Earlier this month, Pinky Cole was named on the TIME100 Next list. A list dedicated to recognizing the rising leaders in health, climate, business, sports, the arts and more. From CEO’s to scientists, the people on this list all share one thing in common: they’re rethinking accepted ideas to create possibilities for our future. They’re dreaming. Better yet, they’re Living The Dream, pushing society forward by showing us what’s possible. 

Pinky Cole is the epitome of a Dreamer. She embodies all of the characteristics we look for when trying to identify a real dreamer: joyful, peaceful, enthusiastic, and intriguing. In the realm of leadership, we too often associate dreaming with ineffectiveness. We fail to see the relevance of spending our precious time on matters that don’t appear to be of importance now. We fail to see the role dreaming plays in our leadership lifestyle.

During a Tedx talk at Historic HBCU Morehouse College Pinky opened the dialogue by saying “When you stay ready you ain’t never got to get ready.” She’s speaking to the principle of preparation. This belief that if you’re always prepared, you’ll always seize the moment. Now most people will read this and immediately become overwhelmed by that thought. Thinking, “how is that even possible, where would I start, and where would that list end?” Dreaming is what makes it possible.

I’m not talking about the first creative thought that comes to mind. I’m referring to a dream that you feel deep in your soul, or Pinky would say, “the dream or vision that makes your belly leap!” You see this dream, the dream that makes your belly leap that will ensure you’re always prepared. These types of dreams have the ability to do something special. They connect our hearts and minds in a way that makes us unstoppable. Drift will do anything and everything it can to disrupt this alignment of heart and mind. Dreaming is the only way to effectively combat this.

Pinky Cole is living proof of this reality. She’s unstoppable! Not because she’s special, but because she’s realized the secret sauce. Her Dream! The real belly flipping dream. It was more than just to be a restaurateur. It was more than just serving the vegan community. Pinky is leading a movement right now. She’s not just feeding us bangin’ vegan food, she's feeding our souls. 

Pinky’s real dream is to give people a pathway to freedom. To inspire, equip and empower people to win. Let’s take a look how Pinky is living proof that nothing is out of the realm of possibility when you’re dream-driven and living On Purpose

• STEP 1: LIVE PROFITABLY

• STEP 2: CREATE OPPORTUNITIES

• STEP 3: MAKE PEOPLE FEEL GOOD

STEP 1: LIVE PROFITABLY

Most of us are uncomfortable with the notion of making money a priority. I mean the love of money is the root of all evil, so why are we even talking about it? Let alone encouraging you to prioritize it as a step in your transformational journey. The reality is, most people aren’t living profitably. We’re making a living, we’re generous with what we have, but we’re not really operating from a place of abundance. We’re allowing our circumstances to limit us, and our options, because we don’t believe we can afford to do anything much different then what we’re already doing. 

Drift uses the economics of a matter to cloud our judgment. It distorts the way we perceive and interpret value. We overvalue things that we shouldn’t and undervalue things that we should.  When we live profitably we’re free to dream as intended. We stop thinking transactionally and start thinking transformationally. All real dreams are rooted in service. Take a moment to think of the people in your life that you would consider to be Living The Dream. I promise you they’re leveraging their gifts in a way that is profitable to both them and the people they’re serving. They’re well resourced, but remain resourceful in finding ways to multiply the impact of their earnings as it relates to the value they are delivering to the communities they serve. 

What does living profitably look like for you currently? How will this enhance your ability to live your dream?

STEP 2: CREATE OPPORTUNITIES

“Those who take chances make advances.” This is the mantra Pinky Coles has lived by since she could remember. She’s taken it as far as saying, “There is never a chance I’m gonna miss!” That’s a bold proclamation, but when you take a moment to study how Pinky moves you can see how she can say something like that with such confidence.  

We love to talk about the advances, but we rarely take the time to appreciate the methodology that led to those advances. When we see a dream turned into reality we attribute it to the individual, not the process they followed. However when we take a closer look, we often find there are equations we can follow that will drastically improve our chances. There is no need to be a mathematician to understand the formula at work here.

Take more chances = Make more Advances

Too often we allow our fears of failure to prevent us from even attempting. So many of Pinky’s opportunities were the byproducts of simply asking the question or making the proposal. Never be afraid to speak up and say something because you never know what is possible.

What chances are you not taking? Why is that the case?

STEP 3: MAKE PEOPLE FEEL GOOD

You may be wondering, what do other people’s feelings have to do with my dream? 

In short, everything! 

Most of us confuse desires with dreams, but they couldn’t be more different. Desires are limited to us. They’re all about what we want to accomplish, experience, and do. Dreams are bigger than us. They necessitate the reliance on others, whether it be a team or an entire community. 

“I really love to see other people win.” - Pinky Cole

Living the dream requires us to view life through the lens of we instead of me. Pinky’s enterprise has built on this very premise. Everything she does is centered around making other people feel good. From customer service to employee engagement she’s taking everybody into consideration; her staff, her customers, her partners, her fans. I would argue that Pinky’s entrepreneurial success is less about the products she’s selling than about the feelings she’s sharing. 

How are other people impacted by you pursuing your dreams? Are they equally benefiting from the shared experiences? How can you go about ensuring they feel just as good about your dream as you do?