My husband and I had been working toward a long-term goal for several years. Every so often, when the vision started to fade, we’d sit down to check in with each other. We’d ask: Is this goal still important? Do we need to refocus our efforts? These check-ins helped us reimagine the outcome—what it would look like, how it would feel, even what stage of life our kids would be in when we got there. Each time, the conversation reignited our excitement and reminded us why we started in the first place.

But eventually, I sensed we were drifting off course. So I carved out some time to reconnect with the vision myself. I dove deeper into the details—what success would look and feel like—and let myself fully experience the joy of its completion. Then, during a date night, I brought it up. Together, we refined our vision again. It didn’t move us physically any closer to the goal, but it did reignite my sense of purpose—and strengthened my belief that unseen forces were already aligning resources and opportunities in our favor.

Sometimes, all it takes is a shift in focus to feel more successful right now.

The more time you spend in that mindset, the more energy you feel—and the more brilliant your ideas become. As Dave Ramsey puts it, achieving big goals often requires “gazelle intensity”—a laser-sharp focus that refuses to get distracted. I’ve lived that kind of intensity before. It’s demanding, but incredibly energizing. It’s often led to success, and deep down, I believe no major goal can be achieved without it.

That said, I’ve also reached extraordinary milestones by taking a softer approach—holding a clear vision, feeling it as though it’s already real, and then moving forward at a steady, sustainable pace. Both methods work. But because our goal had been in progress for five years with very little to show for it, I felt it was time to buckle down again. So, we had another check-in—and came out of it more focused and committed than ever.

Then, just a few days later, my husband started talking about a truck he wanted. He described the size, the style, and how he imagined making it happen. But I couldn’t share his excitement. I thought, Didn’t we just recommit to our original goal? I couldn’t understand how he could so quickly shift his focus, and it left me feeling discouraged—like our shared dream had lost its place.

Eventually, we talked it out. He told me he wasn’t planning to buy the truck—he was just “trying it on.” He was imagining it, feeling it out, playing with the idea.

That simple distinction was a revelation to me.

He wasn’t abandoning our shared goal—he was just daydreaming. And that helped me realize there are two kinds of dream-building:

The first is what I call Daydreaming—the playful, exploratory process of imagining possibilities and feeling them out. You gather ideas, test how they feel, and let your vision evolve. It’s an important part of goal-setting—but on its own, it lacks the commitment required to guarantee results.

The second is what I call Staking Your Claim—choosing a goal and committing to it with full intention. It’s like planting a stake in the ground or firing an arrow into a bullseye and tying a string to it—no matter how far off course you wander, the string keeps pulling you back. That’s the kind of focus that makes things happen.

Understanding this difference brought us both clarity. My husband reassured me that our shared goal had already been claimed. The truck? Just a passing thought. Both exercises—daydreaming and staking a claim—have their place. But they serve different purposes. Daydreaming sparks creativity and adds richness to the vision. Staking a claim turns that vision into a mission.

It’s essential not to confuse the two. Success isn’t inevitable if all you do is daydream. At some point, you have to make the decision, claim the goal, and begin moving toward it with purpose.

So let’s break down the two kinds of Dream Building:

Day Dreaming: Envisioning yourself experiencing the goal as though it’s already done. One day you picture one thing, the next day it might shift. Whenever you entertain a dream, all the pieces required to bring it about begin to gather. But if you change your mind or decide you don’t really need it, the energy begins to scatter.

Staking Your Claim: Also envisioning yourself at the finish line, but with a firm commitment to see it through. It looks the same as Day Dreaming on the outside—but internally, you’ve made a decision. You reject failure. You refuse to give attention to anything that threatens to derail your focus.

Interestingly, you can reach a goal by simply Day Dreaming, even without firm resolve—as long as you don’t abandon the idea before it manifests. Day Dreaming only becomes fruitless when you constantly second-guess or change your mind.

And sometimes, when the need is urgent, Day Dreaming becomes Staking Your Claim without you even realizing it—because you know what you need, and your visualization is laser-focused on finding the solution fast.

In fact, just recently, I had this exact experience. I had spent two whole days trying to reconcile my bank account. I was off by $25.77 and no matter how many times I checked the math, I couldn’t find the problem. I feel like I wasted a whole lot of time with no progress. There was obviously a bug in the program, because I only had 42 transactions selected, but the total at the top of the page said there were 44 transactions selected. Customer support was closed, so I nursed my headache and planned to call them in the morning.

The next morning, I got an email from one of our Mindset Mastery participants. She had just completed two successful experiments in one day, and it reminded me of the power of visualization. So I stopped, pictured the reconcile page with a green checkmark and a big “ZERO” in the discrepancy field, and thought, “Okay, here we go.”

Thirty seconds later, I found the two rogue transactions from over six months ago that had been throwing off the whole balance. After two days of frustration, it was solved in less than a minute.

That’s the power of visualizing success and feeling it done.

I wish I had understood this distinction 25 years ago. We were taught to Dream Build—to imagine better circumstances and see ourselves in happier places. So we’d go to the home shows. We’d test drive cars. We’d picture lavish vacations and fulfilling relationships.

But all it did was make me feel worse. Because we were only Day Dreaming—we had no idea how to protect those seeds. We’d plant them, then dig them up in frustration. We’d envision what we wanted, then get angry that it wasn’t true.

Now, I know exactly what I’m doing when I visualize. I know I’m planting a seed—and I know how to let it grow.

If you want to go deeper, I highly recommend reading Hidden Treasures—it’s free, and it goes into the principles behind this process in more detail.

For me, about 90% of my mental exercises are Day Dreaming. Less than 10% are Staking a Claim. And that’s okay—some goals take time to refine. Sometimes you have to discover whether the thing you want is really right for you. Not everything that glitters leads to lasting joy. It takes just as much Rare Faith to pursue treasures in heaven as it does to pay your bills when money is tight. But the more you practice Rare Faith with your daily needs, the more confidence you'll have to follow divine guidance in every area of your life.

So be honest with yourself:

When you imagine success, are you just Day Dreaming—or are you Staking Your Claim?

If you haven’t seen the results you want, maybe it’s time to step up and make that quality decision. Yes, it’s scary. What if it doesn’t work? What if you fail? What if you give your all and come up short?

I get it. But I promise, the principles are true. You don’t have to take my word for it. You can test them for yourself.

And if you’d like help learning how to stake your claim effectively, take a look at Mindset Mastery—it’s how we got our start with all of this.

“We put [it] to the test for one week. I [did as we were taught] for $2,000 dollars… I had just lost my job the week before and our current balance in the account was $100 dollars… We had no idea where $2,000 dollars could come from but felt if there was ever a test this would be it. …As soon as a despairing thought came in my mind like 'How can you get another $1,000 dollars in just one day, I would [do as you taught]…' On the last day of the test my wife called me … the test was a success because, the goal was achieved and ‘…God is never late’. Thanks again for helping me learn the missing piece.” —Chris Pierson

“My wife and I found Leslie ... in 2006 when our lives were shattered. We excitedly worked through the 15-week program and saw immediate changes in our lives. We repeated the second half of the course to solidify the teachings. We saw success in many areas of our lives as we applied the principles we learned. We made $100,000 in a network marketing business. I used these principles to discover my true passion and purpose in life and against incredible odds was hired in my dream job competing with more than a thousand other qualified applicants. We used these principles to find a beautiful home that we now live in. We continue to achieve our dreams and goals because we now know how. Success is predictable!” —Ken and Debbie Carroll, Sandy, Utah

Now is a perfect time of year to make some quality decisions for your future.

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•   To discover how to start choosing more effectively now, read The Jackrabbit Factor (FREE!)  
•   If you want more step-by-step guidance on creating the life you really want, join me in the Mindset Mastery program.
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