Time To Take Your Dream Off The Shelf

What do you want? 

Not like “I want pizza for dinner.” or “I want a raise." 

What would you want if you knew you couldn’t fail? 

Sometimes I’ll have a day of coaching where there’s a theme. I talk to several different clients who have their own sets of unique goals and road blocks and hurdles - but they are all battling the same exact thing in that moment…and it BLOWS MY MIND. It happened a few days ago. Each of these clients really wanted something to happen in their lives. A deep desire. DEEP. And each of them was stopping themselves from admitting that true desire. They could barely even mutter the words to me. They were saying things like “Well, I guess I hope that happens - but I’m not sure it will…” or “If I’m lucky enough to have this happen…” (Honey, luck has very little to do with it. You have a lot more to do with it than luck.) 

With each client, we pulled it apart, and every single one of them REALLY wanted whatever they were talking about. But they felt like they needed to protect themselves just in case it didn’t happen.  

Our society has trained us not to desire anything that feels mildly out of reach because OMG WHAT IF WE FAIL???? The fear of declaring something out loud and then not having it happen is paralyzing for many. And so, we end up stopping ourselves before we even start. (Newsflash: Failure means you’re trying new things and learning what doesn’t work so that you can do better next time. So fail away. Fail big and then fail bigger. Fall flat on your face - just get back up, figure out what you learned, and then start again.)

Do you really want to spend your days wondering if this is all there is? Do you really want to go through life with a secret desire to do something more? Do you really think that you’re going to feel any less disappointed if something you really want doesn’t happen, just because you don’t admit it out loud? We can pretend, but in the depths of our soul, it will hurt if it doesn’t work out. You do not have the ability to cushion that fall. You can pretend, but the hurt will be there. Sometimes, life hurts. Disappointment hurts. But I promise you, it will hurt so much more if you don’t even try. I can speak from experience - the years I spent keeping myself safe were the most painful years I’ve ever lived. 

At the end of the day, the question is this: What do you want your legacy to be? 

You have gifts that are yours alone. You have a purpose in this world. That deep burning desire is leading you in that direction - stop and listen for a minute. What is it wanting to tell you? What is it wanting for you? And what’s on the other side of looking deeper into it? 

On the other side of the should’s and the can’t there’s a world of possibility. Want to meet me there and we can play outside the box? 

I'll be waiting...