Dream Big, Go Crazy and Get Stretched

As a grassroots organizer for 30 years, I spent a lifetime crafting plans to achieve big dreams — whether it was my own dream of getting elected to the Colorado Statehouse of Representatives or stopping 37 proposed coal-fired power plants in the West — I ALWAYS had a plan. Sometimes the plan failed (I didn’t get elected) but most of the time I was wildly successful (stopping all those coal plants). I used to love it when someone told me I was dreaming TOO BIG because I knew, with the right plan and the right team, there was always the POSSIBILITY of success.  

The key? A PLAN.

A plan needs to be grounded in reality (meaning there are actual goals to achieve) and a plan needs to incorporate other people (a team). Without steps/directions, you are floundering. Without support, you’re still floundering. These are two critical pieces to make your dreams possible. BUT, you must start by overcoming that voice in your head (that isn’t you by the way but that’s a whole other post). The voice that keeps telling you why you “can’t,” why you “shouldn’t,” and why you will “never.” 

That voice is why the work I do focuses on getting people to stop listening to it. You can have a plan, but a limiting belief system that stops you from enacting it? Might as well give up now. Conversely, you can have an empowering belief system but without a plan of action, you’re still not going anywhere. You need both — the plan and the empowering belief system.

Lucky for you, I know how to work on both. But for the purposes of this post, the main focus is the plan and getting you to work toward your BIG dreams.  

GOALS ARE THE PATH TO YOUR BIG DREAM

Author Jodi Picoult said it best: “You know the difference between a dream and a goal?... A plan.”

A dream is that far-distance place where you want to end up. Goals are smaller steps that get you there. The plan is the collective; it’s all the goals (or steps or actions) added up together that get you to your dream.

When I coach on goals, I start with making sure people understand their values and beliefs first. This is your foundation. With an understanding of these two critical pieces, you can explore goals that are more authentic to you.   

Now, when I say goals, I am talking about things that inspire and excite you. Not like, be better about composting (unless that makes you crazy excited, of course). Your goals should motivate you and challenge you to learn and grow. These kinds of goals are critical to turning those BIG dreams into reality and living a rich and fulfilling life. 

Yet you have to know where you are now (baseline) and where you want to go (big dream) before you can start connecting the dots in between. You’ll want to set goals that create this path between here (the now) and there (the eventual).

The main thing is don’t get hung up on where you are now. Where you are is where you are. There is no need for judgment or shame. Set that aside. There’s no room at your table for those. All the seats are taken for your planners, post-it notes, and a good unoaked Chardonnay cause you’ve got dreams to make happen! 

Your baseline is just your baseline. That’s it. Now, how do you want those areas to change? Where do you want to push them to next? 

DREAM BIG, GET CRAZY, GO MAKE SOME BHAGS

I like to say, go after the BHAGs (big hairy audacious goals). These are those HUUUUUGGGEEE goals that seem impossible. These are things you would love to do but seem way too crazy and exciting from your life right now to even consider them. I ask myself the question, “What crazy, exciting dream would I have in each area of my life if I knew I could not fail?” I allow my mind to wander. I don’t censor or restrict myself. The whole point is to get your creative juices flowing.

What is it that you really want? What is it that really gets you excited? What do you really want this area of your life to look like? Your answer, that initial gut response, the thing that you know in your core to be True for you, is where it’s at. Write that craziness down and don’t look back. The whole point is to recognize where you would be if you had no fear of failure, no self-doubt, no limiting beliefs. 

We tell ourselves we can’t do something or shouldn’t do something out of fear of failure. It’s not that it is actually impossible or unattainable, but that we are uncomfortable with taking bold action toward making it happen. Our limiting beliefs or Imposter Syndrome begin to bump up against the all-too-familiar “comfort zone.” 

BE THE RUBBER BAND, GET STRETCHED 

Our comfort zones are different for each of us, but let me explain how someone once explained it to me because it was pretty genius and it stuck. There is a difference between a comfort zone, a stretch zone, and the danger zone. Now, think of a rubber band.

When a rubber band is just lying on the table it isn't doing its job. That's like us when we are comfortable. We aren’t doing the work we are meant to be doing — our soul's work. When a rubber band is stretched, it is fulfilling its purpose — like us humans. We learn and grow when we stretch ourselves. BUT... don't stretch that rubber band TOO much or it will snap! That is the danger zone. The idea of our BHAGS is to stretch ourselves but not get into the danger zone. 

How do you make sure that happens? First and foremost, you have a coach. Second, expand your comfort zone by starting with some small stretches. You (you’re the rubber band right now) don’t have to wrap yourself around a dozen pencils right off. Just wrap yourself around one or two. In short, take small steps.

Choose a desirable goal or possibility that is just outside of your comfort zone but still moves you toward what you ultimately want. Not only do you work toward the bigger goal, you learn new things, grow as a person, and your life becomes more rich and fulfilling. (All while you stay out of the danger zone.)

START TO SEE THE NEXT HORIZON

Each new goal that is reached, expands your comfort zone and moves you closer to the BIG dream. The things that used to seem impossible are more doable because you test (and surpass) your limits and expand your horizons. As a result, you turn the word impossible to “I’m possible” and can start KNOWING that you’re capable of whatever it is you set your mind to. 

Here’s one more powerful quote to leave you with, “You cannot swim for new horizons until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore” (William Faulkner). 

Your new horizon isn’t impossible or improbable. You just need a plan in place. You need to know your baseline, where you are right now in this moment. You need to know what you’re after, that crazy, big dream that feels wild and exciting. Then you need to map those tiny steps, those small goals, that push you out of your comfort zone and build traction toward the end game. It’s not that your big dreams can’t happen, it’s that they won’t happen without you believing in yourself, setting the goals to get you there, and taking bold action on those goals. 

It’s easier said than done and that’s why I’m here to support you. Check out my Unleash Your Legacy Cohort so you don’t have to take those small steps to your big dreams by yourself. If you want the support of other powerful leaders all looking on a mission to not just crush those goals but to leave a legacy that'll have them talking for generations, check out my Unleash Your Legacy Cohort.

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To discover your authentic self and turn your big dreams into incredible realities, join my Unleash Your Legacy Cohort or consider checking out my next Empower Hour.

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