A Lesson in Dream Catching

  In the world that we live in there are so many people that feel as if they are unable to fulfill their dreams. In the culture that we live in we are told that we can fulfill our dreams, but too often the steps seem too daunting and impossible to overcome. We tell our children and the upcoming generation that they can achieve anything, but unfortunately through our actions we show them that we don't believe in our own dreams enough to make them a reality. 

Over the summer break I was able to take a trip to Disneyland, which is honestly a place that reminds me that it ok to believe in the impossible and to create an environment that allows you to fulfill your wildest dream. Every time I walk down Main Street my observations go into hyper drive. The amazing format of the park; seeing the iconic castle in the distance, along with the large Matterhorn maintain. As I tour through the park I am always overwhelmed by the amount of imagination, extensive planning and execution of said plan it took to create this momentous dream.

I love walking through the streets of Disneyland due to the simple revelation that it is possible to achieve the impossible. In other words; dreams do come true! While many times we are told that you only have to wish upon a star for your dreams to come true, we quickly learn as we get older that it takes hard work and a lot of planning in order to reach and achieve our shows. 

As I walk though the glorious park that was created by Walt Disney, I continuously think of the most common steps that are taken when striving to succeed at our dream. I have recently comprised a list that influences me to keep fighting for my dreams.
 
1.) Know your Dream- Many times we strive for greatness in our lives, but rarely do we even fully know their dreams well enough to effectively chase and fulfill their dream. When we dream about our future, we don't fully meditate and allow the dream to fully blossom in our minds and in our hearts. I have soon realized when we neglect the growth and development of our dream we don't fully understand our dream therefore we can effectively create a plan that will help us chase our dream.
 
2.) Make a Plan- What good is it to dream about the future and create a scenario in of the desired outcome in our mind if we never intent to develop a plan that will begin to set the foundation for the fulfillment of that dream? None!  If we have a desired outcome, we must be willing to create a plan that we will actually follow in order to reach our fullest potential. I can speak from experience when I tell you that thought without action are futile and ultimately ineffective. As our plan begins to open and expand before our eyes, we must fight the fear that often follows.

When we finally decide to sit down and create our master plan that will lead us to fulfilling our dream, we must also remember to dream BIG! I am constantly reminded of this as I stroll through the made up universe that is Disneyland. I am reminded that Walt Disney did not minimize or resize his dreams in order to fit into an already determined box size. It is as though he did the complete opposite: he created a world that fully encompassed all that resided in his dream. If there was something that he wanted to achieve, he didn't just rely on the current day’s technology, he created and developed his own in order to see his true vision come to life. It is okay to dream big. It is even okay to not compromise your creativity to try to fit into another's box.
      
I believe that there are a few authentic reasons as to why we decide not to follow a designed plan that will fulfill our dreams:

2.1) We plan too much- When we create our plan we think too big or too broad. While it is important to dream big, sometimes it hinders our growth when we try to bit off more than we can chew (figuratively speaking). It is great to plan, but I think it is more beneficial to make a series of smaller goals to reach as your grow your dream and develop the plan. As you reach one goal, another will quickly take it's place.

2.2) We believe our dream is unattainable- As we meditate through our dreams and begin to create our master plan, fear begins to whisper into our ears, trying to convince us that no matter how hard to work or try, we will never success in the plan that we have recently developed. In order to combat this, we need to fight through our insecurities and our fears and we need to continue to chase our dream through the plan that we develop through high meditation and precise choices.              

3.) Be Positive- In times of desperation and dream chasing, there is one element that makes all other elements possible; that is being positive. When you are positive about your passion and the dream that you are trying to fulfill you must be positive that your hard work and dedication will lead you through the difficult times. As you develop your dreams and create the plan to bring it to life, you will discover that you need to think and act in a positive manner in order to fully achieve the dream that you so desire. The best way to ensure that you achieve your dream is surround yourself with a strong team that will dream with you. These are usually people that you trust and that dream just as big as you do. So, essentially you are taking the positive attitude that you carry and spreading it like an infectious disease through you team. When you have a team that will carry the same level of positivity and desire to work tirelessly for this mega-sized dream, which is an unstoppable combination that has a greater chance at success.      

4.) Share your talents- While on one hand, being positive is one element that keeps all of the other elements of dream catching in motion; on the opposite hand deciding not to share your talents and dreams can easily be the most destructive routes for your dream. I believe this step alone kills more dreams that any other. Due to the fact that fear often prevents us from sharing the talents that we have out of trepidation of the opinions of others, many awesome dreams go unfulfilled and left in the Garden of Possibility to wither and die,

One of the benefits of sharing your talents and your dreams with those who care is that they will keep you accountable for chasing that particular dream. That means that they know the initial dream and they also know the scale of the size that you are looking to achieve. With that trusted relationship in place, you are free to build a team that will help develop and fulfill that dream. Also, that trusted friend even has the outsider's look at our laziness that prevents us from reaching the potential of what the dream could be. In light of the fact that the accountability has been established, the trusted friend can motivate you to keep pushing forward until the dream begins to take root and grow fruit.     

5.) Keep Dreaming- Through hard work, dedication and support you will soon find yourself achieving various levels of success. As you achieve your dreams and reach a goal there should be another goal in the wake, waiting to be reached. I hope your success would not cause you to decide to plateau, but it would allow your creativity to work even harder so that you can strive to go further with your dreams. I believe this step is pivotal in finding continued success. It would be a disservice in your initial dream if you didn't expand it and allow it grow; at the same time still keeping its initial mission in mind.  As we relate this to the Walt Disney and the magic of Disneyland, it is often said, "Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.”

A Moment of Real Talk-Now, It's time to step out of the article and step foot into my own mindset for just a moment. This is not a "Know-it-all" type of article that expresses my overbearing knowledge of a particular subject to uneducated people. That is not the intention at all. I can speak with one hundred percent honesty and confidence that I have not succeeded in these steps. I hope to! The true intention of this article is a pep talk; it's a pep talk to me. Everything that I am mentioning is all the areas that I fail at more often than I succeed. Too often I give up on myself and my dreams and my desires. Yet, every time I step foot into the magic of Disneyland all of these lessons come pouring right back into my barely beating heart.

So, I write to myself, trying to keep myself encouraged and dreaming and pushing towards those dreams. No one achieves their dreams by waiting for them to "Just happen". No one achieves greatest on accident. No one changes the world without intentionally working their fingers to the bone and becoming a student of their craft. So, get up; start dreaming, make a plan starting writing, share your talents with the world, be positive of the impact that you want to make. Lastly, no matter how difficult it gets or how many challenging obstacles you face, for the love of God keep dreaming.