Impossible Dreams – Bringing Your Vision to Life

Impossible Dreams – Bringing Your Vision to Life

“It always seems impossible until it is done.”

– Nelson Mandela

I was at a business networking event in Victoria recently and heard an excellent speaker deliver a presentation that really resonated with me, so I thought I’d share a bit about that in this blog.

The event was hosted by the Westshore Women’s Business Network and the speaker was Barbara Edie, author of Creating the Impossible; What It Takes to Bring Your Vision to Life.

Barbara’s presentation was about the importance of achieving our dreams – and since I am smack in the middle of writing my own book on that same subject matter (Barrier Removed; A Tough Love Guide to Achieving Your Dreams,) I was very interested to hear what she had to say 🙂

Here are a few highlights from Barbara’s presentation:

In regards to why some people DON’T tend to pursue their dreams, comfort plays a key role. “Safe and secure,” Barbara said, “is often the reason people stay where they are and don’t make a change.”

This reminded me of one of my favourite quotes by Anais Nin. A previous owner had written it on the side of the garden shed in my yard in Sidney – and when I saw it, I knew it was another little sign this was the home for me:

Barbara also spoke about how sometimes people don’t pursue their dreams because on some level, they think they are impossible to achieve – so why bother?

“But the only time dreams become impossible,” said Edie, “is in your thinking.”

Or as Nelson Mandela put it: “It always seems impossible until it is done.”

As to HOW to achieve our dreams – bring your vision to life – Barbara talked about the importance of FOCUS.

“Focus is everything,” she said. “All powerful creators begin with the end in mind.”

And when you know what your vision is and you have the focus to take the necessary steps to achieve it, another useful technique is to take the time to tap into the positive emotion that you will feel when you do achieve it. If you can visualize ahead of time that positive emotion associated with your achievement, this will help bring about the actual achievement faster.

For me, this idea opened up a smelly little can of worms. I had a huge aha! moment. When I think of the end result of achieving my dreams – say when one of my screenplays is seen as a movie on the big screen – I don’t feel positive emotion. I feel all sorts of negative emotions: fear, anxiety, nervousness. What if it sucks? What if it is a failure? What if everybody hates it – or people are pissed off at me?

Or what if it IS a hit…how will I handle all the extra work and responsibilities and change that come with significant success? I can scarcely handle my life now (well, okay, it’s really just the unanswered e-mail that is out of control).

For me, writing itself is my passion. The process of writing is my happy place – not the finished product…which likely explains why so many of my big writing projects are taking so damn long to get produced!

But of course now that I am AWARE of this, things will change…because I will change 🙂

Barbara also spoke about the integral role that intuition can play in helping guide us. “When we start to tap into our soul’s magic,” she explained, “things can start to happen quite quickly.”

This is certainly what I am experiencing!

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift.”

– Albert Einstein

Barbara reiterated the importance of paying attention to the things that are going on around us – and in us. If we get a feeling to call a friend or reach out to someone, to do it…because we just never know the higher reason. Perhaps it is something they really need from us – or it may lead to an opportunity that is just waiting to present itself.

Barbara called this the FYI principle: Follow Your Intuition.

And why do we need to follow our intuition?

“Because,” she said, “Intuition is how your heart communicates with your higher self.”

Love it!

“And when you act,” she continued, “you will be amazed at the things that come together – because the Universe responds to action.”

The key word here, of course, is ACTION. 

After her presentation, I went up to Barbara and introduced myself. I thanked her and explained that much of what she’d said had really clicked with me. Then, for some reason, we got chatting about how it’s not the number of years we live that matters as much as how we live the years we do have.

“Even when someone does make it to 90,” she said, “that doesn’t necessarily mean they have really lived 90 years. Rather, they may have just pretty much lived the same year over and over again, 90 times.”

Wow, eh?

To sum up, here are Barbara’s 3 tips to help bring your vision to life: 

1.) Focus!

2.) Once you have your vision, tap into the positive emotion you will feel when you achieve your dream

3.) Follow Your Intuition

Related blogs by Maryanne

Without Focus and Follow-Through You May Be Just Spinning Your Wheels

Synchronicity – The Universe’s Way of Saying You Are Getting Warmer

Willpower Launches You On Your Journey – Good Habits Ensure You Will Arrive

Maryanne Pope is the author of A Widow’s Awakening, the playwright of Saviour and the screenwriter of God’s Country. Maryanne is the CEO of Pink Gazelle Productions and Chair of the John Petropoulos Memorial Fund. If you would like to receive her regular weekly blog, please sign up here.