Marathon, FL 24º42.366N | 81º5.669W
One of my readers posted this on Facebook, and, first of all, I'm honored. We did not set out to inspire anyone. If that has happened it is a delightful byproduct of following our own dream.
But what it really got me thinking about is what dreams are made of, which sounds like a corny song from the '60s, I know. In this case, though, isn't it interesting that I, a girl from the desert moving onto a sailboat, have inspired someone to move from the Outer Banks near the ocean to Arizona in the desert. The content of the dream is not important. All that matters is that you have one.
I often ask people about their plans after the kids are grown or when they retire. Most often I'm answered with a blank look, as if I just asked them the Gross National Product of Zambia. There are people who haven't thought to dream. It hasn't occurred to them that there's another life possibility out there, that they might just pick up and do, well, something else.
And what difference does it make in your life to have a dream? I can tell you from experience that our plan to go sailing, even 10 years back, was a great stencil for drawing in almost everything else in our lives. We drew a smaller house than most, almost boatlike, and were better stewards of it, knowing our ultimate goal was to sell it for cruising cash. We drew a better business than we would have otherwise, making more prudent decisions that, we hoped, would make it more marketable when the time came to sell. We downsized, stopped buying useless things, drove older cars, sat on worn couches. I could go on here, but you get the idea. Our dream was the outline that kept us marching toward our goal for 10 years.
Try it. Get one.
Dream a dream. A big one or a little one.
Put a flag out there.
Start marching.
You'll be so glad you did -- and you'll be there sooner than you think.
"Thanks in part to you two, we are realizing our long held dream of moving to Arizona this year. We decided to be brave and just do it, methodically making trips and looking at properties in earnest for the past year. Everything is falling right into place at the right time. I was one of your last customers at the wine store when you sold it. Took the card for the blog and have been a faithful reader ever since. Reading the blog really helped cement that we were doing the right thing. So, I thank you." -- A Facebook reader
One of my readers posted this on Facebook, and, first of all, I'm honored. We did not set out to inspire anyone. If that has happened it is a delightful byproduct of following our own dream.
But what it really got me thinking about is what dreams are made of, which sounds like a corny song from the '60s, I know. In this case, though, isn't it interesting that I, a girl from the desert moving onto a sailboat, have inspired someone to move from the Outer Banks near the ocean to Arizona in the desert. The content of the dream is not important. All that matters is that you have one.
I often ask people about their plans after the kids are grown or when they retire. Most often I'm answered with a blank look, as if I just asked them the Gross National Product of Zambia. There are people who haven't thought to dream. It hasn't occurred to them that there's another life possibility out there, that they might just pick up and do, well, something else.
And what difference does it make in your life to have a dream? I can tell you from experience that our plan to go sailing, even 10 years back, was a great stencil for drawing in almost everything else in our lives. We drew a smaller house than most, almost boatlike, and were better stewards of it, knowing our ultimate goal was to sell it for cruising cash. We drew a better business than we would have otherwise, making more prudent decisions that, we hoped, would make it more marketable when the time came to sell. We downsized, stopped buying useless things, drove older cars, sat on worn couches. I could go on here, but you get the idea. Our dream was the outline that kept us marching toward our goal for 10 years.
Try it. Get one.
Dream a dream. A big one or a little one.
Put a flag out there.
Start marching.
You'll be so glad you did -- and you'll be there sooner than you think.
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