Earl Nightingale’s 7 Steps to Achieve Your Dreams

Are you having a hard time achieving your dreams? Do you already know what you want but you’re stuck on how you can achieve it?

One way to fast track your success is to learn from people who have already succeeded. One such person is Earl Nightingale, who is considered the father of personal development.

Throughout his life, he has achieved major success for himself and his family, and has also helped the lives of millions of people through his work as a transformational leader and mentor. He is able to achieve his dream of helping the lives of other people, because he lives what he teaches.

Here are seven steps to achieve your dreams that you can learn from the life of Earl Nightingale:

1. Ask Questions, Especially During Tough Times

Even though his father left him, his mother, and two brothers, at an early age Earl Nightingale always asked why other people lived happier, richer lives than his family. This mode of constantly questioning made him focus on how he can change his situation, rather than just sit about and accept his “bad luck”. When you find yourself in a tough situation, ask why is it happening and how can you change the situation.

2. Learn From Successful People Before You

Earl Nightingale is hugely inspired by the books of Napoleon Hill, especially “Think and Grow Rich”. Not only did he start by asking the right questions, Earl Nightingale set about to find the answers. Learning from people who have already done what you want to do or become is one of the keys to living a rich and successful life.

3. Look for Opportunities, Expand Your Horizon

Earl Nightingale expanded his horizons by joining the army. After he finished his service, he saw an opportunity in the radio industry and started a career there, which became the first step towards his career as a motivational speaker. Constantly reinventing yourself is one way to seize profitable opportunities to achieve more wealth.

4. Use Your Talents in a Burgeoning Industry

The radio industry was in it’s hay day when Earl Nightingale started a career there. He moved to the epicenter of the radio business: in Chicago, Illinois. Being part of a lively and robust industry, combined with his natural talent as a speaker, he was able to achieve significant success in record breaking time. You can achieve your dreams easier by using your talents in the right industry.

5. Be Very Productive

Earl became busy with producing his daily radio show. Eventually, throughout his life he produced over 7,000 radio programs. Nobody ever became successful by doing small things in small numbers. You can avoid mediocrity by focusing on what you are good at and being very productive in that field.

6. Practice Innovation to Prepare for the Future

Besides having a busy radio career, Earl Nightingale started a small life insurance agency. Every Saturday he would give motivational pep talks to his sales team that encouraged them and helped them become more successful. Through an innovative step, Earl decided to record his motivational speeches so that the sales team were able hear it when he wasn’t available. By practicing innovation in your life, you ensure that you are always ready to tackle any change the future brings.

7. Practice “We Become What We Think About”

This was the essence of his motivational speech recording – the single most valuable lesson through the life of Earl Nightingale. He became value for other people by helping them understand this lesson also. The recording eventually sold more than a million records. You can be what you want by making sure you focus your thinking on what you want to achieve.

8. Attract a Little Bit of Luck

(or in Earl Nightingale’s case, attract a lot of luck!) Did you know that Earl was aboard the USS Arizona during the Pearl Harbor attack? He was one of the 12 surviving marines from that day. He turned a near-death experience into one that enriched his life by taking a positive attitude and being grateful for every single day of life he was given.

Earl Nightingale was a great man, who dedicated his life to help enrich the lives of millions of people. Although he started from a hard and tough background, by thinking what he wanted to become and practicing the principles of success, he was able to turn any difficult condition into an opportunity for himself.