Issue #81: How to Spark a New Dream

Daring to dream again and finding inspiration in the everyday.

Photo by Dominik Dancs via Unsplash

I have always been a big dreamer. During the first two-ish years of entrepreneurship, I spent more time writing down new ideas and plans for the future than I did working in the business. At the end of every single year, I am the first to create a vision board. And every single pivot I have moved through over the past 10 years has been fueled by a bigger, better dream.

I am a dreamer. The desires that I have, have always been a big part of why I continue to choose entrepreneurship even when it gets hard.

That was until life happened.

I had a baby. Then there was a global pandemic. I got a job…then got fired from that job. Add on a ton of other personal setbacks and somewhere between postpartum depression and being kicked into survival mode, I stopped dreaming.

Dreaming of one day becoming a world-renowned business coach who changed the coaching industry for the better felt irresponsible. My dream of creating a product line felt financially out of reach. And don’t even get me started on the dream that I had to write more books.

Life has kicked my butt so hard that dreaming felt more like a chore than an activity that used to bring me so much joy.

In the past few months though, I’ve felt the tug to start dreaming again. You know how when a thought crosses your mind and no matter how much you try and shake it, you’re still constantly reminded of it? That’s how the past few months have been for me. Without even looking for a “sign” assuring me that it was time to think of a new dream, little hints began to pop up throughout my day.

I’d come across a podcast series that was dedicated to dreaming, I’d see a random Instagram post about holding on to your dream, or a new video on Youtube would pop up on my feed about it.

So for a while, I’ve known that it was time for me to get very clear on what I want and to start dreaming again. But sitting down to dream still felt hard. There have been plenty of times over the past few weeks where I’ve gotten comfortable with my iPad and no words would come out. I would scroll through Pinterest for hours and nothing motivated me. I even went back through old journals to see if what I wrote in the past would spark any excitement.

And nothing happened.

But through all of that digging and reflecting I realized this…

I was struggling to dream because I was still trying to hold onto a dream that I no longer wanted.

So much of my life has changed over the past few years, which means that not only have I changed, but what I want has changed to.

I no longer want to be a coach, at least not in this season of my life. I still want to write books and create products but I want to create them for reasons that are completely different than before.

And while making money is still a big part of my dream, I’m more focused now on making enough that will allow me to live a simple yet fulfilled life.

So how am I sparking this new dream?

I’m tapping back into what inspires me and what gets me excited. For me that’s books and beautiful homes. Last week I spent the afternoon slowly walking through the aisles of Barnes and Noble and taking in the smell of books and coffee. I then rode through a very wealthy neighborhood and admired the architecture of the homes.

I don’t know what it is about new books and seeing how the other half live, but it always puts me in the mood to think about what’s possible for me.

That one afternoon gave me the boost I needed to begin dreaming a new dream. It was as if the flood gates had been opened and I finally gave myself permission to look towards the future and to stop dwelling on the past.

And it felt damn good too.

I believe that our dreams are always evolving and becoming more clear. But I am excited to have a solid foundation to work on.

If you’ve been struggling to dream in this season, let me remind you that it’s time to move forward. Dreaming isn’t just about giving God something to work with for your own gain but it’s about putting a dream out into the world that someone else is going to potentially benefit from.

I know that life has been hard. Really hard. And dreaming feels even harder but we need you to put that dream that’s been on your heart.

What are you dreaming about in this season?

Cheers to a restful week!

– Alisha

GOOD FINDS

LOVING: You know you’re getting older when new cleaning supplies excite you. We’ve had this O-Cedar mop for a few months now and it has made weekly mopping a breeze. What I hate about regular mops is the feeling that no matter how much you dip it into the cleaning solution, you’re still just spreading germs across your floor. But this mop removes 99% of bacteria!

READING: Ruth Ware, one of my favorite suspense authors, released her new book, One Perfect Couple, back in May. I have read every book of hers leading up to this one and it’s already off to a great start!

WATCHING: Over the weekend I finished up the first season of Owning Manhattan on Netflix. I lowkey STAN over Ryan Serhant and can’t wait for season 2!

LISTENING: Christine Caine is hosting a podcast series this Summer called Permission to Dream (one of the reasons behind today’s newsletter). It has been so helpful with sorting through some of the deeper reasons why it has been hard for me to dream again.

ICYMI

DON’T FORGET TO BREATHE