The letter I wrote last week about Kobe Bryant and encouraging us to follow our dreams seemed to really strike a chord for people. It’s been commented on, liked and shared by hundreds of people on Facebook!
Which got me to thinking about what has stopped me – and the people I work with – from following our dreams in the past and now.
It’s MONEY.
At least, that’s the LIE we’ve told ourselves.
It’s a lie I bought into for much of my life. And because it may STILL be a lie you’re buying into, I’m writing this post to call you on it – and call you OUT of it.
Think of it. If MONEY was what stopped us from our dreams, there would be no stories of people who achieved amazing things in spite of poverty. If MONEY was what stopped us from living our dreams, we would not know of Oprah, Dolly Parton, Shania Twain, Hilary Swank, LeBron James, Leonardo DiCaprio, J.K. Rowling, Charles Dickens, John Steinbeck or even Elvis
Presley.
Money – or lack of it – didn’t stop them. And MONEY is not what is stopping you from your dreams, my friend – no matter how little of it you may currently have.
Rather, it’s the IDEA that money is what is stopping you. Because the moment you think MONEY is what is stopping you and that you need MONEY for your dreams to come true, your focus turns toward MONEY instead of your DREAMS. You start chasing the MONEY instead of following your dreams.
Trust me, I know this one. I cannot count how many dreams – small and large – I ignored, put off or gave up on because I didn’t have the money. I played VICTIM around money BIG time for much of my life! And any time you or I play victim to money, we are giving it power that it doesn’t actually have.
I still remember the lightning bolt I felt inside when I first realized this on a call with my coach, Pat, about 10 years ago.
In true “victim” mode, I spent much of the first part of the call complaining about not having the house I wanted, the life I wanted, the business I wanted – all because of MONEY. I felt angry and resentful – blaming Dan for not making money, blaming myself for not making enough money, blaming myself for all the mistakes I had made that put me in the position I was
in.
I remember telling Pat how I LONGED to live the life I used to live, when I was working in the corporate world, making six-figures. That if only I had THAT income again, then I could pursue my dreams and my life would be great!
In response, Pat threw out all sorts of possibilities for how I could have the life I wanted – including getting a job to make more money. I immediately shot them down with all the reasons why I couldn’t or wouldn’t do that – and why it wouldn’t work.
Finally, Pat grew silent.
I waited, wondering what she was going to say next.
“Teresa, why wouldn’t you do WHATEVER YOU CAN to have what you want in life – to have what makes you happy?”
I was stunned into silence.
And into that silence flooded all of the beliefs I had about myself and my dreams.
“I don’t deserve it.”
“It’s not possible.”
“It will take too long.”
“I shouldn’t want that.”
“So-and-so won’t like it.”
“So-and-so won’t like me.”
“I’ll be disappointed.”
“It’s not that important.”
“I should be grateful for what I have.”
“It will be HARD”.
“I will have to do something I don’t want to do – like get a job.”
I’m pretty sure I voiced these last two out loud because Pat said…
“You’re right. It might be hard. And you might have to do something you don’t want to do – in fact, I can guarantee there WILL be times you will have to do something you don’t particularly WANT to do. The question is - are YOU and your dreams worth it?"
"Besides, how hard is it NOT having what you want? And, how much of your time now do you spend doing what you don’t want to do just to make money – and resenting the heck out of it AND your money?”
I’d like to tell you that that ONE conversation totally turned things around for me and I started going for my dreams full-out –– but it’s not true.
Yet it was a beginning.
That conversation – and Pat’s question – was like a seed planted in a garden. It started to sprout and take root inside of me. And it was the beginning of me changing how I thought about my dreams.
It was also the beginning of me making changes to how I was living my life and managing money that have brought me to where I am today – with some of my dreams already realized, others in process and new ones showing up. And me
enjoying my life more.
It was as if Pat’s question gave me permission to CLAIM my dreams and go for them – to do what I CAN do, with what I NOW have, to have them come true.
I was NOT a victim. MONEY was not stopping me.
Oh sure, for some of my dreams to come true, I needed money that I didn’t have on the day of the call. But my focus changed from the MONEY (or lack of it) to my DREAMS. And in focusing on my dreams, I became
more willing to do what I could, with what I had, on any given day to have them (or something better) come true.
Like I said, that call with Pat was the beginning of things changing for me. It is my hope that this post may be the beginning of things changing for you.
That reading this, , gives you permission to (1) claim the dreams of your heart, (2) trust that they – or something better – IS possible and (3) do what you can, with what you have TODAY to live into them.
And if, like me, some subconscious part of you is still waiting for permission, consider this post to be MY permission, as well as request, for you to follow your dreams.
More than that, know that you’ve had permission to follow the dreams of your heart from the moment you were born – permission from the God who created you and wants you to live a full-out life of freedom and
joy.
The only permission you need now is your own – TODAY.
What DO you have and what CAN you do TODAY to honor and follow your dreams, ???
You're WORTH it... and you’ve got this!
Better yet, God’s got you!
xoxo
T.