Unbelievable Proposition

I’m certain there’s been at least one time, but likely many times in your life where you’ve had a thought cross your mind about doing something extraordinary. A hint towards a suggested program or plan of action for you to take that just seemed absurd for you to even consider, let alone, start organizing yourself to take action.

So, what did you do?

Most likely you ignored it and have let it be drowned out with the onslaught of daily motion that felt like a more pressing and appropriate use of your time, energy, and attention. 

It’s sad to admit that most of us have subscribed to a way of living that leaves no room for dreaming. Dreaming has been relegated to the role of just another mindless distraction for the undisciplined person. This couldn’t be further from the truth! One could argue that dreaming is more important than it’s ever been. Why? Because, most of us are living out a lie. Yes, a false narrative of who we are. We’re navigating life trying to be everything everyone else is telling us we should be instead of trying to gift the world with our authentic selves.

Culture puts us all on a familiar trajectory, it’s easier to predict and thus commercialize every milestone along the way. This process eventually distorts our vision of self so badly that a highly personalized dream meant just for you arrives at the doorstep of your mind's eye and your first instinct is to say, “How did this get here? No way this could’ve been meant for me!”. 

We’ve allowed our hearts and minds to be clouded in such a way that they can no longer appreciate the value of our dreams. They actually resist the dreams' attempt to galvanize them to propel us towards a much higher purpose. One that currently exists in a different stratosphere to that in which we’re currently living. 

Joanna was in a very similar situation two decades ago. She had dreams in her heart, but when they made their way into her mind they intimidated her. She would quickly reason and rationalize them back down to the recesses of her heart. Something that she could go to for entertainment when bored or in need of a pick me up, but certainly not something to reference when it’s time to start planning your life. She quickly realized that in doing this she was submitting to the lies the enemy is always trying to feed into our stream of consciousness. Her faith helped her appreciate the truth about dreams. The truth that dreams are God’s counter attack to this relentless enemy. Dreams are God’s way of informing and/or reminding us what we’re capable of. Everything changed the moment she connected the dots between her dreams and her God. The dream was transformed from a fantasy to an unbelievable proposition. A proposition to take her life in a new direction with God.

Joanna Gaines' story is a remarkable testament to the power of fully living your dream. She’s lived in a way that has both left room for God and created opportunities for His miracles. Here we walk through a simple three step process we’ve developed to help you live your dream.

• STEP 1: DAYDREAM PROPERLY

• STEP 2: TAKE THE RISK

• STEP 3: KEEP LEARNING

STEP 1: DAYDREAM PROPERLY

For starters what exactly is daydreaming? Before researching this topic I had no clue that this is actually a provocative question amongst researchers. So, from our standpoint we’re going to go with a simple definition from Dr. Erin Westgate which is “intentionally thinking for pleasure.” The reality is it is hard for adults to daydream. Recent research confirms that daydreaming is brutally challenging for adults.  Adults and daydreaming have an awkward relationship. We’ve forgotten how to relate to each other, let alone cooperate with each other. 

I believe this awkward tension has reverted most adults to adopting a negative view of daydreaming, ranging from simply considering it a non-productive use of time to associating it with some stigmatized mental disorder. Both resulting in underutilization of this powerful tool in our cognitive toolkit. 

For adults to be able to properly daydream the timing has to be right. Our minds need to be settled, otherwise we’ll spend the time ruminating, worrying, or list making. Boredom is an indicator that NOW is a good time to daydream. Joanna intuitively got this saying, “during the slow periods at tire shop I would play around with my notepad and daydream.” At STC, we would also argue that to daydream properly it must be On Purpose. Meaning you can’t Drift in a proper daydream. You have to use that time to think about THE dream, or thinking about what THE dream is. Joanna kept coming back to Magnolia. She knew this was her dream. The daydreaming helped her figure out what that might look like.

To help you get started daydreaming properly here is a prompt. Forgetting about tomorrow’s obligations and your current finances, how would you go about fulfilling your purpose? Focus on what you love and throw all the rules out! 

STEP 2: TAKE THE RISK

It’s one thing to say “I see it!” It’s an entirely different thing to say “let’s do it!” Daydreaming is nice, pleasant, comfy. The real world is more intimidating, and a legitimate dream can be downright scary. “Doing it” wasn’t something that was ever going to feel natural to Joanna. Like most of it, she needed some help in that department and that’s where Chip was the perfect compliment. He was the nudge she so desperately needed. She openly admits it, stating “If I didn’t have Chip Gaines in my life, I’d still be dreaming in my head, but not acting out on any of that, not living it out.”

She later doubles down on that positive feedback of Chip encouraging her to take the risk, when she said  “I can still hear the sound of the front door of that little shop opening, and the deep assurance that, despite how scared I was, I would never look back. Chip had pushed me to take a chance on something I believed in - so win or lose, I already knew I’d never be the same.” 

That’s the power of taking risks, regardless of the outcomes, it changes you for the good.

Dreams necessitate change and the thought of change terrifies most of us. In order to grow into our outsized dreams we need to experience challenges and take risks. You have to grab it and when it’s time to go, go! Only you will know what this might look like. For some of us it’s walking away from something and for others it’s walking into something.

Take some time to reflect on the risk associated with your dream, list them all out and then determine which one feels like the most appropriate one to tackle first.

STEP 3: KEEP LEARNING

This all feels very linear, but it’s not. It never goes exactly as expected. That’s why so few of us see it through until “the end”. The truth is there is no end, the closer you get to fully actualizing your dream more and more of it will be revealed to you. The parts of the dream that would’ve been too much for you to process earlier in your journey. We all start by thinking the dream is something we achieve, but in reality it’s something we live. 

Joanna is quoted for saying, “it will not all go as planned but may you find the beauty and embrace the wonder of the here and now.” This is your dream, you have to own it all. There’s a lot that goes into the work, it’s a full-time job, but once you feel the freedom to be yourself, you stop caring about what's on the other side. Dreams are the ultimate gift for us to keep learning more about ourselves, because in order to live them out we must constantly walk out who we are supposed to be. When it comes to living your dream, if you’re going for it, you can’t lose and you can’t not learn something about yourself! 

Take some time to think about some things you hope to learn about yourself by living out your dream.

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