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Maybe you want to be a writer, because you imagine being featured by Oprah and traveling the world to promote your book on a big publisher's dime. But these are ideals and have little to do with the reality of writing a book. Writing a book is very hard work, and it doesn't end there. Then comes editing, finding a publisher (probably not a big publishing house if you are unknown), and then tirelessly promoting your book using your own money. This is not to discourage you, but to make it clear that you need to be motivated by more than ideals. You need to be passionate about your dream, passionate enough to grit your teeth and push through the hard times, to keep going even when harsh realities hit. Find your passion and analyze whether or not you think that you can achieve it. Try writing your goals down. Which one is the most important to you? Which do you feel most excited or passionate about? Be specific. Saying, "I want to teach" is not very specific. You need to have a goal that is detailed, measurable, and allows you to properly plan. A better goal is, "By 2025 I want to be a professor in English and teach at a college." Think about what skills you might need to accomplish this goal. If you are terrified of public speaking, you will need to work on feeling at-ease speaking in front of large groups of people. Know that this is a skill you will need to work on to achieve your dream. One way to discover your passion and what you really want your life to look like is to visualize your ideal life. Close your eyes and picture your life, or write it on a piece of paper. Try asking yourself questions like: What are you doing for a career? Where are you living? Who is with you? What do you look like? What are you wearing? How do you feel? (Happy? Fulfilled?) You can even try writing out your ideal day, start to finish, starting with what time you wake up. This can give you even more clues about the life you want. Consider how your goal fits into a long-term vision for your life. This should help you to further refine your ambitions. For example, how do you want to live in the future? What kind of work do you want to do? How do you want to spend your time? Take all of these things into account. Let your vision shape your long-term goals. There are a lot of different kinds of colleges, for example. What kind is best suited for you? A big university? A community college? A private, liberal arts school? Weigh advantages and disadvantages. Say that you really don't like big environments; you're more of a small-town girl. Teaching at a private school in a college town would make you feel more comfortable and at home. Maybe you discovered that your ideal day starts with you waking up at 10am. What sort of lifestyle would allow you to do that? Does that fit with your plan to become a teacher? Could you potentially hold all your lectures in the afternoon? A long-term goal can seem impossibly far away or hard to reach, especially if it requires years of work. Many people give up simply because it takes too long or seems too difficult. You need a plan. For starters, break up the task into parts. This will let you focus on each part one at a time, giving you more manageable goals to work towards. To become a professor, you know that you'll have to do a bachelor's degree and then go to graduate school. What other stages will there be? How long will the whole process take? Find out. You will need a plan for each and every smaller stage in your long-term goal. Don't worry that you have to formulate these plans now, all at once. Some will come later. The important thing is that you are organized, know what has to be done, and see how your daily or weekly tasks fit into the larger picture. You see a long road ahead of you in becoming a professor. Break it into smaller parts and plan! Your map might look something like this: Get bachelor's degree in English (4 years); Apply to graduate programs (0-1 years); Do a Master's degree in English literature (2 years); Apply for Ph.D. programs (0-1 years); Do a Ph.D. (3-5 years); Apply widely for teaching jobs.

Summary:
Discover your passion. Imagine your ideal life. Create a long-term vision. Break the vision into stages. Create plans for each stage.