Let go of the dreams that you’ve outgrown and move into your purpose.

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – Les Brown

We all have dreams. For many people, dreams are simply wishes that they want. Brave Thinking® teaches us how to take those dreams from a “someday” wish to realization.

As Brave Thinkers®, we know how to use the tools to take our dreams from thoughts to action. But sometimes we get so caught up in our lives and goals that we sometimes don’t stop to really think about whether that dream serves us.

Is it really my dream or is it someone else’s?

Is this a dream that still matters to me?

Does this dream speak to my life purpose?

As we reach goals in our lives, there are always new dreams. There’s no end date to dreaming or setting new goals. If you’ve manifested some of your dreams, that’s wonderful.

Now it’s time to look forward to what would be even greater. What would you love? Is this dream big enough? My test of whether a dream is big enough is whether I know HOW. If you know exactly how you’re going to reach your dream, it’s not big enough!

I know that might sound scary, but it’s absolutely true. Invest in the what — what you would love. Set your vibration on that dream, and don’t let doubts about how you’ll achieve your dream lead you away from that goal. If you can dream it, you can accomplish it.

Brave Thinking® Principles: What is a D.R.E.A.M.?

If you’re new to Brave Thinking, I’d like to introduce you to the D.R.E.A.M. definition we use to help turn our visions for the life we’d love into the reality we love living.

What is a D.R.E.A.M.?

• D. Pay attention to the desire and the discontent
• R. Realistic goals
• E. Explore the energy of the dream
• A. Attention 
• M. Mentorship and Mastermind

Each of the letters for the word, “dream” helps you follow the steps to take your dream from a someday wish to a living, breathing reality.

D. Pay Attention to the Desire and Discontent

The first step of identifying your dream starts with noticing your desires and discontent. What do you desire? 

If you look at all the areas of your life, what would you really love?

This might be a house or a job or a romantic relationship. Maybe you want better health or more time and money freedom. What you want is specific for you. 

Even if we both wanted a dream home, my dream house and yours would be completely different. So, pay attention to your own desire, name it and create a clear vision of what that is.

The next step is to notice your discontent. What is it in your life you’re not happy with? What areas would you want to change?

Perhaps you have a job that you don’t enjoy, or your relationship isn’t as loving as you would like. Be very honest with yourself about this and use your areas of discontent to really ask yourself what you would love instead.

R. Realistic Goal

This is where many people struggle when it comes to manifesting. They can build a vision well enough. But they don’t take action. So, they have some success, but not the consistent success at the level they would love.

With positive visualization and affirmations, you will have some success. You’ll improve your mood and thoughts are energy, so you will be able to bring some of your visions into reality. However, you also must move in the direction of your dream through action to have real, sustainable, and measurable results.

While you don’t need to know the overall “How” to a big dream to achieve it, you must set specific goals that move you in the direction of your dream. These put you in a place to be open to the opportunities when they arise.

E. Explore the Energy of the Dream

You’ve identified your desire and discontent and set smart goals for your dream. Now, in the E step, you’re going to really explore what the energy of that vision is. This is more than just naming it. Put yourself in the mindset of living in that dream. 

The science and art of transforming dreams from ideas into reality insists that you come from the dream, you can’t move to the dream. Once you begin to explore the energy, you have opportunity and access to the life you would love. 

If you put yourself in this energy frequently, on a consistent basis, you’ll have access to a power to transform your life.

Goody Cable began to dream of the possibility of a hotel. As she dreamed, she weaved it into a pattern of design in her imagination that included a Hemingway Room, and a Dr. Seuss Room. The dining room would be called, “The Table of Contents”. The vision became bigger and bigger as she kept exploring the energy of her dream.

She put herself into the energy of that place and felt the wind on her face on the deck of her hotel. She wrote down exactly what the conversations were and included all five senses in that place where she was so happy in her dream.

Goody had setbacks in getting to her dream. She went from bank to bank. Goody applied for loans to fund her dream and she was denied 29 times. By studying the science of transformation and Brave Thinking principles, she knew that those challenges weren’t stop signs. She knew that each obstacle could be overcome. Instead of looking at them as a no, she learned something from each denial to help her improve her business plan and actually realize her dream. On the 30th try, Goody got her loan, and the Sylvia Beach Hotel became a reality. 

A. Attention

Have you ever decided to buy a particular car, say a red convertible, and then you see red convertibles everywhere you go? Those cars were always there. You notice them more when they’re in your mind because you’re paying attention to them.

If you practice visualization regularly, you can program your Reticular Activating System (RAS) so that you can start to pay attention to things better, which helps in achieving your dreams.

The A in DREAM is attention, and it’s also action. Once you notice your desires and discontents, set smart goals, and explore the energy of your dream on a consistent basis, you’ll be presented with opportunities. You attract these opportunities by staying in harmony with your dream and maintaining that vision.

Pay attention to the opportunities that are presented to you. Now, you might wonder if these opportunities are really right to bring you into your vision. Sometimes obstacles pop up that take you further away from your vision, too.

There is a formula for understanding whether an opportunity is bringing you closer to your dream. 

Ask yourself, will this bring me farther away from my dream, or will it bring me closer? 

Sometimes that’s not easy to tell. If it’s on the frequency of your dream, keeps your dream in your mindset, and gives you the opportunity to connect with others who will resonate with your dream, it may be an opportunity that you attracted through the first three steps.

M. Mentorship and Mastermind

The final step is in surrounding yourself with people who support your dream. We call them “Partners in Believing.”

When you surround yourself with people who don’t support your vision, aren’t interested in those types of goals for themselves, and are negative toward your goals, they can make it more difficult for you to reach your goals. The very energy and air around them could bring down your vibration.

If you pay attention to your surroundings, you’ll likely notice that most of the people you surround yourself with are living the same type of life as you. If you want to live a different lifestyle, I encourage you to bring people into your life who are living in that vibration.

The single most effective transformational tool in my life has been partnering with amazing mentors. A mentor is the most powerful resource for growth that I’ve found. It’s not uncommon to find that you make more progress in a short amount of time with a mentor than you’ve been able to achieve on your own in years. This is true for everyone. I certainly owe a great deal of my success to the remarkable mentors I’ve worked with in my life.

This is one of the reasons that I offer the Brave Thinking®Masters program. When you enroll in the Masters program, you get weekly mentorship and lessons for 12 months, and you’ll be able to connect with other Brave Thinkers who are moving in the same direction as you. We know that it’s not enough to learn the lessons, but it takes a constant commitment to work on your vision.

I highly recommend finding an incredible mentor who has created the level of results you want to create, to help you grow and learn beyond what you can do on your own.

Letting Go When It’s Time to Dream a New Dream

Have you ever thought, “I’m too old to dream a new dream”?

That “gray ceiling” was the paradigm my friend, Mimi Whitaker, had. Before my friend, Mimi, enrolled in Brave Thinking Masters, she said that she was at a place where she wasn’t happy with her job, her marriage, or any of the quadrants of her life. When she thought about the things she wanted, she knew she would love a house on a lake. She would love to spend more time with her grandkids. She would love fantastic health. And she would love a job where she felt she was living into her purpose and really contributing to things she believed in.

Mimi’s paradigms told her, “You’re kinda old”, “Don’t waste your energy”.

But courage said, “You can have a life you love living!”

Mimi worked the program. It didn’t happen magically, but it was almost magical. Mimi and her husband divorced amicably and thanked each other for the good they’d brought to each other. After selling their house, (for more than the asking price!), Mimi was able to buy her dream house on the lake!

Her life, after working on her vision continually, was everything that brought her happiness. She moved near her grandkids, loved her house, and got a new job that she adored. 

How Do You Dream About a New Life?

As we saw with Mimi, there is no expiration date on building a life that you love. You’re never too old to dream. In fact, as long as you’re breathing, you’re living a life. It’s up to you whether you want to make it a life that you love.

How do you know that it’s time for a new dream?

When you notice a desire or discontent, that is when you know that there is something greater still. If there is longing or discontent, it’s time for you to consider what you would really love. What would make you happy? What would help you fulfill your purpose?

One of my favorite stories about dreaming a new dream even in your later years is actually my own mother’s story.

My mom’s name was Dorothy Manin. After my dad transitioned, she became very depressed. She was 84 years old and had spent many years with the man that she loved. We took her places to fill up her time, but we could all see that she was having a difficult time.

Finally, she called me one day and said,

“Well, I guess if God’s still breathing me, then there’s something I should do with my life. Let me try that dream-building thing you do.”

I asked her if there was anything she wanted to do that she hadn’t done. Or anything she always wanted to explore. During that conversation, she mentioned that she always wanted to try china painting. From there, Dorothy not only took classes, but she created beautiful gifts for her children and grandchildren. Then she became so good that she left a legacy of gifts for her family, and some of her work was even featured in galleries!

As Dorothy got closer to her 90th birthday, she was a well-known china painter. And then she started thinking of new dreams. She wanted to do something that would leave a legacy. Her dream was to create a nonprofit that offered loans to the spouses of people who had been injured or killed in war. So that’s what she did.

One of the ways she funded the nonprofit was by creating a book called, 90 Ways to Put a Zip in Your Day.

So, my mom, after the age of 84 was able to create a whole new career for herself as an artist. And then found a nonprofit and even authored a book that is a lasting legacy.

Manifesting the Life You’d Love – Are You Ready to Become a DreamBuilder®?

We’ve talked about what D.R.E.A.M. means. You know how to notice your desires and discontents, and have learned how to set specific goals toward your vision. We’ve talked about exploring the energy of your dream and how this is something you must do regularly to bring that vibration into your life.

We’ve talked about attention and how following the first three DREAM steps will actually attract your opportunities to you. And finally, we’ve discussed the importance of mentorship and mastermind.

You’ve learned that finding a new dream is something that never ends. As long as you’re breathing, you are living. And as long as you’re living, you might as well be living a life you love. There is no end date to dreaming. You are entitled to live the life you love, and we live in an abundant universe where those dreams are possible.

If you want to make DreamBuilding® a part of your everyday life, to help you manifest the life you would love, I encourage you to register for our DreamBuilder® Live Virtual Event.

It’s a three-day event led by myself and the Brave Thinking Institute faculty. It is truly life-changing and will give you all of the tools you need to start blueprinting, bridging, and building the life you would love.

Register today and learn how to live into your purpose.

Think Bravely and Act Boldly!