LIGHT SWITCH #2

THE TRUTH INSIDE YOUR DREAMS

Dreams can be a window to the soul.

Yet how many of us have had our dreams become nightmares?

We sometimes stop using our unfulfilled visions as a form of inspiration and use them instead as a bat to beat ourselves with.

We see our unrequited dream as a broken promise to ourselves, or a goodness that life has cheated us of.

Yes, for some of us the dream to be a teacher, business executive or athlete was precisely the first step in pursuing and accomplishing the career goal.

For others of us that dream was only a metaphor or a clue that we did not know how to decipher.

Breaking that code is what I call discovering the truth inside your dreams, the essence of the dream.

This is the second light switch for revealing your lucrative purpose.

Discovering the essence of the dream means uncovering the most tangible parts of your dreams, which usually have to do with how your dreams serve others.

Here’s another LYBL Stroy I feel compelled to share…

Cathy once told me of her dream of one day owning her own flower shop, where she could create unique and unusual designs. In real life, she had no desire to work for another florist.

Her dream was having her own shop. It was that or nothing.

When I asked Cathy to tell me the essence of her dream, she said it was to brighten people’s lives through flowers and beauty.

I pointed out that this was something she could do that right then.

She didn’t need to wait for an elusive ‘one day’ when she might have financial resources to set up her own business.

Understanding the essence of her dream allowed this woman to shift her focus from the shop she didn’t have.

Instead, she began to seek ways she could fulfil the essence of her dream here and now.

She did this by making a flower arrangement for a sick friend, who displayed the creation in her home. When her other friends came by they asked about the piece. These enquiries led to more business.

Eventually, Cathy’s reputation grew enough that a local florist asked her to work for him. Over time, it was obvious that she was responsible for a lot of their repeat business, so a partnership arrangement was made.

In the end, she chose not to go off and start her own business.

She enjoyed the partnership and camaraderie she had developed.

By keeping her eyes on the essence of her dream, she achieved what she truly wanted.

If she’d ignored the clues within the dream and focused only on it’s literal meaning, she would still be seeking true fulfillment today.

Use the attached activity to assist you in finding the essence of your dream and watch the training video from the link at the bottom of this page. 

What I want for you is that your dream no longer be a nightmare.

If your answer to “What is possible if you achieve your dream?” does not have the two characteristics mentioned in the activity for this lesson, it will represent a painful ride.

If by doing the coaching exercise you discovered that your dreams were more of a creation from your head instead of your heart (“I’d be rich”, “I’d be happy”, or “I’d be loved”), you may be experiencing a lot of stress and struggle due to the fact that these answers are all products of unmet needs – to be loved, to be heard, or approved of, or taken care of.

These needs surface and take hold because of what your childhood may or may not have provided.

They will not prevent you from living your best life, but you’ll need to make some adjustments to experience ease and to connect with your lucrative purpose.

To Cathy’s story, I’m going to share another story, a story of my own.

Let me add my own experience to show you how much you can gain from understanding the essence of your dreams. Throughout my teenage years, I was passionately pursuing my dream to be a nurse.

At one of my careers interviews, whereby I was being assessed for my suitability and to be accepted for the Diploma of Applied Health Science (Nursing) at Newcastle University, I was asked at the final interview, “What is possible if you become successful as a nurse?” My answer managed to get me accepted: “When I succeed as a nurse, it will mean that people will see me as a conduit to assist them to change their life, to make their world a better place. And if i really succeed at it and become well-known and respected, I will be a voice for change within the industry.”

It was only ten years later that the full impact of that question became evident.

As I was struggling to find my direction in life, I remembered my answer and realised being a nurse was only one form of how the essence of my dream could be expressed.

Deep down, what I wanted was to have a positive impact on people’s lives and help them make changes that would result in their happiness.

It is no accident that the man who granted me acceptance into the course became my first coach years later and ushered me into the profession that expresses the essence of my dream completely.