Here's to the Dreamers.docx

7/28/2019 Here's to the Dreamers.docx

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A few days ago, my new friend, Hannah, wrote this post on her blog: 25

Things Every Woman Needs to Know. Its one of those kind of posts that

smoke-billows its way into your soul and winds its extra long fingers

around your heart, until you find yourself crying inexplicably in the

morning lamp light of a Dominican hotel room because itsjust. that. good.

Go ahead, go read it now. Ill wait. Or read this first and then go read it. But

either way, you must promise me thisyou must promise me that you wont

let darkness fall on another day without having this post in your life. You

need it. Trust me, we all need it. And were just lucky that its out there.

Reading Hannahs post got me inspired. Andit got me thinking. Just like

there are these immutable self truths that every woman should know, isnt

the same true for every dreamer? Didnt we too get lost somewhere along

the way? Somewhere in the distance between dreaming and doing, didnt

our once warm, basking bright lamp light start to go a little dimmer? Or for

some of us, doesnt feel like its gone out completely? Dont we know what it

feels like to feel like were just playing pretend at being a dreamer? While

all the real dreamers are out meeting somewhere for chai tea lattes without

us. Comparing trophies and throwing victory parties. With their perfect

manicured nails. Dont we know what it feels like to have our hearts ache atthe emptiness of chasing someone elses dream, and to buckle under the

weight of that moment when we realize that we may just never get there?

And how do we go about finding our way back?

I wont pretend to have all the answers. Or that I too havent found myself

lost when the light is growing dim. But out of that darkness, I have learned

a thing or two about dreaming. So I thought Id put them all together here

for you now.

Heres to the dreamers

1. Sometimes the brick walls arent there to keep you out, theyre thereto give you a chance to show just how bad you really want it. But


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sometimes the brick walls are there to show you that youre on the

wrong path altogether. Theyre like those talking door knockers in the

movie the Labrynth..theyll say a lot if youll only listen. And theyve

been put there to point out just how off course youve gotten while

you were off chasing after someone elses version ofsuccess. To tellyou that if you would just stay on your path, run the race thats been

charted for youyou would find out just how short-sighted those

other goals were, compared to whats been planned for you.

Sometimes the brick walls are there because they are the only thing

strong enough to keep you from going the wrong way.

2. Stressed spelled backwards is desserts. When in doubt, chocolate isalways part of the solution.

3. Dreaming is a verb. It requires action, effort, work. Dont mistake itwith other kind of dreaming. The one where you get to just lay around

and wait to fly.

4. There will be days, weeks, even months that go by when youfeel like nothing is happening. These are the moments when

youre growing your roots. And the longer it takes, the

stronger the roots. Sure, a weed may shoot up over night,

but it takes nothing to knock it back down again. And lets

be honest, nobody likes the weeds anyway.


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5. I need you to agree with me to stop doubting your voice. And whilewere at it, agree to stop doing backbends too. No, not the

cheerleader, yogi master sort of backbends. If you can do those, goodfor you. Id like to see that sometime. Im talking about how you keep

bending over backwards to mold and conform yourself to what you

think youre supposed to do. How youre supposed to write. Or how

youre supposed to show houses. How youre supposed to market

your business. And how in the process, you hide & put away all the


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parts that make you interesting & beautiful in the first place. The only

thing youre supposed to do is be you. After all, if God had wanted you

to be an exact duplicate of everyone else, he would have just made

you a copy machine. Be grateful that youre not a copy machine.

6. There are a surprising number of Taylor Swift break upsongs that also work equally well for those days when the

dream just isnt working. Listen to them. Dance around in

your yoga pants that you havent done yoga in for a good six

months. Refer to rule #2. Now tell me you dont feel better.

7. Speaking of which, there will be people out there who are just Mean.They wont know you & they wont be bothered to get to know you.Feel sorry for them. And forgive them. After all, nasty blog or

facebook comments last thirty seconds before you delete it. But

frosty, bitter & uglythat lasts a lifetime.

8. If you were handed everything you ever wanted tomorrow noquestions asked, you would be psyched about it for about an hour.

And then you would realize that it doesnt mean anything because you

didnt do any of it. Repeat this to yourself as many times as it takes:

Its the work that makes it worth it.

9.You have to take time to dream. Dreaming doesnt live on your to dolist in between picking up groceries and dropping off the dry cleaning.

It doesnt happen in between emails either. Dreams are like the Dixie

Chicks. They need wide open spaces.and room to make a few

mistakes. A cowboy to take you away doesnt hurt either.

10. Dreams are messy. Theyre 37 books piled on your desk and 100scratched out words before you find the right one. They are drawing

on a chalkboard. Typing, deleting and then typing again. They are

tears. And balled up fists. And cursing the people who have it so easy.

Dont spend too much time listening to the people who have to always


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look like they have it together. Real dreamers are messy people. But

they know that in the mess, there is beauty.

11.On those days when you feel like every last ounce of last inspirationin the well spring of your creativity has run dry and you will neverhave a beautiful or creative thought again, sit down and spend five

minutes reading something from F. Scott Fitzgerald. Youll find that

there are new wells. And theyre all around you.

12.Which brings me to a big one, In everything that you do, tryto make sure that your dreams are never ever (evah, evah!)

just about you. Running in pursuit of these selfish dreams is

the lowest form of dreaming. Sure you may achieve a lot.And others may even look to you as an example of

success. But on the inside, you will rage an ongoing battle

against emptiness with the constant pursuit of more. What

you do for yourself is fleeting. What you do for others is a

legacy.

13.Im just going to say it. Miley Cyruss The Climb.14.Do it because you love it. Do it because it sets you on fire. Do it

because when youre doing that thing you lovetime stands still. Or

goes in super fast-forward. Or both somehow. Do it because you were

born to do it. Because its inyour blood. And because you feel like the

truest version of yourself when you are. But for goodness sake, do

NOT do it for the blog comments, facebook likes, or Twitter followers.

Nothing will kill your dream faster. And lets be honest, our grandkids

are going to make fun of us for Twitter one day.

15.Do not be tempted by short cuts. As you pursue these dreams youwill encounter a parade of false leaders who will promise you the

dreamers equivalent of losing 10 pounds by the weekend. They will

tell you that mediocre is good enough and its all about how you

present it. About how you sell it. Dont buy into it. Seek out real


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teachers. The ones who will push you to never stop learning and

falling love with your craft. To have a life long love affair with this

thing that you do. And to create the kind of body of work that you can

be proud of when you exhale the last of your precious breaths.

Remember, its the work that makes it worth it.Dont short cutyourself out of what makes it worth it.

16.There will be times when its not right, not fair, and nothow you want it to be. That doesnt mean you can stop it

from happening. In those moments, use your energy on

being the kind person you wish they would be. If nothing

else, you might change the outcome for someone else.

17.Im just going to say it. Jordin Sparks One Step At a Time.18. That light in you, as completely out as it may seem right now,

was never really gone. It was just buried under a bunch of stuff that

doesnt matter. If you want to find that light againget back to the

things that do.

19.Dreaming is a group sport. You needpeople to bounce ideas aroundwith. Just make sure you choose the kind of people who are willing to

tell you when an idea is bad, off, or just plain not BIG enough.

20. Twelve publishing houses turned down Harry Potter beforesomeone finally picked it up. Just because the world is telling you

no right now doesnt mean that its not their loss.

21.Im just going to say it. Justin Biebers Never Say Never.22. If youre having one of those days and you really just need a

good laugh, I recommend the Packet Full of Sunshine scene from

Easy A or Jeff Gordons Test Drive on Youtube. Annnnnd youre

welcome.


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23. If Lance Armstrong has taught us one thing, its dont cheat toget there. Because no matter how high you climb, no matter how

much you achieve..sooner or later, whats in darkness always comes

to light. And everything youve gained can be taken away in one

second. Plus, the race is always more satisfying when you knowyouve run it with integrity

24. But rest assured, there is going to come a day when youre goingto win. When youre going to have trophies to show and victory

parties to throw. When that happens, just make sure you pick a table

that has room there for everyone.

25.

Above all else, just remember that youre out theregetting to do what you love to do. And isnt that the real

dream in and of itself?

Documents

Here's to the Dreamers.docx