Category Archives: reaching for the moon

Got a dream? Part 5

I hope you’ve enjoyed so far our discussions of pursuing dreams. Let’s review 1-4 first.

What does it take to pursue your dream?

1. Decision.
2. Commitment.
3. Discipline.
4. Sacrifice.

But it takes one more thing—guts. It takes guts to take a risk. I mean, really, who would have ever thought I could publish a book? Much less leave a job to pursue some wild and crazy dream. It would have been easier to stuff that dream and stay in that dusty classroom. But I took a risk. And believe me, people laughed. Which hurt. There were bumps and ruts and hairpin curves along the way. It wasn’t a ski lift ride to the top I can assure you. Heck, I’m not at the top yet. Maybe I won’t ever be. But I love writing. I love pursuing my dream.

I remember when my son first started fencing. He was five and when I’d asked what he wanted to do–soccer, basketball, baseball–he’d answered with fencing. So first I had to find a fencing club. After his very first lesson, he climbed into the car all hot and sweaty and with a great big grin said, “I’m living my dream!”

My daughter’s experience with singing was not quite the same. She LOVED to sing and she sang everywhere. But by the time she was six or seven she was starting to get shy and wouldn’t sing in front of others. That would be okay except my daughter had a pretty good voice. And she loved to perform. So when she was eight, I forced her (mean mommy that I am) to take singing lessons. She cried every week, saying, “I don’t want to do the recital.” At first I’d say, “Well, it’s seven months away.” But then I finally said, “We’ll get through the recital and then you can quit if you want.” Well, of course, my performing daughter LOVED it. And each year brought more and more confidence until she is really amazing. She makes it look easy now but it wasn’t. It took guts for her to go to voice lessons each week. It took real courage for her to get up on that first stage and sing. I’m so proud of her for even trying. And it takes real courage for my son to put on his fencing equipment and face the blade of another fencer. And yes, it’s a dangerous sport.

There are ups and downs along the way. I’ve achieved a few things and I’ve failed at others. That’s life. My son has won some tournaments and lost some. My daughter has gotten some parts and not others. But we keep trying. It all goes back to that first risk when I decided to be a writer, when they decided to fence and sing.

So are you gutsy or wimpy?

Got a dream?

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(This is a continuation of yesterday’s post: What it takes to go for your dreams)

So you’ve made a decision, right? You’re going to pursue your dream. Or you’re going to find out what that dream is. It all starts with a decision.

But what’s next? So you’re sitting on the couch, checking email, maybe googling how to climb Mt. Everest or where to find local writers groups. But what next? What to do? Don’t get up from the couch just yet. The next thing you need to do is make a commitment.

Yes, I know, you said you made a decision. Yay! That’s great! That’s the first step. But frankly, millions of folks decide on New Year’s Resolutions every January, but it takes more than a decision. It takes a commitment.

You have to push beyond all the questions and doubts and fears. Those are roadblocks that are going to immediately pop up in your path. Here’s a decision I often make: I’m going to get up at five a.m. and write. That is a sure-fire guarantee that one of my kids is going to wake up sick in the night or the cat is going to wake me. If you make a decision, a roadblock is going to immediately pop up and block your way. What are you going to do? Sleep in? Get up anyway? Commitment will get you out of bed when the alarm goes off and you’re muzzy headed and bleary eyed.

Or maybe you have different roadblocks. Maybe your mother just called as if she instinctively knew you made a decision to chase down that ridiculous dream you’ve talked about on and off since you were six. And she sets you straight. “You,” she says, “have responsibilities. You don’t have time to go chase a dream. Forget it. Be responsible.” Maybe pursuing your dream is being responsible to your Maker who planted that dream in your heart.

Or maybe as soon as you made the decision that little voice inside you started talking. Come on, you know the voice. It says, “Who do you think you are? You’re no (fill in the blank—writer, doctor, mountain climber, etc…). You’re too (fill in the blank—stupid, lazy, broke, etc…) to do that!” Don’t listen. Plug your ears, sing, “lalalala” and ignore that voice. It’s been telling you what to do for way too long.

Or maybe you mention your decision to your husband/boyfriend/significant other/best friend and they give you that look. You know, the look that says that’s ridiculous. S/he doesn’t have to say it but you know what s/he’s thinking, “Here goes another hair-brained idea.” Or maybe, “We can’t afford that!” Well, I can’t tell you what to do about your relationships but relationships should be supportive and encouraging. Or maybe that person laughs at your dream. Really, are you going to listen to that person? They’re probably too scared to pursue their own dreams.

Back to the commitment. This is a solemn commitment to yourself as sacred as a marriage vow that you are going to devote time, resources (including money), and courage to pursuing this dream. It’s not for Mom or Dad, hubby or kids, or best friend or worst enemy. This commitment is for you. If you’re a believer then make the commitment to God. I believe God planted that dream in your heart, so give it to Him, commit to follow that dream wholeheartedly. When I decided to write, I quit teaching. Not in the middle of the year. I fulfilled my contract. But I knew I had to commit fully to my dream of writing. Not everyone needs to take that drastic of a step, and you obviously have to figure out a way to feed yourself and live, but I made that commitment. And no, I didn’t have a husband to depend on to make the money for food and housing. I figured out a way to make it work.
Taking that step, I knew there was no going back. So, are you ready to make that commitment? If not, what’s holding you back?

CONTEST:
Make a comment and you’ll be entered for a drawing at the end of the week for a free book!

What it takes to go for your Dreams

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Do you dream of doing something spectacular, something important, something beyond the normal nine-to-five job? Maybe, like me, you dream of writing a book. Maybe you dream of dancing, or painting, or sailing around the world. Maybe you dream of making an impact by helping the homeless or orphans. Or maybe you dream of learning a foreign language, like French. Or maybe you simply dream of losing weight. Everybody dreams of something, even if it only seems like a pie-in-the-sky kind of dream. Whatever your dream is, I believe you can and should reach for your dreams.
Twenty years ago, I decided to quit teaching and become a writer. Twenty years! I can’t believe this is the anniversary year of that pinnacle decision. It changed my life in so many ways. So after pursuing my dream for 20 years, and publishing many books, I hope I have a little bit of knowledge from the hard knocks I’ve suffered and the mountains I’ve managed to climb to offer you hope and encouragement on your journey, whether that’s writing or climbing Mt. Everest.
One thing I’ve learned: sitting around and dreaming will not put you on the path to making that dream a reality. You have to get up, you have to take tiny steps forward in chasing down that dream.
The first year I taught school, there was a teacher two doors down from my classroom. She’d been teaching thirty years. The same grade. The same classroom. Now, don’t get me wrong. Teaching is a noble profession. I admire teachers. I was one. But teaching was not my dream. For some, that is their dream and I honor that. The fact was: I didn’t know then what my dream was. And maybe you don’t either. But maybe you simply feel like: what if there’s more…what if I’m missing out on something. That’s how I felt when I thought of myself in the same classroom for thirty years. One person’s dream can also be another person’s nightmare. So teaching the same grade for thirty years scared me more than the risk of trying to find what my dream might be. So during my five years of teaching, I tried to figure out what my dream might be.
So if you don’t know what your dream is, fine. Simply commit to finding out what your dream is so you can pursue it. If you do know what your dream is, then decide today that you’re going to go for it. Because that’s the first step in pursuing your dream: making a decision.
Over the next few days, I’m going to tell you the five things it takes to pursue your dream. So today, the number one thing you need to do is: make a decision. No one can decide for you. No one can push you into it. That’s why you see kids rebelling when their parent decides they should be a football player (or cheerleader or sorority member) like the parent was. Sometimes parents push their kids into their own professions, like being a doctor or dentist or even a writer. But that desire has to come from within you. It can’t be external any more than a doctor saying, “you need to stop smoking or eating fried foods.” So the patient might attempt to stop smoking or to eat healthy but until that desire throbs within their own heart it won’t work. You simply have to decide you’re going to pursue your dream.
Twenty years ago, I made a decision to become a writer. I didn’t know anything about writing. I didn’t know anything about the business. I didn’t know anyone IN the business. I simply had a dream. And I made a decision. Are you ready to make that decision?
If you don’t know, it’s okay you can just say you don’t know but you’re going to find out. Resolve to find out. Maybe we’ll discover it together. Or if you know your dream, then decide today before it’s too late to pursue that dream. So what’s your dream?

Contest: I’m going to be giving away a book at the end of the week. To enter, just post a comment on my blog here. You can enter as many times as you would like.