Wealth Tip 28: Maui Millionaires™ - Savor the Journey as well as the Accomplishment.

I lived ten years of my life with the single minded focus of playing in the Olympics. It was the dream and goal that defined that era of my life. And I failed.

Oh I’m not talking about the fact that I got injured and wasn’t able to compete in the Olympics, that wasn’t my real failure. The real “failure” was how for the last six years of my dream I kept pushing back the day I would celebrate and enjoy my journey to the precise moment I attained it. I even asked my dad to not come watch me compete until he could see me in the Olympics so that he would see me at my pinnacle moment.

I smile as I share this because I recognize and am so grateful for the lessons this experience taught me. In fact, I wouldn’t trade the lessons and experience back in to get “success” in this dream. What I really learned was that it is a costly mistake to live your life focused on the day your dream comes true. The real juice and joy in life comes when you are actively engaged in your life, dreaming big and playing full out, and enjoying every step along the way. Why only enjoy and celebrate at the top for one transitory moment? Instead savor the journey and drink deeply from the experiences along the way.

I look back and what do I miss most about my hockey days? Two things. I miss playing hockey every day—the training sessions. And I miss how good it felt to be in that kind of elite level physical condition. Funny how these were two of the things I most took for granted and even ignored while I was experiencing them. After all, I had a dream to pursue and no time to waste on the joy of the journey. Sometimes life’s best lessons come wrapped in irony. God’s got to be smiling.

I share this story with you because I want you to remember that as you dream big dreams and go after them with all you’ve got savor the journey. In the end it guarantees you’ll be successful no matter what the outcome.