Treasure Your Dreams

When was the last time you had a dream come true? I mean really, something you wanted very very badly — something you had hoped for, longed for, even maybe worked for. When was the last time you allowed yourself to dream so big that when that dream DID happen, you couldn’t wipe the smile off your face for days?

I had an experience like that recently

I’ve always been a big fan of dreaming… ask me what I want out of life and you will probably feel sorry for me by the time I’ve finished answering you because, well, I expect a lot of things!

One of those happens to be owning a horse again, competing in horse shows again, and having a state-of-the-art equestrian facility of my own.

Another facet of that dream is being able to donate a portion of my time and resources to therapeutic riding. It’s something I have ALWAYS had an interest in, and when the word “charity” comes up that’s instantly the first thing I think of!

Well, as of yesterday, I am one step closer to achieving that dream. I was lucky enough to find a friend who’s son is enrolled in hippotherapy at a local equestrian center. I went with her to one of his lessons, spoke to the person in charge and am attending my first orientation tonight.

Finally, after 2 years of not setting foot in a stirrup, I will be riding several days a week and helping to train and school some horses the center uses for their therapeutic riding program. On top of that, I will also be able to help out with the lessons the kids participate in, and even get involved in some Special Olympics events!

WOW — talk about not being able to wipe a smile off your face. That’s what is SO cool about dreaming… about putting things down on paper, setting a goal and then doing “whatever it takes” to make that goal a reality.

I had tried multiple times in the past to get in touch with this therapeutic riding program, but was unsuccessful. Then, when I was least expecting it, I found a connection and was able to jump in and achieve my goal!

So… what are your dreams? And even more importantly… what are you doing to move yourself closer to them?

The best part of dreaming big, is achieving big. So committ yourself to setting a goal and then doing whatever it takes to see it through — I can promise you, once it’s achieved, it will be worth it!

The quote I leave you with is this, by Walt Disney:

“If you can dream it, you can do it!”

Well, this post has been a long time coming. I looked back and noticed I haven’t posted since OCTOBER — wow, it’s definitely been a while!

A lot has happened in the past 5 months… well, actually just the last 3. It’s been an interesting year, to say the least! I feel like I’ve reached the point of a new beginning, and finally feel like I’m back in enough of a normal routine to begin writing again

I toyed with the idea of changing all of my old posts over to “private” (or even deleting them all together) as a symbol of this new beginning, but in reviewing them this morning I decided I just couldn’t do that… they’re just too good! *smile*

All kidding aside though, there really is some great content in those posts, so I have decided (for now at least) to leave them be.

To kick off this new chapter in life, and to extend the personal nature of this particular post, I want to share something that I found on my friend Saul Jacobson’s website. I noticed he actually discovered this on our friend Cathy Mahady’s blog, so Cathy, thank you!

7 Things About Me:

1. Why I Get Out of Bed Everyday … The future! Sometimes I sit and marvel at how blessed my life is. I get to help people rediscover their dreams for a living — it doesn’t get much better than that! When I look at my own dreams though, I can’t help but to come flying out of bed every morning because I am so excited to get busy making them come true!

My "Dream Board" in my office!

2. What I Love … Dressage. I miss it SO much! I grew up riding horses, and that’s really the reason I chose the profession I did — to be able to have not only the MONEY to pursue my favorite hobby, but the TIME as well! Taking a mini-break for another year or so until I get my business fully built up… but then I know I will be able to enjoy it for the rest of my life

Aaron and Me

3. Where I Have Been … London, Paris, New York and Alaska. Some of my favorite memories are of the trips my Nana took my cousin Jayci and I on. We’ve had the opportunity to travel to 4 incredible places and spend time travelling together making memories of a lifetime. If there’s one thing I love almost as much as riding, it’s definitely travelling!

Nana, Jayci and I on our balcony during our Alaskan cruise!

4. Where I Want to Go … Germany. Not only is it one of the Dressage capitals of the world, but it was also my Grandpa’s favorite country to visit. I can’t wait for the day that I get to go there and explore everything! 

Castle in Germany

5. What I Know … you’ve got to truly enjoy what you do every day, or you’ll never be truly happy. There is nothing better than waking up on a Monday morning and being truly excited about your week!

6. What Motivates Me … my mentors. I love meeting and spending time with successful people and taking in everything I can from them so I can create that success in my own life.

Michael Clouse and my Mom, Kathy Schneider

7. What I Learned … just when you think you have it all figured out, you don’t. Life is a series of curve balls. You never know when something is going to change, whether it be for the worse or for the better. Sometimes, things that seem like the worst at the time, actually end up being the best in the end. You can’t control change, but you CAN control how you react to it. By keeping a positive mindset in all circumstances, you can create something magical.

One of my favorite quotes!

We’ve all made them — we wake up on January 1st, determined that “this year will be better!”

This year I will work out consistently.
This year I will save 10% of my income.
This year I will go to church every Sunday.
This year I will…. (you fill in the blank).

And we all know where it goes from there! You stick to your resolution… for a couple of weeks. Maybe a month. If you’re REALLY motivated, you might make it 2 or 3. Then, as all the hype and excitement from the New Year begins to fade, so does your motivation.

THEN 365 days later… you find yourself making the same empty promises to yourself as you did the year before.

So what can we do to end this vicious cycle? What if I told you there was a way to set a “New Year’s Resolution” 4 times a year? Do you think that might be easier? Of course it would!

The method is simple — divide your life into 90 day increments. Set 90 Day goals, a 90 Day Game-plan, and a 90 Day Schedule.

Looking ahead a full year in advance is difficult to do — there is too much time between the act of setting the goal, and the day of accountability. You tell yourself “Oh, it’s only January”… “It’s only March”… “It’s only June, I have half the year left!” Then, you look up and find yourself saying “It’s DECEMBER! How am I ever going to reach this goal now?”

If, however, you set your life up in increments of 90 days, you will find yourself working towards smaller goals that must be completed in a shorter period of time. 12 weeks is all you get — no ifs, ands, or buts about it!

You will be able to look at your calendar and find no logical reason why you could put your goal off for another day, or another week. The day you set your goal is already crunch time — you don’t have the option to procrastinate!

Once you have determined your goals, set up a game-plan for reaching those goals. This is called your Daily Action Steps. Do something each day that will take you one step closer to reaching each goal you have set for yourself.

If your goal is to weigh a certain amount… go for a walk, or spend some time at the gym!
If your goal is to reach a certain income level… go prospecting and do a presentation!
If your goal is to spend more time with your family… take your kids to the park after school!

But as you set up your goals, remember this: These are 90 day goals, so don’t be too hard on yourself! Make sure your goal holds up to the “reality check” — is it doable? Can it be accomplished in the amount of time you have allowed? Start out small, and don’t spread yourself too thin. You are much more likely to reach a goal if it is not too overwhelming!

If you are not in the habit of setting and reaching goals, then begin with VERY small goals! Develop the habit of reaching goals! Become accostomed to that feeling you get when you reach the end of the 90 Day Period and you can say to yourself “I did it!” That feeling alone will keep you more motivated during the next 90 Day cycle.

The final important thing I will share with you today is this: Once you have set a 90 Day Goal, become COMMITTED to reaching it!

And with that, the quote I leave you with today is this:
“Commitment is doing the thing you said you would do, long after the feeling you said it in has passed”

Texas Tech Football – “I Dreamt It in my Head”

I’m sure anyone who follows college football even the slightest bit has heard by now about the incredible last second (literally) touchdown pass from Graham Harrell to Michael Crabtree that led to the upset of the #1 ranked Texas Longhorns by the #7 ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders this past Saturday night.

What a game!

I had the privilege of sitting on the 50yd line with my cousin, who is a red-shirt freshman for Texas Tech, and to experience a history-making night of football. As I’m sitting here writing this tonight (now 2 nights after the game) my voice is still hoarse from screaming for the Red Raiders.

This is the most talked about season in Tech football history – for the first time in decades Tech is now 9-0 and ranked #2 in the BCS polls which puts them in reach of not only the Big 12 Championship, but the National Title as well. While there are many skeptics, I have to say I believe they can do it – and here’s why.

Visualization.

Let’s start back at the middle of this summer, in July, when the host of a local radio morning show began the countdown to “The Day Texas Tech Wins the National Championship!” – while it was predicted that we were in for a great season, it was by NO means predicted that we would make it that far. The radio station (home of one of the most listened to morning show in town) has embraced this countdown in full force — they have even composed a song (which they play on the radio every morning and usually several other times throughout the day) with lyrics such as “Texas Tech Red Raiders win it all, Texas Tech Red Raiders let’s win that crystal ball!” Needless to say, the radio host is not the least bit surprised that we are entering into the 11th week of the season undefeated.

This past week was the craziest in Lubbock I have ever seen. Over 1200 students spent the week in tents camping outside the stadium gates… news stations were broadcasting from the end-zone… billboards and commercials were seen all over the place promoting “BLACK OUT to BEAT TEXAS”… shirts were made by local retailers, sold out within 48 hours and made and sold out again – excitement was in the air, WINNING was in the air.

Of course, we were all skeptical. But we knew that this was our year – our game – we had as good of a chance at taking on #1 and winning as we ever had in the past. Everywhere you went you could overhear conversations about the upcoming rivalry game, and virtually all were positive.

Let’s jump ahead to Saturday morning, where the crew from College Gameday was broadcasting from Memorial Circle on the Texas Tech campus. This was their first ever visit to Lubbock, Texas and everyone was anxious to see who they would pick to win.

At the end of every broadcast Lee Corso brings out the head of the mascot of the team he has picked to win that day – as #7 going up against #1 we were definitely the underdogs, but he must have seen something in the faces of the fans and in the determination of the team to make him think we had a chance because lo and behold he brought out the head of Raider Red along with two pistols and fired them into the air as the fans behind him went wild!

Excitement continued to mount as the time for kickoff got closer – and by 6:30 the stands of Jones Stadium were black with fans who had shown up in their black-out shirts to cheer Tech on to victory. Never have I witnessed such electricity in the air of that stadium – not only was a new record set in attendance, but all 56 thousand+ of us were on our feet screaming for all 60 minutes. The noise of the fans yelling “RAIDER POWER” drowned out the noise of the announcer, and the only times his voice was understood was when the roaring crowd would join him in announcing another “RED RAIDER FIRRRRST DOWN” (which turned out to be quite often!).

Against all odds Tech led throughout the entire game – that is, up until the 4th quarter with 1:31 left to play on the clock when the longhorns scored the touchdown that put them ahead 33 to 32. Hearts sank and then rose again to pound in everyone’s throats – surely, after all we’ve done, we weren’t going to lose like this.

Tech fans have a reputation for giving up — for the stands being empty by halftime if it didn’t look like the red raiders were going to pull out a victory, or if it looked like victory was eminent. Not this time. Not a soul left from that stadium – for the last minute and 30 seconds every person was on their feet and, if it was even possible, that stadium became even louder.

The sound of the celebrating longhorn band was drowned out by “Fight Raiders Fight” blaring from the instruments of the Goin’ Band from Raiderland, chants of “RAIDER POWER” rocked the stadium and with each gained yard the excitement rose.

Finally, with 8 seconds left in the game, the Red Raiders needed about 10 more yards to put themselves into field goal range before calling their last time out to save the game. Apparently, that wasn’t going to be good enough. As the ball snapped Harrell hurled the ball towards the corner of the endzone where Michael Crabtree was scrambling to free himself of two Texas defenders. The ball flew into his hands as if powered by a magnetic force and Crabtree hurled himself out of the arms of the Texas defender struggling to pull him down. Keeping his feet merely inches apart in order to keep from falling out of bounds the Crab took one step and then another – yard by yard he seemed to effortlessly control his body in what appeared to be a super-hero like fashion as he stepped into the endzone and won the game.

The crowd went wild – fans rushed the field and the band belted out tunes of victory. I remember looking at my cousin, screaming, high-fiving, being picked up and spun around by a complete stranger and finally hurdling over the fence and onto the field to congratulate the Red Raiders on the biggest win in Texas Tech history.

In a post-game interview Michael Crabtree was asked to recap that trip into the endzone – his only words were, “I dreamt it in my head – and it happened!! I do that all the time but it happened – it kind of shocked me!”

That line was quoted in countless articles over the next 24 hours – the game was won because Michael Crabtree “dreamt it in his head”. He later went on to explain that he imagined catching a pass and running it in for the game-winning touchdown. He says he imagines things like that often, and all I have to say to that is do you think it’s a coincidence?

Michael Crabtree is the top receiver in the NCAA – although he is only a sophomore plans are already being talked about of him playing next year for the NFL. He is a local hero here in Lubbock, and has been now since the first couple of games of his first season with the Red Raiders. That just goes to show that talent mixed with “dreaming in your head” (aka: visualization) can really go a long way.

Texas Tech is getting ready to go through what announcers are calling “The Gauntlet” over the next few weeks – playing Oklahoma Sate this coming weekend here at home and then Oklahoma University at their home stadium. Some announcers are skeptical – others, think we can pull through. The fans though have never been more excited or more optimistic. I have yet to hear a negative word as to our fate for the rest of the season – tickets for the upcoming OSU game are selling on eBay for over $1500, and the announcement to “RED OUT” is making its way through the air and dreams of victory bells are playing in our heads.

I can’t say what will happen to the Red Raiders this season… but I can say that if I were you I would keep an eye on this team – and with every victory remind yourself to dream in YOUR head the things you want to see become a reality in your own life. When you dream it, anything is possible!