes and quizzes. I also lost time to watch movies, hang out with friends, and play football matches I really wanted to join.
I started because of my dream and goal. I kept going due to the system I built.
Here is the best approach.
The best foundation of any system is still the dream and the goal. You can dream about anything but it won’t matter unless you turn them into goals. Here is what I find to be a more practical way to create goals, inspired by the late Jim Rohn
List all your wishes, fantasies and dreams.
Choose fifty wishes, fantasies and dreams that you would go for if you had the chance.
Trim that list down to the first sixteen that you can start in the next five years.
Break those sixteen goals down into four groups. Have four wishes or dreams that would likely take five years to do. Have four wishes or dreams or fantasies that would likely take three years to do. Have four goals that would take one year to accomplish. Have the last four goals that would take a few weeks or months to accomplish.
Then comes the most important part. For each of those sixteen goals, try to answer the following questions.
Why do you want to accomplish that wish, dream or fantasy?
Why not try to accomplish that wish, dream or fantasy and see where life leads?
Why not be the one to try to accomplish them?
Why not now?
There are some things where the why is so strong that you would immediately ask, “Why not now?”
Once you spread your sixteen goals over five years, the practical side of life begins. You need to create a system around your goals.
You need to build daily habits and an environment where those habits can thrive. Maintain this system as long as it takes to achieve your wishes, goals, or dreams.
These habits are the daily activities that will lead you to achieve those goals.
To win a bodybuilding competition, Arnold first had to live like a bodybuilder. He had to train daily, eat well, study the sport, and rest.
He dived into bodybuilding by reading every magazine he could find and watching related TV shows. He also committed to a rigorous training schedule, working out like a professional two or three times a day.
He did that until he won the competition.
Once he decided what he wanted to achieve, he focused on the daily system he needed to follow. Some days he was not motivated, but he had to work out because the system required it.
Some days he was busy, but the system urged him to find time to read and learn about bodybuilding. Some days he felt discouraged about not making it, but his system urged him to work out and rest.
And he did the same with acting in Hollywood. He created a system that would help him become the actor we all know. He had to learn how to act, study accents, and train his body for potential roles.
When I created the wish, goal or fantasy of having the car before my graduation, I didn’t have any job or business. I had to pick a dream car, find the price and find ways to save, ask, beg, earn or borrow to get it.
I started some businesses that would give me extra profit to help buy the car, but the businesses failed. I asked for help from many people; some helped, while others rejected me.
I tried saving my pocket money at university, sometimes it worked and other times it didn’t. I borrowed from my friends and others; some gave it to me and others refused.
But before graduation, I had the car.
I attended over twenty interviews in two months while at university. Sometimes, I had them in the middle of exams. This followed a long period of sending out CVs; while some employers rejected my applications, others invited me to meet.
I have read dozens of books and articles about interviews; some I understood and some I didn’t. I called a lot of people to ask for inside information, favours and connections in the workplaces. Some answered my calls, others hung up, and some even blocked me.
I did not stop because I had a system to follow after I committed myself to that goals. Every day, my system pushed me to do a few things. I read about jobs and interviews. I sent my CV to someone. I reminded others about the CV I sent. I also practised interview questions for any upcoming interviews.
When I had a goal to build muscles and have a six-pack I created a system. Every day after University classes, I would go to the University gym, stretch, work out two muscle groups then play soccer.
I had to make sure every day I ate a lot of protein especially from eggs, bananas and chicken. I had to make sure I drank a lot of water and rested a lot. I also had to go on YouTube a lot and watch as many videos as I could about weightlifting.
I also asked many questions to Teacher Swai, the official trainer from the university. He had a lot of muscles, too. I also consulted several other students who were experienced in weightlifting.
And that system wanted me to do that until I achieved the goal. I had to do that when I left classes and exams. I had to do that when I was tired. I had to do that when I didn’t have so much cash to buy chickens and eggs. I had to do that when Teacher Swai was not there. It was a system I had to follow.
Whenever I noticed that I was not following my systems,I realized that I would never achieve my dream. And that reminded me why I wanted that dream in the first place. When my why was so strong I found myself immediately coming back to my system.
I learnt that sometimes life would happen, and I would skip my system for a day or two. But I was more likely to succeed when I pushed myself to never let more than three days pass without following my system.
I have been using the same system for more than eighteen years now and I will continue using it forever. I find it practical and relevant for achieving any goal.
Here is how it works, this is what you have to do to fulfill your dreams, wishes or fantasies:
List all your wishes, fantasies and dreams you want to come true while you are alive, or even after you are gone.
Pick the best fifty to start with.
From the fifty you want to start, pick the top sixteen that matter most to you right now.
Break down those sixteen goals based on the estimated timeframes, from weeks to five years.
It is recommended that you have four goals that you can accomplish within weeks or months.
Select another four for your one-year targets, followed by four for the three-year mark. The final four goals should be those you aim to achieve within five years.
For each wish, fantasy or dream, take the time to ask yourself these questions:
Why do you want to fulfil that wish, dream or fantasy?
Why not try to accomplish your wish, dream, or fantasy and see where life leads?
Why not be the one to try to accomplish it?
Why not now?
Once you are comfortable with that, then create a system for each goal
Create habits and to-do lists that you will need to do every day or weekly until you reach your goals.
Always push yourself to follow that system, no matter your energy, motivation, problems, or distractions. When disruptions occur and you skip a day or two, you should promise yourself to get back to the system as soon as you can.
The best rule is to promise never to go more than three days without following your system.
In pursuit of my writing goal, I have promised to never let more than three days pass without writing something to share. I have promised myself to never go more than three days without a workout, even if it means walking or stretching.
Be careful not to be too ambitious when working on your system. It’s easy to get carried away when you’re motivated. You can do things faster, bigger or stronger, but not sustainably.
People create a goal or have a wish to be fit, usually overweight people wanting to lose weight. They buy new workout gear, pay for gym memberships, and say “New Year, New Me.” But by mid-January, many return to their old habits.
These people created a system that overwhelmed them and was not sustainable. It is easier to start walking three times a week, then transition to daily sessions. From there, you can increase your pace or distance before finally adding running or gym workouts.
And when you are motivated, go to the gym. When you are busy, go for a walk. But overall you are still following the system.
It is okay to have dreams and goals, but life happens when you follow your system, consistently.
Until then,
Think Deeply. Live Deliberately.