Do You Have Big Hopes & Dreams For Your Future- Day 1?

‘Washing Out the Old…For A New Day’

I picked up this great book “Achieve Anything In Just One Year: Be Inspired Daily to Live Your Dreams and Accomplish Your Goals.” This book is free at Amazon.com right now, but I am not sure for how long . I haven’t read a self help book in a long time. I think it is because I thought I was perfect and didn’t need any help. (uh uhm ) I used to read them a lot when I my children were younger.

This book has 365 exercises, one for each day of the year. Each exercise makes you think about you, your future and improving yourself & your life. To achieve your hopes and dreams you must dream, plan & act. Act being the key word.

The exercise for day one is to carry a notebook around with you for a week and write down dreams you have for your future. No matter how big or small they may be!

‘Dream Big…Nothing Is Out Of Your Reach’

I have many hopes and dreams, but I have put them in the back of my mind and forgot about them for a while. I guess that is because I was thinking they would never happen, or were too big to actually ever achieve. I am not talking about ‘dreaming of one day having enough money to never have to worry again.’ Although that would be very nice!

This week I have actually started thinking about some of those dreams again. I used to want to write a novel. Yes, don’t laugh. I started it about 12 years ago and worked on it for a while and things happened and I put it away. I took it out of a box in the closet yesterday and started reading it. I believe that it could actually be good. I know everyone usually thinks that about their own writing.

‘Create Your Own Happy Ever After’

You know they say if you ‘don’t use it, you’ll lose it.’ I believe that to be true. I may start working on it again. It has lite a tiny spark under my rear anyway. A spark can turn into a flame right?

I used to want to be an artist, a Commercial Artist to be exact. I even went to college for it after high school, a University in Tennessee. Guess what? Things started happening in my life about the 2nd semester. I finished one year and never went back.

I know that I can not be a commercial artist, because my drawing skills are not what they used to be. That was 24 years ago. There goes that ‘use it or lose it’ thing again. I have wanted to start painting again, but have not took the steps to go to the craft store and buy the paint, canvas and brushes. That is something that I am going to do soon! I will let you know how it goes.

‘Achieving Your Dreams Requires Action…Run Don’t Walk’

Having dreams are fun, exciting and make you feel alive! If you want to achieve those dreams, you have to take action. You can’t just want to become a doctor and do nothing and expect a magic wand to pop out of the sky, and ‘BAM’ your a doctor.

I am a procrastinator by nature. I will find 100 reasons why I should do something later. I have been slowly making changes in myself lately. They are small changes, but ones that have big results in the long run. Those changes are motivating me to follow my dreams no matter how big or small. So what if I am not a Commercial Artist or my novel doesn’t get on the New York Best Seller List!

If I follow my dreams then my paintings will bring joy to me, and my family and friends. My apartment may look happier with a new painting or 2 on its walls. If my book never gets published or read, at least I can say I finished what I started, and of course write another.

You can be your own worst enemy, and I know that from experience. You have to really be motivated to follow your dreams, because with out ACTION they will never happen! It’s not enough to just want something, you have to go after it. You have to take steps, even if they’re small ones, to see your dreams become reality.

I need some work in this area. I am sometimes afraid to go after what I want and sometimes assume I will fail before I even start. I am working on that as I said above. Small changes can make big difference in how you see and feel about yourself and following your dreams.

I hope to get to read about your hopes and dreams for your future soon. Try carrying around a notebook for a few days and write down your dreams for the future. Go BIG or small, and see how you feel about those dreams. I bet many come back to you and you start wondering why you let them go. Do you have a dream that you are making a reality at this time. I would love to hear about those too.

If you would like to take that journey with me, I will be posting each step and exercise from the book on every Wednesday and Friday of each week.

**I am updating this post, because I started day 1 and 2 and then I just quit. A lot of things were going on and I just put it to the side. I am starting this book again and will be posting each day about my journey. I have big hopes and dreams and it is time I start living them, and what better way to be reminded than to write about it everyday!

Dream Big!

Picture 1-Ray of Hope by h. koppedelaney,
Picture 2-Impossible dream by h. koppedelaney,
Picture 3-Pen to Paper by mbgriby
Picture 4-Passageway To the Treasure by Stuck in Customs)

“Whatever you want in life, other people are going to want it too. Believe in yourself enough to accept the idea that you have an equal right to it.” — Diane Sawyer

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? Was it a doctor, lawyer, writer or singer? Did you follow your dreams? Are you the person today that you dreamed of being years ago?

sick When I was little and for as long as I can remember, I wanted to be an artist. Every year in school and even through high school I always took ‘art classes’. Art was my favorite subject. I don’t usually like to toot my own horn, but I was pretty good too! I remember the first art contest I won was in the 1st grade. I don’t have the picture anymore, but I remember it was of a mama turtle and her babies. I was so excited that day to be the winner. I remember it so well also, because on that same day I got and threw up in the class room trashcan. Luckily I was in the room by myself and all the other children were at recess.

I have never dreamed of being a doctor or a lawyer. You know, the dreams your parents have for you. My parents and grandparents wanted me to be an artist because I was so good at it and because they knew how much I loved it. To this day everyone still says “Angie is good at drawing this, or painting that.” They continue to say these things, even though life happened and I didn’t finish college or didn’t much with my art. I was even excepted into the Nossi School of Art in Nashville, TN. They look at your portfolio and accept applicants accordingly. It was an honor, but I didn’t go. I don’t really remember why, because it was so long ago.

In high school I decided to take commercial art classes, which I loved! I loved my teacher, she was very encouraging and helpful. I loved it so much I decided to go to college to be a Commercial Artist. I completed 1 year, and again, life happened! After that I continued to draw and paint from time to time, until one day I just stopped doing it. Over the years I have made crafts and things like that, but nothing like I dreamed I would be doing.

Somewhere along the way I stared wanting to be a good mother, wife, friend and daughter. What I wanted to be when I grew up has changed along the way with the passing years. In my 20′s I still dreamed of one day being an artist. In my 30′s I knew I would never be a “working artist” that time had past and so I started writing. I wrote poetry, short stories and I even started writing a novel. It is in my closet in a box, unfinished. I was fascinated with Scotland! I still dream of getting to go there one day!

Now I am 42, and will be 43 this month. I am grown up now and I still have hopes and dreams of what I want to be. Now these days they are of being a better person, friend, daughter, sister, mother and wife. I dream of being more patient and understanding, and enjoying the little things in life. I dream of exercising and getting in better shape. I still would like to finish my book and see if anything comes of it!

They say (I am not sure who they are) that with age brings wisdom, and that is mostly true. You have already made some mistakes over the years, learned from them and did things better the next time. Hopefully that is what happened. I would like to be one of those women that age gracefully, and except all the changes that are happening inside and out. I am working on that part! I sometimes freak myself out by thinking ‘in 8 years I will be 50′! I can’t picture it in my mind. It seems like yesterday that I was 30.

Even though I did not become a famous artist or no one famous for that matter. I know there are people that love and need me. I know that I can still draw and paint for myself and others. I know that I can still write that novel that is sitting in my closet patiently waiting for me to finish it. Never stop wanting to be a better you, and never give up on your dreams. I know that I can still hope and dream of what I want to be when I grow up!

Do you have dreams that you didn’t pursue or that changed with time?

Til Next Time!

(Picture from Honda News & Free Photos)