"If you can dream it, you can do it."

We all have dreams. I will admit it…I have them too. One of them is to own this awesome house on the north-east corner of Sanchez and 21st in San Francisco (Big dream, I know. But if any of you happen to stroll up that direction, you’ll know why it’s one of my dreams.)

In researching what the word “dream” is defined as, my dictionary gave me two definitions.

“A cherished aspiration, ambition, or ideal.”

AND

“An unrealistic or self-deluding fantasy.”

(Did they just say “self-deluding”? Isn’t that kinda harsh?)

How many of us categorize our dreams using the former definition, and how many categorize using the latter? More importantly, how many of us go from defining our dreams from the former TO the latter? God knows I have…countless times. OK, granted I do think that dreams that are associated with luck (like winning the lottery or being the 9th caller on a radio show to win concert tickets) fall into a slightly separate category, I think that everyone has the power to make their dreams a reality, and to take charge of the direction their life is headed.

I remember hearing this story about a woman from Texas and her path to live her dream. She worked her way through the public school system and got herself into Stanford. She graduated with an Economics degree and moved on to Stanford Law School, where she served on the Stanford Law Review. Successfully graduating from Stanford Law, she was on her way to live her dream of becoming a lawyer in a large law firm. The problem…no one would hire her because she was a woman. The sole job offer she received was as a legal secretary. (Wow…Stanford Law Degree and all she could get was a job making coffee and typing letters? I bet Susan B. Anthony was turning over in her grave.) But she didn’t let that stop her. She went into public service and worked in a number of positions helping the public sector. She made her way to becoming the Assistant Attorney General for the state of Arizona, appointed to the Arizona State Senate, and eventually became the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States. Yes, Ladies and Gents, that woman with the law degree from the #3 law school in the United States who couldn’t land a job making more than minimum wage as a secretary was none other than Sandra Day O’Connor.

So how can we live our dreams, and get what we want out of life? Anatole France once said, “To accomplish great things, we must dream as well as act.” So why not put some action around those dreams and goals you have?? Let’s say, for example, your dream is to land a new job, or get promoted at work. What is one thing that you can do today to take you one step (even a small step) toward that new job, or that promotion? Maybe it’s updating your resume, or having a candid talk with your boss, or defining for what you really want out of your career. Come on, you have million ideas in your head of things you want to try to help make your dreams a reality. So why not try one of them? Take that first step! Start making your dreams a reality and accomplishing your goals.

Walt Disney said something I will never forget. ”If you can dream it, you can do it.”

So what are you going to do today to make your dreams and goals a reality?