The Get Real Blog

     What’s your gigantic impossible dream? Do you have one? Have you given up on one? Why would anyone want a dream when the economy is so sluggish? I mean after all we are in the midst of a serious recession. Did you know it is official now?
 
     Dreaming big is critical to powerful leadership and living life. Lots of people don’t have dreams for fear they may not come true. If you don’t believe me, I encourage you to ask the next 10 people you meet. What’s your dream? Most people get this semi glazed look about them, and go into some part of the brain that may not have been accessed for quite awhile.
 
     Dr. Martin Luther King had a dream. At that time his dream was considered by many to be ridiculous. I think his dream was accomplished.  He had a dream that one day blacks and whites could drink from the same water fountain, as one tiny example of his dream. I wonder what it would have been like for Dr. King to get up out of bed with the idea of accomplishing his dream. My sense is that he jumped out of bed. I bet the little things in life did not stop him for too long. I think it is partly why we celebrate his very life. Most people take a day off on his birthday. .He had a dream that was manifest through his leadership. While his tragic assassination ended his life short…was his short life well lived?
 
     How about Richard Branson the billionaire owner of Virgin airlines etc. I know he has dreams. He keeps living into his dreams. Does he face obstacles? Yes, my guess is that Mr. “adventure” Branson has some very real obstacles. So what? I think living as a leader requires having a big ass dreams. Dreams can propel us into a new way of being. Dreams keep us edgy, real, authentic and inspired. Dreams are like Baked Alaska…they are only ordered on special occasions.
 
     In one of my coaching sessions this week, I asked my client to create his impossible dream. He was amazing. I could tell he had given it considerable thought. It did not take him long to list the gigantic dreams that he has. Were they all realistic? Heck no. That’s just the point.  His dreams were so big that I know (he knows) he will never accomplish some of them. Once he spent some time in “Dreamville” (is that a real place?)  I dropped the billion dollar question. Who would you have to be as a leader to make that happen? Ok, now you could hear a pin drop. Then very gently I lifted the velvet hammer. Why not just start being that way today. His face lit up. His shoulders went back and he became the man he had always wanted to be. Well, at least in that moment. Now, he gets to practice consistently leading his life from that place. 
 
     Leaders are good at being .You must be the thing that you want to lead into. Be it now. Don’t wait. The dream will give you permission to behave in the way that the dream requires. The brain is funny that way. I don’t mean funny as in humorous. I mean funny as in peculiar. The brain does not know the difference between imagined and real. Don’t believe me?  Take a bite of an imaginary lemon right now. What happened?
 
     I challenge you to dream big. This is the perfect time of year to consider a big dream goal for next year.  Be specific…then behave consistently in the direction of that dream. My sense is that the quality of your leadership/life will change.
 
     Enjoy the process. Please share with me. What is your Impossible Dream? Perhaps one day, I can assist you in making that happen?
 
     Lead on. Dream on.