S01 Ep01: A Call To The Big Dreamers Who Feel It In Their Soul!

EntrepreneurshipSelf-ImprovementEducation

Dec 27

Written By Melissa Wesner

The reality is that not everybody is a big dreamer! You can feel the difference when you’re talking with someone who isn’t a big dreamer and when you’re talking with someone who gets the excitement and optimism of dreaming big! You can feel it!!
In this episode, you’ll hear:
• The inspiration behind this podcast
• 2 personal stories that highlight the big difference it makes when someone speaks the language of big dreams!
• The need for a community of big dreamers around you!
And…I share a free resource to help you tap into your biggest dream!
Hey, welcome back! I debated what to call today’s episode and went back and forth between, “Calling all the dreamers” to “not everyone is a dreamer” to “where the inspiration started.”
At this very moment, I still haven’t decided. What I have decided is to tell you 2 very personal stories, one that acknowledges just how difficult and dumbfounding it can feel when you’re talking to someone who doesn’t share your excitement or ability to dream, and just how amazing, moving, and understood we can feel when someone speaks our language and fully understands what it means to dream.
I have a pretty terrible memory when it comes to detail, but I was likely married for less than 2 years when my partner and I were going for a walk around Druid Hill Reservoir in Baltimore City. We were young, newly married, and we were going to be heading to Mexico to visit his family soon. I was excited about our lives together, and I was eager to learn more about my partner and what made him tick. As a therapist, I’m a curious person with plenty of open-ended questions to engage in conversation and reflection, and these skills come handy in marriage too. On this particular day, I really wanted to know about my partner’s goals for the future….I wanted to hear about his dreams? I don’t know what goals I was expecting to hear about, but I was at least expecting to hear about something….some kind of dream….some kind of goal…..something. Instead, I got nothing…..no goals….no dreams……he came up dry and empty….which made absolutely no sense to me at all.. I mean, surely he just needed some more questions to help get his creative juices going I thought, but as I continued to press and explore, I continued to get the same lacking response. Never in my life had I ever met somebody who has no dreams…no goals. I mean, how is that even possible????? The only thing that we may have established during that conversation was that he doesn’t think about the future because he is a present-centered person. And, while I can appreciate the value of living in the present moment, I was a future-oriented person with a love for dreaming about the possibilities in life, and here I was, married to someone who isn’t capable (or even willing to entertain me) to try dreaming or identifying goals. It was a pretty disheartening and deflating conversation….not the exciting and lively conversation I thought we were going to be having when I asked the initial question. Soooo….eventually, I left it at that.
And…perhaps you too can relate…..You’ve got big dreams, high hopes, high aspirations. You feel excited about the possibilities ahead, and yet you are surrounded by people who don't share your excitement for big dreams. As you can probably see, I get it….. and…I also get what it’s like to have someone speak your language when it comes to dreams.
Remember….that trip to Mexico we had planned? Well, that trip happened shortly after that deflating conversation around the reservoir, and as we do when we visit family in Mexico, we went to church on Sunday. This time, though, we tried out a new church, and it turned out that the pastor who was speaking that day was a special guest from out of town. I couldn’t even believe when I started to realize that his sermon was about dreams…..specifically…..having VERY BIG DREAMS….The kind that are so big that other people get upset about….the kind that are so big, only the divine can help us achieve….and he talked about ways that our own faith can limit the extent and fulfillment of our dreams. It did not go unnoticed by me that this sermon topic was being had just weeks after having this conversation with my partner about dreams. I felt this sermon in the core of my being, and I promise you, I could not get the tears to stop streaming down my face……I don’t have a clue what anyone else around me was thinking, and I have no idea what my sister-in-law was thinking….cuz you know how it is when you go to a faith service with a family member and one of you sees the other bawling their eyeballs out……but these were not tears of pain or sadness…..they were the tears from hearing someone speak my language in a way that I felt at the core.
This sermon has had an impact on me in so many ways over the years, and I sure wish this pastor knew what that sermon meant to me…..I’ll spare you those details, but long story short….I managed to get my hands on a CD recording of that sermon, and I listened to it repeatedly for years while driving alone in my car. And, time and again, the tears would flow because I understood this message loud and clear….And yes, this was clearly a VERY long time ago since CDS were still a thing.
But….all that to say that when someone understands the yearning we feel for a dream…or future possibilities, we feel it at the core. Not everyone will be wired the way that we are but….we can be intentional about surrounding ourselves with other big dreamers who understand the power of our dreams, the fire behind our dreams, and our drive to fulfill them.
If you’re that big dreamer, know that you’re in good company.
And…that partner of mine….yeah….he’s still around….And, while he will likely never be as big of a dreamer as I am, he certainly has come around, and every now and again, he’ll entertain my big, brainy ideas, and even add to them too.
If this resonates with you and dreams that you’ve had for your life, I’d love to hear from you! Send me an email at hello@dreaminganddoing.net and let me know what your big dream is! I’d love to hear it and to be inspired by the dreams that matter to you! And, I promise, I’ll be responding personally to each one!
And….if you’d love a little exercise to help you feel creative, expansive, and more in touch with your dreams, I’ve created something special for you! It’s a Big Dreams Journal Prompt Exercise to help you tap into YOUR BIG dream!!
So, go get ahead!! Check out this free tool using the link in the show notes, and when you’re finished, send me that email to let me know about your big dream! I really wanna hear it!!