I write a lot about dreams. I talk a lot about dreams. I even dream about dreams. Dreams are everything to me. Dreams are like a savings account or equity in your home. It is why people go to great lengths to protect their dreams with patents, trademarks, and/ or copyrights. Dreams give you hope. They breathe life into you. When you feel like giving up, you remember your dream and you push through. It belongs to you. You’d better take care of it.

We are surrounded by people who do not understand our dreams. That’s okay. They don’t have to. Remember that dreams are not easy… otherwise, everyone would be living their best life. It seems that we are trained to give all the reasons why someone can NOT do something. When you share your dreams with others, you may very well get a list, long before someone finally says, “That sounds real cool though.” If you are given a list of all the reasons why you should not follow your dreams, often the messenger is someone who could not follow their own. Consider the source and do not let that negativity rain on your parade.

Rain will come and you should be ready for it. Just tuck your wings away for protection until the rain passes. We all have our season. While you are steadily working on your dream there will be all kinds of “periods” of time. There will be periods of research, periods of learning, periods of action, periods of connecting, and if you are like most of us- long periods of waiting. Waiting can also feel like rain. Waiting can be very frustrating, but hold on to this: A lot of growth happens in the period of waiting. It feels like we are not free to fly and flutter about as we would like. It might feel like your wings have been clipped. You might even doubt your dream during this time. Others in your life surely will. “If your dream was so great it would have taken straight off.” No, not necessarily. This is the time for you to get ready.

Make sure you are spending time with your dream.

Sit alone with it.

Talk to it.

Make sure you understand it from all angles.

Be the expert on your dream.

Find out what doesn’t work just as much as you learn what does.

And when the clouds lift, you will be ready.