In talking with a recent Ironman competitor and finisher – he shared a story about watching an Ironman Competition on TV in 1982 when his daughters were 4 and 6 years old. He was impacted by the competitor’s feat and his wonder of their accomplishment. It made an impact on him, so when his own daughter completed in her first Ironman competition he was moved by her accomplishments, and followed her lead and signed up for his first competition…he was 55 at the time.

He’s now 60 and last week finished his 3rd Ironman competition. It’s no wonder that dreams do become reality – when the dream is followed by commitment and hard work. The question may be why is it so hard to dream? Try this exercise – try making a list of things you want to try or accomplish…your own personal dream list. Now try listing an item to equal your age. I tried this after my 27 year old daughter had a list on her refrigerator of her 27 dream items. I could do this – and set off to make my list – but I stalled…why couldn’t I come up with 49 items? Was there an art to dreaming? Why wasn’t I able to unlock that openness to dream? Or was it – that if I put it on paper, it was a serious goal, one not to be taken lightly or without a plan of attack. Were dreams harder to come by as we age?
It isn’t the number of dreams that matters, what does matter is your personal willingness to allow yourself to dream – and work toward making the dream a reality. It is the same principal for your career or business. So get inspired by your dreams, make the commitment to achieve it, and put in the hard work that is required….and don’t forget to check your pace.