When I was a little girl, my parents told me I could be anything I wanted to be. I wanted to be a singer and later I decided I wanted to teach. I studied a subject I loved, fell in love with the experience of living in a far away land, and spent many years in education trying to combine my preferred subject with my preferred profession. But somehow I was never able to make the two meet. I joined the workforce, embracing it and pursuing it with excitement and vigor, determined that I would climb to the top. I discovered something very interesting, for the first time in my life. I discovered the commonality of our experiences. I finally saw how we were all trying to accomplish the same thing. We were all doing the best we could to provide for our families and our lifestyles, all the while trying to find some pride and meaning in the work we do each day.
Inspiring others to tap into their fullest potential and accomplish goals they once believed to be impossible is my passion.
As a teacher, I didn’t want to teach the subject. I would always say that was just the vehicle. I wanted to inspire greatness in others. I wanted to plant seeds in those who were willing to receive them and nourish them as they rose to discover their fullest potential. I wanted to be the cheerleader for the future, for their futures. I have a deep-seated belief that giving back is what makes the world go round.
I believe that living inside a situation where the dominating principle is that you have to show up, give your greatness away and go home seems like a waste of talent. There is so much talent untapped, because it doesn’t fit the production model. In my experience, we don’t know what we don’t know and we will never find what we don’t attempt to discover. If we do not try something new, we do not discover greatness. However, the traditional way of thinking seems to be, we have always done it this way, if it isn’t broke, why fix it? My answer, the greatest innovators we celebrate are the ones who never asked that question. In fact, they did the opposite. They pursued ridiculous ideas that people deemed crazy, like flying, regardless of others insistence on its lunacy and impossibility. In the face of adversity, they relentlessly pursued their vision, adjusting it as necessary, based on their numerous attempts and failures until they saw it through. What if we all lived like that? Regardless of our job title, what if we all pursued life with that sort of dedication, faith and vigor? What would our world look like? What would your life look like? How would that feel?
The greatest challenge you face to rendering you free to pursue your wildest dreams is defining that dream, honing in on your vision and believing in your ability to bring it to fruition. I am sure you are familiar with the saying “You can accomplish anything you set my mind to.” To this I would simply add, “as long as you believe in your vision and your ability to make it a reality.” I have accomplished many things in my life that I would have once deemed impossible. It all started with committing to the vision and beginning to work to make it a reality.
Tell me, what is your wildest dream? Do you believe in yourself enough to make it a reality? What would it take for you to believe it was possible? What would it take for you to try? Anything can be possible, but it all begins with the dream. So dream big!