Most of us know what we really want to do in life, but just haven’t pursued it because we are too attached to the comfort, safety or simplicity of our routines. However, if you truly want to grow and empower yourself to actualize your innermost dreams and capabilities, you must get to a point in life where commitment supersedes comfort. Here are five tips that will help you stay totally committed to a clear goal you’ve set, whether the goal is to make a career change to freelance writing in six months or build up your online income to $3,000 per month by the end of the year.

1. Desire hard

Napoleon Hill, in his classic book, Think and Grow Rich, says: "The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desires bring weak results, just as a small amount of fire makes a small amount of heat." You need to deeply desire the actualization of your goal to make it happen. Sure, there will be good days and bad days along the way. There will also be times when you question your decisions and future, but if you can picture yourself achieving your goal and you reallly want to achieve it, chances are high you will stay committed to and achieve the goal. Miracles happen when you throw yourself fully into what you want to achieve.

2. Plan well

Stephen Covey, author of the best-selling book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, says: "All things are created twice. There's a mental or first creation, and a physical or second creation of all things. You have to make sure that the blueprint, the first creation, is really what you want, that you've thought everything through. Then you put it into bricks and mortar. Each day you go to the construction shed and pull out the blueprint to get marching orders for the day. You begin with the end in mind." You must plan well and map out the route to follow in order to accomplish your goals. Needless to say, the beaten adage still remains true: “Failing to plan, is planning to fail.”

3. Invest wisely

Deb McAlister-Holland, a freelance marketing professional in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, says the $5,000 she spent remodeling her home office was the best thing she ever did to realize her freelance dream and increase her productivity. "I love my home office. It has a big leather sofa, three walls covered with built-in bookshelves and storage cabinets, dedicated circuits for my computers, special lighting, and a soft hand-woven rug on the floor that's the perfect spot for my dog to nap while I work," she says. It’s important to arm yourself with the tools and knowledge you need to realize your dream. Arming yourself with the right tools and knowledge calls for wise investing?a material and immaterial effort that compels you stay true to your goal.

4. Sacrifice wholly

George Santayana, 20th century philosopher, poet, essayist and novelist, says: “Nothing so much enhances a good as to make sacrifices for it.” And he is right. A key sign that you are totally committed to something is when you are willing to make sacrifices for it. Army officers literary sacrifice their lives because they wholly believe and are committed to the greater good. Top-level athletes train and practice countless hours every day because they believe they can do better. If you believe in and are fully committed to your goal and mission, you will be willing to sacrifice. Step out of your comfort zone and trod the rocky path toward the realization of your dream.

5. Review regularly

Diana Scharf Hunt, renowned author and time-management guru, says: “Goals are dreams with deadlines.” Review your goal regularly to make sure you are making progress in the right sequence of time. Don’t allow your goal to fall by the wayside or let it be overtaken by time. Document everything and assess what you need to do to make things happen. If you are not making progress, tap into a support group to ensure you get all the help you need to realize your goal.

• How to Stay Committed to Long Term Goals
• 3 Steps to Easy and Effective Goal-setting

• How you spend your time is more important than how you spend your money. Money mistakes can be corrected, but time is gone forever.
• Follow @GoalsOnTrack on Twitter for more similar tweets.