744 Days to Complete 101 Dreams Come True
From the Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
The old man pointed to a baker standing in his shop window. "When he was a child, that man wanted to travel, too. But he decided first to buy his bakery and put some money aside. When he's an old man, he's going to spend a month in Africa. He never realized that people are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of."
According to Webster's dictionary the word 'settle' means: to accept despite complete satisfaction. I hate to say this, but I believe this describes most people's lives. They begin with big dreams and somehow, like the baker in the story of the Alchemist, they get stuck in a rut complaining about what they hate and dreaming of things changing without being willing to do the work.
The more I forge forward on this journey of settling for nothing less than magnificence in my life, the more I see and hear how people settle. I didn't notice before. In fact, many times I was jealous of others lives that seemed more stable. I'm not saying that everyone is settling. You don't have to want to go after 101 dreams in order to be happy. But too many people tell me about their unhappiness and make excuses for why they can't change something.
There's always a way. At any moment you can change your life and go after your dreams. It might not be easy. No one ever said this journey of mine is all peaches and cream. Though I must say it's much easier than what I thought it was going to be. I spent five years afraid and all I had to do was step out of my fear. I was terrified to take that first step. The months after seemed the most painful of my life - yet when I look back I don't see the hurt but the strength that came from the pain and how much I grew.
At any time, your dreams are just a step away. They may take work, risk, a complete change, but they're possible. I'm living proof of that, and I'm no different than you.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
A Mother's Belief
756 Days to Complete 101 Dreams Come True
After nine hours of sleep last night, I've recovered from the fun this weekend. Friday night was a trip to a 1920's saloon where I did a little swing dancing, made a few friends, and somehow ended up at a truck-stop for pancakes with a strange need to buy a Betty Boop picture frame (I didn't give in to temptation, but at three in the morning it seemed like a great idea). Saturday found me surrounded by friends, music, and art at Sacramento's Art Walk where I won a certificate to a spa. Add in a street festival and a great movie and it was a full weekend.
On Sunday, I had the gift of taking my Sacramento mom to brunch for Mother's day. As we sat eating yummy food and listening to the live performers singing in Spanish, I told my California mom about all the great memories I have of my mother, who I couldn't hug yesterday due to an entire country being between us.
My favorite childhood memory is of my mother wrapping her arms around me and singing, "Me and my baby together are we. Don't know nobody as happy as we. When we're together we're great company. I love my baby, my baby loves me." My mother always sang little ditties and did cute dances to make me smile. Now we talk on the phone once per week for a few hours, and I only see her two to three times per year, yet I don't feel the distance. I carry her in my heart and with every dream come true, I thank her for the gift she gave me.
My mother was the one who taught me to dream. When I was a child, finances were tight and we had very little. My mother worked fifteen years at a job she hated to provide the essentials and the little extras when she could. She wanted more for my brother and I so she taught us meditation, visualization, and creating vision boards for the things we desired. She told us on a regular basis that we could have our dreams.
I think when I sat in the park that day wondering how to change my life, it was my mother's teachings that brought me to make the list. If I could envision what I wanted then I could achieve it. Her early lessons showed me that life could be miraculous. I guess that's why I've decided to make this journey public - I'm trying to give others the gift my mother gave to me.
Thank you mom, for everything you've given me. With all my love, Marci
After nine hours of sleep last night, I've recovered from the fun this weekend. Friday night was a trip to a 1920's saloon where I did a little swing dancing, made a few friends, and somehow ended up at a truck-stop for pancakes with a strange need to buy a Betty Boop picture frame (I didn't give in to temptation, but at three in the morning it seemed like a great idea). Saturday found me surrounded by friends, music, and art at Sacramento's Art Walk where I won a certificate to a spa. Add in a street festival and a great movie and it was a full weekend.
On Sunday, I had the gift of taking my Sacramento mom to brunch for Mother's day. As we sat eating yummy food and listening to the live performers singing in Spanish, I told my California mom about all the great memories I have of my mother, who I couldn't hug yesterday due to an entire country being between us.
My favorite childhood memory is of my mother wrapping her arms around me and singing, "Me and my baby together are we. Don't know nobody as happy as we. When we're together we're great company. I love my baby, my baby loves me." My mother always sang little ditties and did cute dances to make me smile. Now we talk on the phone once per week for a few hours, and I only see her two to three times per year, yet I don't feel the distance. I carry her in my heart and with every dream come true, I thank her for the gift she gave me.
My mother was the one who taught me to dream. When I was a child, finances were tight and we had very little. My mother worked fifteen years at a job she hated to provide the essentials and the little extras when she could. She wanted more for my brother and I so she taught us meditation, visualization, and creating vision boards for the things we desired. She told us on a regular basis that we could have our dreams.
I think when I sat in the park that day wondering how to change my life, it was my mother's teachings that brought me to make the list. If I could envision what I wanted then I could achieve it. Her early lessons showed me that life could be miraculous. I guess that's why I've decided to make this journey public - I'm trying to give others the gift my mother gave to me.
Thank you mom, for everything you've given me. With all my love, Marci
Friday, May 7, 2010
Someday Never Comes
759 Days to Complete 101 Dreams Come True
A girlfriend asked me if I had faith that she'd change her life. In the past I would've pacified her fears and said how I believed in her strength while keeping my real opinions inside. But before I could stop my mouth I said, "I believe we'll be having this same conversation five years from now just as we've had it for the last two. I think you will continue to make excuses, daydream about the day when you will be free from the pain, and you won't do anything about it."
"Why can't you just have faith in me?" she yelled. "I need you to tell me that I can do this and that everything will be okay. I need you to be my friend."
I realized at this moment that there's a high to believing things will change. The daydream is safe. The motivational conversations addictive. There is a comfort in the word 'someday'. When you live this way you don't have to take responsibility for your own life. You can live in a fantasy that has nothing to do with reality. It's not until you take the step to change what you dislike that you find out what the truth looks like.
Too many people in this world dream of someday. Someday they will travel, be the weight they want, leave their dead marriage, get out of the boring job, be rich, feel safe, etc. Someday doesn't come. Today is the day you have. If there is something you hate about your life no amount of faith from someone else can change it; no amount of talking about what bothers you will make a difference. Motivational seminars and quotes aren't going to bring you to the life you long for.
The only way to live the life of your dreams is to stop talking about it and do it. Fear is always going to walk with you. Failure is going to be a possibility. Both are better than stagnation and living in a dream world that doesn't exist.
A girlfriend asked me if I had faith that she'd change her life. In the past I would've pacified her fears and said how I believed in her strength while keeping my real opinions inside. But before I could stop my mouth I said, "I believe we'll be having this same conversation five years from now just as we've had it for the last two. I think you will continue to make excuses, daydream about the day when you will be free from the pain, and you won't do anything about it."
"Why can't you just have faith in me?" she yelled. "I need you to tell me that I can do this and that everything will be okay. I need you to be my friend."
I realized at this moment that there's a high to believing things will change. The daydream is safe. The motivational conversations addictive. There is a comfort in the word 'someday'. When you live this way you don't have to take responsibility for your own life. You can live in a fantasy that has nothing to do with reality. It's not until you take the step to change what you dislike that you find out what the truth looks like.
Too many people in this world dream of someday. Someday they will travel, be the weight they want, leave their dead marriage, get out of the boring job, be rich, feel safe, etc. Someday doesn't come. Today is the day you have. If there is something you hate about your life no amount of faith from someone else can change it; no amount of talking about what bothers you will make a difference. Motivational seminars and quotes aren't going to bring you to the life you long for.
The only way to live the life of your dreams is to stop talking about it and do it. Fear is always going to walk with you. Failure is going to be a possibility. Both are better than stagnation and living in a dream world that doesn't exist.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
A Day to Savor Life
762 Days to Complete 101 Dreams Come True
Since I'm a travel addict, most of the dreams on my list are about seeing the world. I love being on the road, each day a new adventure as I take in the sights, sounds, tastes, and experiences of being someplace I've never been. On my last trip, I realized that this need to travel has more to do with the person I become rather than the places I visit.
When I travel, life becomes about the moment. I wake each morning feeling as if my day is a present about to be unwrapped and I get excited to find out what will be revealed: a new friend, food I've never tried, or something that takes my breath away. Even getting lost and missed trains are adventures. When I'm home, life becomes about tasks that need to be done, and sometimes I'm so overwhelmed I forget how to experience life from my travel perspective.
You don't have to get on a plane to have an adventure. Your backyard or just a few miles down the road can hold excitement and presents yet to be unwrapped. It's the attitude by which you approach the world and your day that will create what happens.
Most people plan their outings. Today we will go to wine country, visit these vineyards, eat at this restaurant, and then be home by this time. Or they head to the ocean, making their way directly to the hotel and then to the activities they've read about in books or have done in the past.
I challenge you to make a day this month a surprise adventure. Wake-up and with each step you take be present in the moment. Go to a new cafe or sit outside to eat your breakfast, but make certain what you eat is something you've never tried. Stop and savor the taste as if you were on a leisurely vacation. Then go for a walk or into a part of town you've always liked. A gourmet food shop is a great place to visit because it holds many treasures of things you've never tried. If you enjoy reading, go to a park with the best cup of coffee in town and a little dessert and spend time reading, drinking, looking at the scenery and people taking time to notice the little details of life.
Another way to have a great adventure is to pack an overnight bag and get in your car. Point the automobile in a direction and see where it takes you. Once again, take in your surroundings. You have no place you need to be, so you don't have to focus on when you'll arrive. If something looks interesting stop and enjoy the moment. When you fall in love with a place, find a hotel and stay.
The point of this exercise is to relish how decadent and exciting life can be. It's all about the experience not the completion of a goal. Too many times, life is about rushing from one place to another without stopping to enjoy living. So take the time and give yourself the gift of a day where all you do is savor life.
Since I'm a travel addict, most of the dreams on my list are about seeing the world. I love being on the road, each day a new adventure as I take in the sights, sounds, tastes, and experiences of being someplace I've never been. On my last trip, I realized that this need to travel has more to do with the person I become rather than the places I visit.
When I travel, life becomes about the moment. I wake each morning feeling as if my day is a present about to be unwrapped and I get excited to find out what will be revealed: a new friend, food I've never tried, or something that takes my breath away. Even getting lost and missed trains are adventures. When I'm home, life becomes about tasks that need to be done, and sometimes I'm so overwhelmed I forget how to experience life from my travel perspective.
You don't have to get on a plane to have an adventure. Your backyard or just a few miles down the road can hold excitement and presents yet to be unwrapped. It's the attitude by which you approach the world and your day that will create what happens.
Most people plan their outings. Today we will go to wine country, visit these vineyards, eat at this restaurant, and then be home by this time. Or they head to the ocean, making their way directly to the hotel and then to the activities they've read about in books or have done in the past.
I challenge you to make a day this month a surprise adventure. Wake-up and with each step you take be present in the moment. Go to a new cafe or sit outside to eat your breakfast, but make certain what you eat is something you've never tried. Stop and savor the taste as if you were on a leisurely vacation. Then go for a walk or into a part of town you've always liked. A gourmet food shop is a great place to visit because it holds many treasures of things you've never tried. If you enjoy reading, go to a park with the best cup of coffee in town and a little dessert and spend time reading, drinking, looking at the scenery and people taking time to notice the little details of life.
Another way to have a great adventure is to pack an overnight bag and get in your car. Point the automobile in a direction and see where it takes you. Once again, take in your surroundings. You have no place you need to be, so you don't have to focus on when you'll arrive. If something looks interesting stop and enjoy the moment. When you fall in love with a place, find a hotel and stay.
The point of this exercise is to relish how decadent and exciting life can be. It's all about the experience not the completion of a goal. Too many times, life is about rushing from one place to another without stopping to enjoy living. So take the time and give yourself the gift of a day where all you do is savor life.
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