One Big Reason You’re Not Living Your Dream

This is a guest post by Kelsey Humphreys, speaker, coach and author who is on a mission to help aspiring entrepreneurs find their sweet spot and launch a solo business they’ll truly love. She recently released her first book called Go Solo about just that.  If you’d like to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.

Stop for a second and imagine with me a New York Times Best Selling Author. What does that life look like in your mind? Traveling the country on a glamorous book tour with a couple of assistants? Writing in the wee hours of morning with the perfect cup of coffee in a cozy, book-filled, window-lined office? Next let’s imagine a successful life coach. Does she spend at least an hour a day getting centered with yoga, and spend weekdays counseling in a chic high rise office? Now Imagine someone living your dream. They have it all together, don’t they? With tons of resources and time and support? And when they started, they had special circumstances, more time, and better ideas, right? Well I’m here to tell you, all of that is malarkey. That’s right, malarkey! 

One of the main reasons you haven’t started LIVING your dream yet is that you’re IDEALIZING your dream. If I had waited for the perfect office, coffee and time to start my book, I would not be posting here today. Everything I had read about writing a book said to write in the wee hours of morning in a special “creative” place. I follow authors on twitter who rent cabins, escape to the beach, or relocate for a few months, just to write.  Um, that was definitely not my writing reality. Instead, at random times of day, I would put my infant down for a nap, run to my laptop, usually still in my pjs, and type feverishly on a toy-littered couch until she woke up. I didn’t follow my own advice to solopreneurs about waking up early or staying up late because my child was not sleeping through the night yet. I made writing a priority in my life and worked on my dream the to the best of my ability at the time. It was not ideal in the least but you know what? I wrote my first book and lived part of my dream right there, during naps, surrounded by bibs and toys.

I love that New York Times Best Selling Author Jon Acuff creates videos from his kitchen table. In one of said videos, he shared that someone asked if he was hiring, to which he laughed because he doesn’t even have an assistant. No assistant! He’s got over 220,000 twitter followers! There are many more examples, just think of all the stay-at-home-moms-turned-super-bloggers, with no fancy resources or time to spare. Most successful entrepreneurs started with an idea, passion, sweat, a few spare hours, and not much more.

This is good news! Thanks to the world wide web and modern technology, your dreams are more attainable than ever. You don’t need an assistant. You don’t need an office. You might not need a physical storefront. You probably don’t even need more time. Procrastination, and its close cousin perfectionism, keep us shackled, with just enough chain for movement. I know it’s easier to read, listen to and watch motivating messages about living your dream than it is to build your own. I know it’s easier to say “I’m going to {your dream} just as soon as {change of circumstance}. But until you reject all of the “shoulds,” “must haves,” “once I haves,” or “when I cans,” you will never live your dream. You can start now, with all of your perceived limitations. God wouldn’t have put those fiery passions in your heart just to frustrate you, you’re designed to pursue them! Make your goal a priority in your life as it is right now. No more excuses. No more waiting. Find a few nap times here, a couple lunch breaks there, and make the most of them. Start now, stay diligent.

How can you work on your dream today, no matter what your day might look like? What small tweaks can you make in the next week to allow for more dream building time?