It seems you can’t read a blog post or an inspirational article without hearing someone mention taking a leap of faith or about how they just decided one day to make their dream their focus and to just do it.
If you are anything like me I used to wonder when they found the time? Did they work a full time job? Were the independently wealthy or living off an inheritence? There was actually a time in my life when I thought focusing on your dream meant that was all you had to focus on and I could not see a way to make all these big plans I had running around in my head a reality while still punching a time clock.
Then, one night over drinks on the porch with my husband I found myself saying that I was making my dreams a priority and it didn’t matter to me if I had to get a job nights and weekends-I was still going to focus on this dream whether it paid $500 a year of $500,000-this was what I wanted for me! I followed that statement up with, “And any job will just be the thing that allows me to focus on my dream not something that takes me away from it.”
He looked at me smiled, and didn’t say anything.
He’s good like that.
Of course, I was having a flash back to conversations that occured on the same porch where, after a very poignant bitch vest by yours truly about how much I hated my job and how it took me away from doing what I loved, he had said, “you just need to see it as the thing that allows you to do what you love.”
I believe my response was a waive of my hand as I could not even begin to acknowledge such nonsense and I went back to bitching.
And while I cannot be sure I believe I went to bed that night dreaming of the day when the stars and moon would align and allow me to focus on what I really loved.
In case you find yourself still sitting on the porch in my last example let me share with you some harsh realities:
The stars and the moon never align.
If you love something, if it is truly your calling, your passion, your drive-you do it. Period.
You stay up late and do it, you get up early and do it, you eat lunch in your car and do it-you make sure you fit it in because it matters TO YOU!
Of course we don’t right? It is so much easier to push aside the things that matter to us, the things we dream about at night or keep tucked away in the back corners of our mind hoping someday the world will wake up and realize that we are worth having the time to focus on these things are so very important.
We dream about the day when our dedication and hard work will pay off and we will finally be allowed to live the life we want and deserve. We look with longing at the blogs of people who talk about how they made the leap and are now doing it! And we sigh and paint pictures of what they must have that we don’t:
“She musn’t have a mortgage, 2 kids, a husband, a sick family member, credit card debt, bad health, a demanding boss, etc. etc.”
We instead paint the picture of someone who life has gifted with the opportunity to do what she wants.
And we feel like victims of our own circumstances.
I am here to tell you that we are not victims of our circumstances but rather we are the creators of them. If there is a dream you hold within yourself you need nothing more than what you already have to take a step towards making it a reality. And it’s easier to do than you might think.
We have all heard that the journey of a 1,000 miles begins with a single step but let’s apply that to making your dream a reality.
I look at my daughter who is just over 1 year old. She hasn’t started walking yet-preferring to crawl around and stand and practice her balance. If you were to fast forward 20 years perhaps she is a prima ballerina performing in New York City Ballet. Yet today she is still working on finding her balance and her confidence to take that first step on her own. If she knew what she was working towards it would be overwhelming to think about all she has to accomplish between now and then but none of it makes that first step less neccessary.
If your dream is to write and have a novel published (one of my dreams) what is the one thing you can do today to make that happen? If you haven’t started a book that’s a great place to begin but I would urge you to go as small as possible. Forget how many words it has to be, or how to find an agent or how many hours a day it will take or how many months, years. Just write a word. Then a sentence. Maybe a page.
Do it every day.
Whatever your dream is, stop for a moment and think of one thing you can do today to move it forward. Can you find out if that domain name is available? Can you search out and find one supplier for that boutique you want to open and you look at what types of paint work best for the painting you hope to create.
Can you pick up a “How To” book at the library?
Can you make a list of what you need to do?
Do not let circumstances or in reality, fear, keep you from making your dreams a reality now! The truth is once you start making time for what really matters and calls to you-the universe recognizes this and you will be surprised how the stars and moon look so much different to you.
I look forward to reading your success stories!
I think you hit the nail on the head there Michelle. I think that to follow your dreams there has to be some sort of support there, whether from family, friends, financial but mainly from yourself. The support that comes with beleiving in yourself is key to following your dreams!
Thanks for this post!
Thank you Petrea!