Smart Women Dare to Dream

Recently, in a Success Circle, we had a conversation about the difference between a dream and a goal. The majority of the women agreed that a goal is something that is attainable while a dream is unattainable. One member said, "It's something you think about but it would probably never happen." While I understand the thought process, I don't agree with it. I realized a dream within the last week and it was really through the power of intention that it became a reality.

I want women to know how strong the power of intention can be. I have been "dreaming" for more than a year about living in a community where my children could walk to school. Notice that I said the dream was about seeing my children "walk to school." I had developed a dream, an intention about the lifestyle that I wanted for my family.

Our family moved (from our old house of 10 years) to a new house and guess what? We are walking to school! How did that happen? How did I make the dream come true?

Here is what I know:

When you have a dream, you have to become very intentional and focused on making it happen. Most of the time, we dream about an idea or something tangible or intangible that we would like to have happen and then we release it-why? We do not have the belief that it's attainable. Or it's the wrong dream for us.

This is a big part of the Success Circles. Making sure that the dream or goal that you are focusing on is your dream and not someone else's. My work with women is about the needs and wants of the individual woman. If you verbalize that you want to make a dream or goal come true and then time passes and it doesn't, most likely it was not truly what you wanted.

When you really embrace a dream, you set things in motion to make it happen. When my husband and I looked in the real estate section of the paper without clearly focusing on what we wanted, we would go out "looking" but nothing happened. It was just idle dreaming and frustration, feeling that our "dream" was unattainable.

Then, one day, my mother-in-law (who before retirement was s dynamo real-estate agent) said, "You need to find someone who is an expert in the area where you want to live within walking distance of the school." After getting focused on the intention, we did find an expert in this small community where we wanted to live. Her name is Betty-Jo Tilley, another smart woman who is on her game! We became focused on this area near the school and although it did not happen overnight, it did happen.

How about you? Are you dreaming of something that would make a huge impact in your life if it were to happen? Are you intentional about the dream? Have you focused in on the steps you need to take to make it happen?

The key is making sure that the dream is truly yours and you want it-really want it. It truly does pave the way to a more meaningful life. Then you need to determine what the next steps are to realize this dream. Who will support you in this journey? You most likely will not be able to do it on your own. You need a mentor, a coach-someone who can keep you directed and navigating the dream. In my work with women, I always invite them to open up to a lot of support in order to live the life that they choose, rather than the life that is given to them.

We are in our house with tons of boxes and work ahead of us, however, I love the commute - a 4 minute walk and I'm living my dream!

Anything is possible. Everything is waiting for you.