I don’t recall the first time I saw this quote, but I do know it’s spoken to my spirit for as long as I can remember. These words inspire me, whether I’m trying to decide what’s for dinner or who I want to be when I grow up. They tell me growing old is mandatory but that growing up is optional. That’s comforting.

Right now, this poem is written in colorful letters on a greeting card that I have framed and hung above my desk. When I see it, I’m transported to Thoreau’s Walden Pond. My shoulders release their tension, my breathing slows and deepens, my eyes drift shut. I can hear the bird’s song and the gentle breeze as it whispers across the leaves and as the waters softly lap on the shore. For some reason, I can imagine a canoe just outside the waters’ grasp with oars resting by the empty seat.

As you know, I’ve had a successful career in Sales and am no stranger to stepping out of my comfort zone. This poem reminds me that it’s not about stepping out in grandiose fashion; it’s about taking the next confident step in the right direction, toward an impassioned goal. The life I endeavor to live isn’t about stress and deadlines and schedules. It’s about peace and purpose.

Visualization has been around for quite some time. We become what we think about and what we say to ourselves. Everything that goes into my eyes and ears will take up space in my brain. I’ve not always been wise in this. There are things in there that need to be purged, so if I advance confidently in the direction of that dream and endeavor to live that life which I have imagined (without the trash in my brain), I will meet with success unexpected in common hours.

What are your dreams? Dream big dreams and small dreams and everything in between dreams. Set your mind to advance confidently. Don’t play small and tell yourself, “I can’t do that.” If you do, you’ll be right. Leave the lid off your Dream Machine and let it overflow. Find the dreams that make your heart flutter. Throw away the potato chips. Put on the ice skates. Go buy an easel, canvas, paints and brushes. Let your fingers dance on the ivories. Update and polish your resume’. Turn off the television and sit in silence.

Listen. You might hear the everyday sounds of Walden Pond, too.

We can endeavor to live the life that we imagined. In doing that, I believe we will meet with success unexpected in common hours. Success unexpected. Common hours. This speaks of hard work and preparation to succeed. It’s true, the harder we work, the luckier we get.

A friend gave me a frame that reads, “What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?”

The answer is “Every dream that makes my heart flutter.”

So, I’ll dream the big dreams and the small dreams and the in-between dreams. I’ll reach for the moon and at the very least grab a few stars.