As a child I had boundless energy and a big imagination. Dreaming came easy. Growing up on a dairy farm out in the country, my sister and I spent a lot of time playing outdoors. She and I spent hours playing in the treehouse my Dad built us in our front yard. We pretended we lived there, that is, until Mom called us in for dinner. Rainy days didn’t get us down as we would hide out in the haymow of our barn. It was the perfect place to make forts and find the occasional batch of kittens. We made up all sorts of adventures! We dreamed what we wanted to be when we grew up. On warm blue-sky days, I remember laying with her in the backyard looking up at a sky with fluffy, white clouds and imagining the different types of animals that we saw. “Look, I see a lion.” I would say to my sister. “Where is it?” she would respond, and would try to follow my finger to see what I had imagined in the puffs.
Then as I grew up and the responsibilities that come with adulthood took over, dreams got crowded out by all the to-do’s and have to’s; my work responsibilities, providing for my family, being a good spouse, and a good parent. The list goes on…
It is important to dream. Dreams motivate and inspire us. Dreams help us to visualize where we want to go. They help us achieve our goals. Though I allowed “life” to get in the way of my dreaming for a while, I have been intentional about putting it back. In my leadership group recently, we took time out to Dream Big. We learned how to see and seize big dreams related to our passion and purpose, relationships, and legacy. I am privileged and inspired to coach an amazing group of leaders. Each of them has unique and special dreams with potential to create great impact on their families, their businesses, and the world around them.
Let me share 3 Powerful Steps to Dream Big:
1. Schedule the time and space to dream. Block an appointment with yourself in your calendar to think and dream. Or, schedule an afternoon with your spouse or a friend to spark your imagination and dream together.
2. Create a Dream Map. With a blank sheet of paper, begin writing down a list of your dreams. Ask yourself the questions, “What does my best life look like?” “What am I passionate about?” “What would I love to do, to be, to contribute?
3. Make your dream a reality. Pick one dream that you would like to pursue, and boldly envision it. See it in your mind as something you can accomplish. Then create an action plan, and take the first step.
I encourage you to take time to dream. Each of us has an important calling and it is up to us to discover what that is. There is a special dream inside you that is just waiting to be awakened!
“Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true.” Ralph Waldo Emerson