Five Ways Women Can Make Their Dreams Come True

An underdog who overcame insurmountable obstacles to emerge victorious, Dr. Susan O’Malley’s journey proves that it’s never too late for big dreams and a successful reality.

“If you are bound and determined to reach your goal, you have to roll up your sleeves and do whatever it takes,” says O’Malley, author of the book “Tough Cookies Don’t Crumble: Turn Set-Backs into Success.“

Once a college drop-out and secretary, O’Malley started medical school at 35, six months pregnant and unwed. At 50, she walked away from a career as an ER doctor to open a med spa.

Today she is the owner and medical director of Sonas Med Spa in Madison, CT and a member of the National Speakers Association who speaks to inspire women to reach high and work hard to make their dreams come true.

Here are five tips excerpted from her book on how woman can achieve the life of their dreams:

1. If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. But what if you don’t fit into that mold? Some of us will find our calling in our passion and it will be crystal clear right from the start. Others of us will find it in our pain. You might have been too hurt to embrace the lesson or too young to understand its significance. It’s there for all of us but some of us have to dig deep to find it. If you can’t find your calling in your passion, look to your pain. Trust me—we all have a purpose.
2. Success doesn’t come from a quick fix, it comes from hard work. It’s important to have a positive mindset and it helps to have a dream but it takes work to make your dream come true. Positive affirmations and manifesting miracles aren’t going to get the job done. No amount of meditation and no dream board will ever take the place of work and willpower.
3. The first step to making a positive change in your life is committing to honor your decision.Often we will honor commitments made to others better than we honor commitments made to ourselves. You need to commit to yourself that you will make whatever change you want to make and then honor it.
4. You are the only one who can make a life for you and that doesn’t mean you need to have a college degree and a career. If you decide that being a wife and mother fulfills you—go for it. But you need to make that decision because you want it in your heart and not because there are no other options available. Until you know yourself and what you have to offer, you cannot find or be a great mate.
5. If you want to be successful, you have to play to win. You can sit in the stands and watch, you can stand along the sidelines and give your opinion, you can wander aimlessly on the field hoping for the participation trophy or you can put on a helmet and get in the game. Are you willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish your goal? Are you ready to play to win?

A final word of advice from O’Malley to aspiring tough cookies: “Sometimes, it’s harder to make the decision to change than it is to actually follow through with the plan. Once you honor your own commitment, it will make the follow through a little easier.”