I’d like to tell you a story of an extraordinary woman, Hattie Hasan. I met her in London in 2006 at a workshop I was attending. During the workshop the facilitator asked her to tell us about her goal. She spoke very passionately about how she was a plumber and wanted to train up other women to be plumbers and how she wanted to grow and run the largest women-only plumbing company in England. We all applauded and thought ‘wow, cool goal’. The facilitator then paused, looked at her and asked, ‘Yes, but what is your TRUE goal, what else is there inside of you, what else is in you that is bigger than you, what you are here to do?’
Well, you could hear a pin drop. Hattie stood for about 30 seconds and then she said ‘I’m a plumber, I work with water every day, yet every day millions of people in the world have no access to water, and millions of people in the world don’t have access to running, clean water. To me it’s simply UNACCEPTABLE. What I want to do is ensure every household in the world has access to clean, safe water. That’s my true goal, that’s what’s really inside me.’
The hall erupted into a standing ovation, the emotion was amazing. It was in that moment that I saw for myself the power of dreaming, and not only dreaming inside of ourselves and our immediate lives, but dreaming beyond yourself to your bigger purpose.
Since that day, Hattie’s life was transformed in ways she could have never imagined. She now runs a company called Extraordinary Balls and raised UKP50,000 for Charity at her inaugural ball in the UK last year. She and her team are now in the process of launching global balls all over the world this year and will be raising hundreds of thousands of dollars to help eradicate poverty and water shortage.
The power of Dreams!
I often reflect on that amazing moment with Hattie and wonder, where would she be now, what would she be doing now if she hadn’t got up in front of all those people and stated her bigger goal? My guess is she would still be a plumber, and still be thinking ‘I’ll give my money to charity, once I make some.’ Luckily for her, she woke up and took action, and now she’s living her dream, contributing and making a massive difference in the world.
So over to you, what dream do you have? Do you have a burning desire, a ‘when I retire I’ll do…’
DON’T WAIT!
Whether you dream of taking a cruise to the Caribbean, climbing Mt Everest, writing a book, or simply spending more time with your family – our Dreams are an important indicator of what we’re here to do. We’re here to realize our potential, to stretch and challenge ourselves.
New can be uncomfortable, charting new waters is always uncomfortable. There is a great saying, “the only difference between fear and excitement is our breath, when we are fearful: we hold it.”
Anything you can dream about you can do, or it wouldn’t be a dream. If you don’t have a gift for music, you wouldn’t dream of being a great opera singer. If you don’t have a gift for climbing, you would never want to climb Everest. Your dreams are specific to you, and specific to your innate abilities. So be assured…whatever you Dream, you can do.
STEPS to take today:
1. Articulate your dream, what is it you want to achieve?
2. Uncover the legacy behind it, WHY do you want to achieve it?
3. Take the decision, why must you do it NOW?
4. Set a date, WHEN must you do this by?
5. Take the first step, what must I do today to take me one step closer?
Do these 5 simple steps, and you will be well on your way! Let the HOW unravel step by step and keep open to new possibilites. If you are very clear on the first two steps and you have made a conscious decision to DO it, and then you take action steps daily - it can't not happen!
To find out more about Elaine's Dreams Workshops please contact her for upcoming dates!
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