Photo and blog by Sharman Dow
Dreaming Up is Raising the Bar of Expectations
Dreaming is an imaginary creation that is conceived in your thoughts and emotions. It’s not just something that takes place while you sleep, but also what goes on in your heart. It’s a state of mind that is marked by an abstract thought or vision that is unseen to others, but clearly seen by you.
It also can be a goal or purpose that is ardently desired within you. It’s almost as if it were planted in you and only you – as if God specifically made you for that dream.
Do you have dreams? Do you ponder on the “what if” questions? Many people think of dreams as a fantasy, but dreams can become real. If desire of that dream is so deep within you, then quite possibly it can become real.
It All Started with a Dream and a Mouse
Dreaming up is what happened in 1928 when a little-known cartoonist created a mouse in an animated short film called, Steamboat Willie. Walt Disney created the character of Mickey Mouse that has for nearly a century brought untold millions joy and excitement through stories, films, games and theme parks.
Walt Disney dreamed up. He didn’t just draw a cartoon character; he drew a dream. A dream that was planted in his heart that became a reality. His passion and desire brought Mickey to life. The rest is history.
Dreaming up is taking your dream and moving it upward to the next step. The question is: what is it that you are dreaming today, and where can you take it? Walt Disney took a little black and white short film and explored where he could take it next. It all started with a mouse and a dream. What dreams do you have that will motivate you to the next level?
When One Door Closes, Another Opens
I remember sitting at my desk years ago working at a job that was just mediocre. It was not fulfilling and I was bored. I knew I was capable of so much more. I hated sitting at a desk all day long from 9 to 5 and punching a time clock.
I started dreaming. I knew I was capable of so much more than working for someone else’s dream. The funny thing is, it took me getting fired from that job that led me to the very career I found fulfillment in. Sometimes God closes doors on us, and we have a tendency to keep our fingers in the door.
At the time it was devastating and humiliating to be fired. But my heart was never in it. It was the wrong place for me. I knew in my heart it was not where I was supposed to be. But it was in this very job I started dreaming up. I knew I could do so much more and that I was made for more.
Because this door closed, another one opened that eventually led me from a job to start a career in insurance sales. WOW! Did you get that? I was fired from a job and found my dream! I love having a career in sales. As I thought about this, selling was a dream planted in my heart from childhood. I used to sell everything from lemonade, to newspapers, to the dolls that sat on my shelf (I was a tomboy and hated playing with dolls). I even convinced kids in nursery school to eat dirt! I told them dirt had iron in it and could make them be as strong as Popeye.
From early childhood I was made to sell a product, and I was fortunate to find it in insurance. For me, a career in insurance became lucrative financially and intellectually. But right from the beginning, I started to dream up and wanted to own my own insurance brokerage firm. I knew I did not want to just sell insurance. I wanted to run the company. I dreamed up and sought a way to make my dreaming upward become a reality.
Then I dreamed up again and wanted to work for a top-10 insurance brokerage firm. This dream also became real and is where I work today. Now I am dreaming upward again and wanting to impact the next generation of women in business by founding the Empower Women’s Conference.
Dream up, dream big and set your mind on higher thoughts! Break out of your comfort zone to move your life into your next dream.
Sharman Dow is the founder of the Empower Women’s Conference.
