How to Create a Dream Practice - And Watch Them Come True

How often do you spend time thinking about the dreams you have for your life?

When I was building my business, I dreamed BIG. I dreamed of:

• A balanced life - one where I didn't feel like I was constantly pulled in different directions.
• Giving my girls everything they needed - seeing them grown, happy and healthy.
• Being financially secure - rather than worrying about when the next shoe would drop.
• Finding someone to share my future with - and seeing endless possibilities with a wonderful partner.
• Making an impact in the lives of others.

Then, on a rejuvenating trip a few years ago I was reflecting on my life and my dreams and realized something:

Those big dreams had ALL come true.

It reminded me of the quote "When you realize the life you dreamed of is the life you are living."

Wow, did this encourage me, and I hope it can give you a huge boost of inspiration today.

Dreaming is important because it keeps you on the path of your purpose. When you acknowledge and pursue the God-given dreams in your heart it is life changing - not only for you but for the world.

But taking time to dream is not easy when your schedule is full of responsibilities and it is hard just to keep up with day-to-day life. You have to get very intentional about making time to dream again.

If you read my blog 3 Powerful Steps to Dream Big you learned how to get started. Now let's take a deeper dive to incorporate dreaming and visualization as a regular practice that gets results.

When Life Feels Too Hard to Dream 

My friend, perhaps reading this you may feel that life is too hard for you to dream right now. If so, know I understand as I have been there too.

There was a point in my life when I was a single Mom to my three daughters, all of us suffering from the trauma of abandonment, that my world felt very bleak.

During this challenging time there were days when the overwhelm of work, my kids, and trying to hold it all together put me in a dark place. But I couldn't allow myself to stay there. Not for me, and surely not for them.

Then I realized: You can focus on the dark or choose to let your soul sing for joy.

I made the choice day by day (and sometimes hour by hour) to focus on what was good in my life, and then dream about a better future.

My friend, my dreams came true because I made the following choices that you can too:

• Take time to dream about your life and what you want to be known for. 
• Turn your dreams into a well thought out plan. 
• Get help and support of others to guide and cheer you on. 
• Pick yourself up and keep going when times get tough. 
• Keep on BELIEVING. 

How to Get Started on Your Own Dream Practice 

You can get started on your own dream practice with these five steps:

1. Make "Dream Time" a Priority on Your Calendar 

As a busy entrepreneur it is easy to get caught in the minutia. You have to take care of this client and that meeting, and then wonder how you are going to fit in getting the kids to soccer, dance or music lessons. However, just like you are intentional about scheduling an important meeting with a client, you can be intentional about setting an important meeting with yourself for "Dream Time."

This became such an important topic with my Leadership Mastermind that I hosted a Dream Retreat - a two-day time out from the usual work responsibilities to dream.

It's funny, one of my entrepreneurs said to me after the retreat, "Wow, this was just phenomenal. I almost didn't come and am so glad I did. My creativity got sparked in a way it hasn't in a very long time." He went on to admit that when he heard about the theme of our retreat he wasn't really interested and didn't think he would get a lot out of it. He went away convinced that dream time and visualization was a practice he needed in his life.

You have control over your schedule, and it's up to you to make it happen. Don't wait for the later that will not come. Remember what Zig Ziglar said, "If you aim at nothing you will hit it every time." So pull out your calendar now and schedule time off work - ideally a half day or more where you can do this dream practice.

2. Create a 5 Year Vision of Your Future 

Imagine and visualize your future five years out. Picture what your "best life" looks like, and ask yourself questions such as:

• How old are you? 
• Where are you living? 
• What are you doing - are you still running the same business you have now, or something else? 
• Who are you spending time with? 
• What do you do for fun? 
• How are you making the world a better place? 

Ask yourself what looks different than your life now - do you want to be able to run five miles and have energy to go longer; do you want to be fluent in another language; do you want to be in a different career? Do you want to start a non-profit? Let your imagination flow. Create a crystal clear picture of your best future.

3. Create a Dream Map 

When you are imagining your future it helps to make things visual with a dream map or vision board. There are no rules for how you do this - in a journal, on a big blank piece of paper, in your computer, or on a wall board.

For example, if your future includes you as your healthiest self running daily on the beach in front of your home, then pull up photos of this as your inspiration and put these on your dream map. Use pictures, words, drawings, quotes - whatever inspires you.

In a survey of entrepreneurs who had created a map or vision board along with specific goals when they started out their business, found when looking back five years later that they had accomplished over 50% or more of those goals.

And many of them actually said they had accomplished everything on the list. Those are some pretty amazing statistics. 

4. Make Your Dream a Reality   

From your dream map, pick two or three dreams and make an action plan of how you are going to accomplish them. As I shared, one of my dreams was to have a secure financial future.

To start, I got some expert help and met with a financial advisor who helped me create a plan. We established where I wanted to be five years in the future and then broke it down into a strategy to get there.  

Remember, a dream is only a dream until you turn it into a goal with deadlines. In my program 21 Day Life RESET, I teach you how to take your dream to a goal you can accomplish in manageable steps. In order to get to your five year result ask yourself, “What do I need to do this year; this quarter; this month; this week?  

Now, what is the first step you need to take?   

5. Practice Visualization  

Make visualization a practice that's part of your life. When we discussed the importance of “Dream Time” at our Leadership Retreat, we concluded it was amazing and fun to take time out for a two-day retreat, but it was even more important to create a regular practice where you incorporate visualization into your day-to-day routine.   

Here’s what I mean by this: Your brain is very powerful in that it responds not just to physical action but mental action.

Research shows that your brain doesn’t know the difference between your imagination and the reality. So when you think about  how you want your life to look and visualize yourself in that new reality your brain sees yourself as already there. It makes an incredible difference.  

At minimum schedule time once a week to practice visualization. Even better, take a few minutes every day. Just like a pro-golfer visualizes the course and making the shots prior to a round, visualize your dreams playing out in your life. Let yourself feel like the “new you” and then go out and live that way.  

When I realized the big dreams born during one of the darkest times of my life had come true it was a glorious moment. Sitting on the beach watching the waves crash against the shore, the birds chirping with joy, and the sun shining down on me, I felt incredibly grateful. 

Because I had the desire to dream, and the courage to take action I was able to visualize what I wanted and make it happen.

My friend, you have a purpose and big dreams inside you that are just waiting to be ignited. Use these five steps to begin your own "Dream Time" practice and use your gifts to make a difference in this world.

And no matter what, keep on dreaming.