3 Keys to reaching all your dreams

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Dreams might be imagined on vacation, but they are birthed out of focus and work.
Saturday with Friends and Family 028 (Photo credit: -DjD-)

I’ve been up writing again at 5am on Saturday. Not because I hate myself or I’m rested, but because I have a burning dream.

You see, I’ve found that dreams aren’t made on sandy beaches with your feet up drinking a cold Diet Coke. That might be where they are first thought about, but it isn’t where they are made.

I’ve accomplished more dreams since I started setting my alarm clock for 5 am than before. Dreams are made out of work. They are made out of early mornings and late nights.

Five am is particularly attractive to me (and sometimes 4 am if on a deadline.) They are attractive because they are guilt free. I have no one who needs my attention and more importantly, there is no one who feels ignored or untended to. If I have to work all day and let my family know ahead of time, there’s not usually struggle there.

So, I’m up writing again on a Saturday morning when lots of people are sleeping. This will be my second book. I did this on Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds: Move to Global Collaboration One Step at a Time and I’m sure I’ll do it again.

Lots of dreams mean lots of work, but like a good delicious watermelon, you can only bite one small piece at a time.

The 3 keys to reaching your dreams:

FOCUS. Pursue one at a time
ENLIST SUPPORT. Make sure your inner family circle is supporting and with you (don’t ignore them)
WORK. Make a plan for when you’ll work on it every week so that motion is always forward

If you struggle with your family being “in on” your dream – there are ways to work with that. It also doesn’t mean ALL of your family. For me, my inner circle is my husband: 1 person. The person you live with should be ‘in on” or at least respect that your dream is happening because it takes the sacrifice of everyone in the house to help dreams happen. For me, no dream is worth losing my family.

I add also a fourth and PRAY over it – which for me, as a Christian, is vital. The dreams I pursue must be aligned with my personal values or the inner conflict will sabotage any forward motion.

Got a dream? Get started.

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Vicki Davis

Vicki Davis has been an educator and IT director in Georgia since 2002. Today, she also works as an instructional technology coach, staying side-by-side with active teachers and students so her work stays grounded in real classrooms.

She's a mom of three, wife of one, and loves talking about the wise, transformational use of technology for teaching and doing good in the world.

She has blogged at the Cool Cat Teacher Blog since 2005 and hosts the 10 Minute Teacher Podcast and Cool Cat Teacher Talk (radio, public access TV, YouTube, and all major podcast platforms), interviewing remarkable educators around the world. Vicki focuses on what unites us — a quest for truly remarkable, life-changing teaching and learning. The goal of her work is to provide actionable, encouraging, relevant ideas for teachers, grounded in truth and shared with love.

If you talk to Vicki for long, she'll encourage you to "Relate to Educate," to "innovate like a turtle," or to be "a remarkable teacher." She loves homemade sourdough bread and cinnamon rolls and runs half marathons with her sisters. You can usually find her laughing with her students or digging into a book.

Thank you for reading, sharing, and telling your friends about the work we do here! - Vicki

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