Are you a dreamer?

Often, people dream big dreams and have great aspirations. These are waking dreams, planned-for dreams, the kind of dreams sometimes referred to as ambition. Are you one of those people? Are you a dreamer?

You might know the names of many successful dreamers, those whose actions made their dreams come true because you see them frequently in the media. Here are some examples:

• Barack Obama was the first African-American elected to be president of the United States.
• The Chicago Blackhawks hockey team led the season in 2013 and went on to win the prized Stanley Cup by scoring two goals within 17 seconds during the last minute and 37 seconds of the game.
• Meryl Davis and Charlie White, 2014 ice dancing gold medalists at the Sochi Olympics, gave the United States its first ice dancing medal. Meryl was diagnosed with dyslexia in the third grade and struggled with reading until the eleventh grade. Her learning disability did not hold her back from pursuing her life’s purpose – skating.
• Oprah Winfrey is an internationally syndicated talk-show host and media mogul who is ranked among the most powerful people in history.
• The Chicago Cubs won the World Series in 2016.

This list could go on and on. We all have heroes or heroines who inspire and motivate us, and not all of them make the evening news or even their local, weekly newspapers. These people are no less successful as dreamers because they haven’t become the president of the United States or won Olympic medals. What makes someone a dreamer is the ability to envision a possibility for the future and then make that vision a reality, one step at a time.

Are you dreaming your dream? Are you a dreamer?

 “He who robs us of our dreams robs us of our life,” – Virgina Woolf

I am a dreamer. With calm confidence, I encourage others, through my own story, to thrive and survive! Forget tragedy and setbacks. Forget the fact that you were told you would never amount to anything! Begin to dream again; begin to live an exquisite life, believe in yourself, embrace vulnerability, and live your dreams!