Everyone has aspirations. People dream of travelling exotic places, having different careers, associating with diverse groups of people, and becoming things they know are impossible. But for many, those dreams remain thus: as dreams, thoughts of a fantasy world that are unreachable and impossible to achieve. When, in fact, their dreams are waiting to be discovered.

But there is the problem: your dreams are waiting. And so are you. Whether you are waiting for some sign that you are supposed to do something, waiting for someone to motivate you, or simply waiting for the weather to be nice, you might find yourself sometimes waiting on your dreams to come to you.

You make your dreams. People can tell you that you should become something, to do your job, to complete certain tasks, and to have an assignment in by a certain date. Those are all necessary to keep moving forward in life. But you are allowed to be a forward thinker while still not being consistently tied down in the future.

Some of the greatest athletes in history had simple things they would do to remind themselves of their dreams, aspirations and goals. They would look at a sign every single morning to motivate themselves to work even harder than they did the day before. They might read a note they wrote themselves to remind them what they are working towards. They live in the present, but they never forget what they are working toward in the future.

When I asked some of my friends what they thought is the biggest road block to people achieving their dreams, the majority of answers revolved around one theme: the self. Fear of failure, mindset, self-doubt, and an overreliance on others for motivation all have to do with your outlook and perception on life.

So my two biggest suggestions are this: learn to be an active dreamerand learn the skill of self-motivation.

What is an active dreamer? Active dreamers are those athletes that never look past an opponent, but always have that thought in the back of their mind that they are playing for that championship at the end of the season. Those students that never overlook a test, but always have that thought in the back of their mind that they are working toward graduation day and receiving that diploma.

Self-motivation is key. We are the biggest road block to achieving our dreams. Realize that someone else is not always going to be there to motivate you to do something, and that you might have to wake up an hour early some days to get work done. Sometimes that’s all it takes. If you can find a way to motivate yourself every morning to live and work toward achieving your dreams, you are living life. So go live today.