My six-year-old often awakens early and pads into my room to tell me about her dreams, sleep still in her eyes, hair tousled, PJs rumpled. Her dreams are big and wild and vivid – they’re as lively as she is.
This little one fuels those nighttime adventures with her imagination and recounts them with fervor. She’s a storyteller, my girl. I listen to the lilt of her voice and I “ooh” and “ahh” and will myself to hold space for her to explore these invented worlds and all that they hold.
My almost-twelve-year-old tells me about her dreams, too, but not the ones that take shape in her sleep. Instead, she perches on the edge of my bed, or on a kitchen stool, or on the third step of the staircase to capture my attention.
She dreams aloud with bravado and zeal about what her future will hold. She spins tales of the shows she’ll perform on Broadway. She describes the NYC apartment she’ll share with her actor friends. She explains that she will explore Central Park on foot on Saturdays and she will drink IZZE sparkling sodas whenever she wants (!).
In her dreams, her dad and I will own a rambling old house on the water in Maine where she can escape from city life for a bit. (I am unabashedly rooting for this one.) She voices these dreams with confidence and clarity and without a trace of self-consciousness. She underscores them each time with a firm reminder, “It WILL happen, Mom.”
I pray it will, but more than that, I pray she will keep dreaming.
Dreams are exhilarating. They are captivating. They are our lifeblood. 
Without them, we wither on the vine.
But all too often, by the time we’ve grown, we cast aside our dreams. We shelve them for more practical matters like mortgages and groceries and the carpool. We buckle down and get serious. We quiet our dreams if we have them at all. It’s so disheartening.
We need a dream renaissance – a reawakening of our desire to dwell in possibility.
Let’s not settle for LITTLE dreams either. Not things we already know we’re going to do but then label as dreams because we are already 100% sure we will achieve them. That just doesn’t count. That’s like putting a task on your to do list just so you can check it off.
We need to bring BIG dreams back. The kind that capture our grown up imaginations and get our hearts racing. The kind that require leaps of faith. The kind that take or breath away when we envision them actually coming true.
You remember how that feels, right?
So let me ask you.
Are you dreaming big enough?
If not, why not?
I’ll let you in on a secret. If you’re going to dream big, you need someone at your side who can dream even bigger than you. When you’re surrounded by people who can’t see past their current circumstances, you will stay stuck.
So search your circle for someone who will nurture and encourage your dreams instead of throwing a wet blanket on them. If you can’t find that person, then widen your circle. Make room for the dream builders. Let them in.
Then borrow their bravado. Draft their ambition. And raise your expectations of what’s possible.
Your dreams determine your direction. Are you aiming high enough?
IMPORTANT NOTE:
If you need someone in your circle who can help you dream bigger, then we should talk because I’m accepting applications for my Life Design Boot Camp.
The women who have joined so far are dreaming BIG, and I’m helping them put a clearly-defined process in place to give them confidence they’ll actually achieve those dreams. I honestly think it’s the most exciting and rewarding work I’ve ever done. And – guess what – these women are making those dreams a REALITY and doing it QUICKLY! I love it! It shouldn’t be surprising, really – it’s just what happens when you surround yourself with high-impact women who are absolutely ready to build momentum toward their dreams.
If that kind of group sounds like your jam, then take a second to apply for a free strategy session with me using this link – I offer a limited number of these free sessions every month to help people STOP spinning their wheels and START taking action This is your chance to dream BIG with someone who will challenge you to dream even bigger – plus you can see if my program is a good fit for you. If you want to apply for one of the spots, just be sure to get in there before they’re filled because they go quickly. Here’s the link again.
