What's a dream or aspiration you have?
That's a better question than 'What do you do', isn't it?
As a kid I wanted to be an astronaut, a cowboy and a CHIPS highway patrol officer!
Oh and in full disclosure in 1977 I spent a weekend trying to Force-push teddy bears around my bedroom. More than anything I wanted to be a Jedi.
At various points in adulthood I wanted to be a climbing photographer and travel writer.
I also thought I wanted to be a PhD. post-grad doctor.
And I really wanted to be a wildlife photographer working for the BBC natural history unit.
Today I yearn to be generous with my time and attention, holding the ropes for adventurous change-makers who I know are building a net-positive future.
The truth is that my proudest achievements have been built on the belief that others have created in me. Left to my own devices I'd likely still be chasing bonsai dreams, other peoples versions of the dream, not daring to cross the thresholds I create for myself.
Examples in my past include...
🏃🏼 running PB marathon times,
💵 commanding higher coaching fees,
⛰️ topping out on climbing routes I wanted badly to complete
📸 shooting magazine front covers
📖 having articles published
I had considered each of these silly or childish dreams, unimportant and trivial or pointless to others.
Yet they consumed my thinking and seduced me with the possibility. They felt like they should be accessible to me.
And as I realized something in each those spaces I felt a little of the magic disappear. In learning how the trick was done it lost a little of its magic.
If I can do that, what else might I be capable of?
What dreams have your forgotten?
What dream seems silly or childish today that you once felt enlivened by?
What do you yearn to create in the world that is so outlandish you haven't dared share it with anyone?
There are people out there who believe in you. People who are waiting for you will create.
How big do the stakes need to be for inaction to no longer be an option?
What's a dream or aspiration you have?