Category Archives: Dreams

“We often work harder in our dreams than in our life.”

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“We often work harder in our dreams than in our life.”

—Mark Nepo, poet, teacher, and storyteller

Image from Unsplash by Hans Reniers

Although I don’t usually remember my dreams beyond the first minute or two after waking, I often find myself day-dreaming throughout the day.

When I watch others doing great things on TV or in my personal and professional communities, I often project myself into their efforts.

This form of wishful thinking and level of achievement is purely a mental exercise, and rarely if ever shows up in actual performance.

EXERCISE:

Where do you work harder in your dreams than in your life?

Where in your world is it time to give it your all and break a sweat?

“If there were dreams to sell, what would you buy?”

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“If there were dreams to sell, what would you buy?”

—Thomas Lovell Beddoes, 19th Century English poet and physician

Image from Unsplash by SpaceX

Commercial flights into space! For those of us who once envisioned ourselves as astronauts, it seems this dream has an actual price.

Many people today have an increased hunger to explore the edges of life and websites such as www.xperiencedays.com offer all sorts of flying, travel, driving, and other out-of-this-world adventures to those folks with deep pockets.

Since the super-rich are a relatively small group, the rest of us may need to use alternative currencies to realized many of our dreams. Think back to the beginnings of our space program and the currency the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo astronauts needed to pay for their seat on the rockets to realize their dreams.

EXERCISE:

What are your current dreams? What price are you willing to pay to realized them? What are some of the non-monetary methods available to all of us to secure our seats and realize these futures?

Every morning you have two choices

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“Every morning you have two choices: Continue to sleep with your dreams, or wake up and chase them.”

—Carmelo Anthony, American professional basketball player

Image form Unsplash by Oladimeji Ajegil

What time do you get up in the morning on weekdays and weekends?

How often do you find yourself hitting the snooze button rather than leaping out of bed to pursue your day with intention and excitement?

Fast forward a few hours to the time you crawl under the covers. Recount your day to see if it was a good one or not.

What are the factors that have you give an “A” for your efforts and progress?

EXERCISE:

How frequently do you actually chase your dream and not just contemplate them?

How do your efforts correlate to a far more satisfying sense of engagement and fulfillment?

“Living up to a dream is rarely as important as entering it for all it has to teach.”

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“Living up to a dream is rarely as important as entering it for all it has to teach.”

—Mark Nepo, Author of The Book of Awakening

Image from Unsplash by Keli Stirrett

What did you dream about as a child? How did your dreams evolve or change as you entered adolescence and your early adult years?

If you are a bit older, what did your dreams include in your 30s, 40s, 50s….?

Where did the dreams take you, and what did you learn along the way?

What vision, mission, and goals do you have for yourself today?

How mindful are you about picking up the lessons along each step of your path?

EXERCISE:

Motivational Speaker Les Brown and a few others authors suggest we keep shooting for the moon, because even if you miss, you will land among the stars.

“You are full of unshaped dreams…/ You are laden with beginnings…/ There is hope in you.”

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“You are full of unshaped dreams…/ You are laden with beginnings…/ There is hope in you.”

—Lola Ridge, 20th Century Irish-American anarchist poet

Image from Unsplash by Sharon McCutcheon

What are your dreams for 2021? To what degree are they still unshaped or in a formative state?

What projects have you already begun, and where are you tentatively waiting to take that first move?

How hopeful do you feel about your ability to influence and impact the future in your various personal and professional communities?

EXERCISE:

Where are you holding back to dream, to begin, to hope?

How can and will you courageously and passionately release your fullest potential to realize the possibilities and opportunities that await?

“What are you secretly working on today?”

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“What are you secretly working on today?”

—Author Unknown

Image from Unsplash by Valery Sysoev

What do you dream or daydream about? What have you noticed about your wandering mind? Where does it go?

How much time do you spend shifting your focus from the matters at hand, seemingly pulled by invisible forces in new directions?

What would happen if you shifted your perspective to one in which dreaming and daydreaming were your job, and you took extra time and care to focus there more consistency?

Where might exercising your subconscious mind produce many wonderful and surprising benefits?

EXERCISE:

How might the practices of greater mindfulness and capturing these secret journeys in a notebook expand your efforts to work in new productive and meaningful ways?

Consider sharing these secret work efforts with a family member, friend, colleague, mentor or coach to gain additional social support. Of course, at this point it won’t be a secret any more.

“There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.”

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“There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.”

—Morpheus, portrayed by Lawrence Fishburne in The Matrix

Image of Morpheus from Wikipedia

Morpheus was the Greek god of dreams. The Greek work “morphe” translates to “form” in English. Morpheus is, according to legend, the god who shapes and forms our dreams.

Although most people dream, for some reason many of us seem to forget them, including the insights they may provide, when we wake.

One strategy to consider is to keep a notepad near your bedside to fully capture the ideas and insights you wish to act upon.

EXERCISE:

What insight, dream, or priority matters are you still “in the think” about? When will you begin taking action to walk the path to realize your dream?

Friday Review of posts on Dreams

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FRIDAY REVIEW: DREAMS

What do you dream or daydream about? Here are a few dream-related posts you may have missed. Click the links to read the messages.

 

“Nothing happens unless first a dream.”

 

 

 

 

“Dream big, but allow yourself the opportunity to start small and have your share of struggles in the beginning. The world’s greatest composers weren’t writing symphonies the day they first sat at the piano.”

 

 

“Throw your heart over the fence and the rest will follow.”

 

 

 

 

“Life is a series of moments. If you miss the moments, you miss your life.”

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“Life is a series of moments. If you miss the moments, you miss your life.”

—Robin Sharma, Author of The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari series

Image of Sam Horn's "someday is not a day of the week" book cover

Image from Amazon

Someday is not a Day in the Week: 10 Hacks to Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life, is Sam Horn’s newest book.

Sam is one of the reasons my book, The Quotable Coach – Daily Nuggets of Practical Wisdom, became a reality.

In 2013, I had the opportunity to spend two full days in her home, along with a dozen other lucky – or shall I say, committed – individuals who wanted to launch special projects and not wait for “someday.”

Her many personal stories and experiences fully demonstrate, and will inspire you to seize each day as precious moments not to be missed.

EXERCISE:

Consider watching Sam’s TEDx South Lake Tahoe talk. What one dream have you been putting off for “someday” that you will act upon today?

 

The Greatest Thing About Man

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“The greatest thing about man is the ability to transcend himself, his ancestry, and his environment, and to become what he dreams of being.”

—Tully C. Knoles, early president of the College of the Pacific

Meme of Today's quote

Do me a favor. Please read today’s quote four more times.

Read it slowly.

Savor each word like a fine wine or choice morsel of an extraordinary meal. Let its full meaning sink into your bones to see how it does, or could, apply to your life today and as you move forward.

Where is your past or ancestry somehow holding you back and placing limits on what is possible?

Where is your current personal or professional environment blocking your progress and thwarting your efforts?

EXERCISE:

How can you summon the wondrous and extraordinary capacities within you to transcend your current self? How might this help you realize far more of your most inspired and compelling dreams?