Making Dreams Come True: The Path from Aspiration to Inspirational Reality

I'm your host, Kevin Lowe.

Twenty years ago, I awoke from a life-saving surgery only to find that I was left completely blind.

And since that day, I've learned a lot about life, a lot about living, and a lot about myself.

And here on this podcast, I want to share those insights with you.

Because, friend, if you are still searching for your purpose, still trying to understand why, or still left searching for that next right path to take, well, consider this to be your stepping stone to get you from where you are to where you want to be.

What's happening and how are you today?

Welcome back to Grit Grace and Inspiration.

I'm your host, Kevin Lowe.

Today we are diving into a topic related to your dreams.

Now, last week, if you caught episode number 203, you will know that we were talking about our dreams back then as well.

And today is kind of an extension off of that episode.

Because in episode 203, we got talking about the importance of having dreams, how our dreams really should be our North Star, really and truly directing our life, directing our actions.

Today, today, we are gonna roll up our sleeves.

We're gonna get ready to get dirty.

Baby, we might get a little bit of dirt under your fingernails.

Yes, by the end of today's episode, you're going to be ready to be washing your hands with a little palm olive to get all of the dirt out.

Because we are getting down and dirty, putting in the work, doing the hard stuff to make those dreams actually come true.

And that is the question at hand.

The question that is truly going to guide us through today's episode.

How hard are you willing to work to make your dreams come true?

Because as much as we wish our dreams were like a little genie that we could rub the little lamp, a little genie would pop out and we say, oh, yes, I get three wishes.

Fabulous.

Here they are.

No, our dreams are bigger than that.

They're more powerful than that, but they require work and they require effort and time invested to make them come true.

And so today we're going to put your dreams to the test and determine are they important enough for you to fight for them, for you to work for them, for you to get down and dirty, play in the dirt, dig in the dirt, do the hard stuff to make them reality.

That is today.

So without any further ado, let's dive in to today's episode.

While you are listening to today's episode, if at any point you think to yourself, wow, this would be a little bit easier if I had somebody to talk it out with.

Somebody who could help me figure out exactly what my big dreams are and what I have to do to make them come true.

If you're thinking that, well, I'm going to invite you to scroll down to today's show notes and book a free 30-minute coaching call with me.

This is no sales call, not at all.

It's literally me just there to help you, my amazing listener.

So if you want to take me up on that, a free 30-minute call where we can just sit down, have a little virtual coffee date, and let's figure out what you got going on in your life.

What's going on with these dreams?

How we're gonna have you turning them into reality, then baby, it is for you.

The link is inside of today's show.

To make today's topic as easy for you to digest and implement as possible, I've broken it down into different themes.

Different themes that all relate back to how hard are you willing to work to make your dreams come true.

And theme number one is all about are you willing to do the hard stuff?

Are you willing to go above and beyond?

Depending upon what your dreams are, they're gonna require varying amounts of effort on your part.

If it's you wanting maybe a new career, maybe you want to start your own business.

You want to stop the nine to five W-2 that you've been stuck at.

And maybe you want to finally start your own business.

That is awesome, fantastic goal, highly recommended.

But are you willing to put in the work, the effort to do it?

Because chances are you're going to have to wake up earlier, stay up later, maybe even for a time being, work a little extra on the weekends.

Now, I am not a person who is like, you got to work, work, work, you got to work all the time, or you know, you're just not going to get there.

No, by all means, I believe a work-life balance is utterly important.

And matter of fact, I believe if anything else, your personal time should be more important than anything to do with work.

But we have to get there.

And in order to get to that dream scenario, sometimes you got to put the effort in.

And so, in this little theme of answering that question, how hard are you willing to work?

I ask you that question.

Depending upon what your dream is, how hard are you willing to do it?

How uncomfortable are you willing to get?

Maybe that's a better way of thinking about it.

Is how uncomfortable are you willing to be?

How much are you willing to put yourself out there to do things that you don't ordinarily do or like to do?

But you know that they need to be done in effort for your dreams to become reality.

Now, moving on from the work effort that you have to put into it, what about theme number two?

Is there a financial effort that you need to be able to invest for this dream to actually happen?

Because a lot of things that we want to do in life, unfortunately, well, they cost money.

Now, whether or not it's maybe say a dream of you want to do this amazing vacation out west to a luxury guest ranch where you spend all day riding horseback or out whitewater rafting, or maybe doing a little fly fishing, or to then come back and settle down at the camp around the fire, hanging out.

That's gonna take money.

That's undoubtedly gonna cost money.

And I understand.

Because, matter of fact, that's one of my dream vacations that I would love to do one day.

Now, what if your dream, though, is something related to we said earlier, starting a business?

Maybe it's really getting in shape.

Maybe it's finally being in that position where it's not just a certain number on the scale, but it's you reaching the ability to have the lifestyle that you want.

It's things like this that not only do they take effort, but they also may very well rely on you to make a financial contribution to the dream.

Because maybe for you wanting to get in shape, the best way for you to be sure that that comes true is for you to hire a personal trainer, is for you to go out and get a gym membership, for you to work with a nutritionist.

For that vacation, well, I'll tell you the best way to make that come true is to invest in an amazing travel advisor, somebody who can create that trip for you.

Again, they are investments, not expenses.

Expenses are just money that we spend.

Investments are what go into making dreams come true.

And so, again, I ask you, how hard are you willing to fight for this thing?

How much are you willing to do to make it come true?

No, I understand sometimes certain dreams that we have, well, the investment might be more than we have to spend.

I get you.

I totally understand.

But it's just something that you have to get real with and you have to get honest with yourself about, is what is required to make this dream my reality?

And am I willing to either put in the effort, the work, or spend the money?

Our third theme is time and resilience.

Dreams, if they're the big ones, the real ones, the ones that get you excited, the ones that leave butterflies in your belly, seldom ever do they just materialize out of thin air.

All of a sudden you wake up tomorrow morning and woo, baby, everything is in place.

No, generally it's gonna take a little bit of time.

And what this is all about is you not giving up.

Sometimes for us to get from here to over there, it's a journey.

It's a long journey.

And we have a tendency to get sidetracked because the journey is long.

Maybe the journey is tougher than we thought.

And so we give up.

Trust me, I have been there 110 times over.

But here's the problem with that.

If we don't stay the course, then we never have an opportunity to actually discover what is on the other side.

If we're working on building a bridge to get us from where we are to where we want to be, where we dream of being, and we stop halfway, well, what does that do?

Nothing.

That means we have to turn around, go back, and what?

Start building another bridge to another island, to another dream destination.

And chances are if you did it once, you're probably gonna do it again.

So this needs to be the time that you say to yourself, you know what?

This dream is so important that I am willing to stay the course.

That I don't care if it takes longer than I think.

I don't care if the journey to get there is tough.

That only means that when I get there, it's gonna be that much more rewarding.

That is the thing that I want you to remember.

That we are doing this for a reason.

It is your dream, the dream that you have dreamt about, that you have, that you want to be your reality.

That is what we are headed towards.

That is what we are fighting for.

That is what you are getting down and dirty and working towards.

So stay the course.

Don't give up too soon.

Because here's the thing.

If you give up today, what if tomorrow was the pivotal point when all of a sudden it all comes together?

Because that's the tricky thing a lot of times about our dreams is a lot of times we spend so much time working towards them.

And it might seem like, oh gosh, what's the use?

It's never gonna happen.

But the fact of the matter is, is that it could happen.

And what if you give up?

And then the next day was gonna be the day that it all came together.

That is no way to live.

But it comes back down to the dream.

Is the dream big enough, amazing enough, special enough that you want it no matter how hard it is, how much it costs, or how long it takes to get there.

My fourth and final theme in this process is radical change, is you embracing a new identity.

Because sometimes pursuing our dreams, in order for that dream to become reality, it requires a radical transformation in us, in who we are, in order for us to become the person that that dream makes sense for.

Think of it like this you may dream of being the president of the United States one day.

Yet if that dream came true tomorrow, whoa, baby, you are in no position to be running a country.

Think about it.

You've got to become that person that that dream is suited for.

Another example.

Today you think to yourself that you would love to start your own business.

Amazing.

Now, start thinking like a business owner.

If you've been an employee your entire life, well, that has a very different mindset than that of a business owner.

So you need to start adopting that mindset.

Start thinking like the business owner.

Take on that identity before you ever even reach it.

In this theme, I'm also talking about you being willing to step outside and to have the courage to do it.

It's gonna take oftentimes courage, boldness, inner strength for you to make these dreams come true.

And you've got to embrace it.

You have got to be ready for it.

And that is gonna make it easier for you to fight for it.

So, to kind of sum up this little phase four that I'm talking about is this idea of really, again, getting clear on what your dream is and what it takes to not only reach that dream, to make it come true, but to obtain it, to keep it, to make it the amazing thing that you dream it is.

Maybe you've got to become a new version of you, a 2.0.

Maybe you've just got to work on your courage, build up your strength, build up that piece of you that kind of has doubts.

No, we have no room for doubts in this process.

This is all about you making those dreams your reality.

Now, to kind of wrap all of this up is that each of these phases by themselves are just a phase.

But when we put them all together and we combine aspects of phases one, two, three, and four, well, oh my gosh, think about that.

That really sets you up to be sure that your dream is certain to be your reality.

Because you're going to realize starting today that if you want that dream to come true, that you've got to be willing to do the work.

You got to be willing to get uncomfortable.

You also got to understand that you may have to spend a little bit of money.

Gonna have to spend a whole lot of time, most likely.

You're also gonna have to realize that the big stuff, the amazing stuff, it takes time.

And you gotta be patient, but at the same time, not so patient that you find yourself giving up on it.

Because even though I'm telling you to be patient, I want you to be so excited as if it's gonna happen tomorrow.

Because the fact of the matter is, is that maybe it is.

Maybe it could, but you've got to be willing to stick it out, to do the hard things, to keep moving down the path.

And then, of course, that fourth and final phase was exactly what I said was having the realization that you may have to become a new version of you.

Radical transformation in your life in order for your dreams to become reality.

Combined together with all of these phases, and I'm here to tell you that your dreams are certain to become your reality.

You just gotta be willing to fight for them.

And it's not easy.

Trust me when I tell you it's not easy.

But I believe it's worth it.

Because a life without dreams is a life without direction.

I taught you that inside of last week's solo episode.

Now we just got to be sure that we have the fight in us to work hard, to do the things, to get the job done.

Remember the invitation that I offered you at the beginning of today's episode.

And that is to please consider booking a free 30-minute coaching call with me.

Literally, me and you, we can just sit down over a virtual coffee date and we can work on all of this together.

This is a no-sales call.

I'm not selling you anything.

No, it's just me wanting to help you get clear on your dreams, figure out how to make them come true.

And with today is what work you're gonna have to do to make them come true.

So check out today's show notes.

I have left a link for my online calendar where you can get that scheduled today.

My name is Kevin Lowe.

This is episode number 205 of Grit, Grace, and Inspiration.

It is my pleasure to tell you that it is your time to turn off the podcast, get outside, and make those dreams your reality.