The Absolute Importance of Having Dreams Outside of Our Professional Industry

Our amazing Sarah Burns (owner of Menly’s Pet Care in Michigan) shares a wonderful story about the power of dreams.

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Do you still dream?  What are your dreams?

And I’m not talking about the dreams in your sleep where you find yourself inching towards the top of the hill on the scariest roller coaster and you quickly realize that the lap belt to keep you secure is not locked into place.

I’m talking about your life dreams.

I had a small, personal revelation recently that I had stopped dreaming and didn’t even realize it!

Starting a pet sitting business is a dream in itself, right? We get to be our own boss, we get to run our own company, we get to be with animals everyday; it truly is our dream come true and that’s why we do it!

But what is next?

I think it can become very easy to start defining yourself as “Sarah The Pet Sitter”. It’s what we do everyday, all day. It’s what we think about, it’s what we plan our life around. It’s a career that can easily sneak up and steal your life without even realizing it.

It is so important for us to realize we can have so much more!

Not Everything is About Career

My mom works at a gas station. Needless to say it isn’t the most glamorous job in the world and sometimes my mom feels insecure that she “just works at a gas station”.

I always tell her, you’re not defined by your job! Our job doesn’t always have to be our passion.

I believe this is true whether you love your job or not. It doesn’t have to define you. It’s okay to have hobbies, dreams, goals and talents that never make you a dime.

I don’t know about you but because I have an entrepreneurial spirit I tend to look at my “dreams” in the confines of business goals. My “dreams” are always of what services I can add, how I can expand, what I can market etc.

While it is great to have that kind of drive for your business, it doesn’t have to be the only thing we focus on! Dreams that don’t make money aren’t a waste of time!

Priorities

Have you ever noticed that when you feel crummy the first thing to go off your schedule is actually the things you enjoy? You’re already stuck doing the things you don’t want to do so the only thing you can control are the things you did want to do.

They end up getting cut so you can get some rest. Then before we know it we’ve pushed everything off for so long we don’t even realize why we are feeling so empty, run down and grumpy.

Perfect example: My Horse.

I’ve dreamed of having a horse since I was a little girl and a little over 4 years ago God blessed me with a beautiful horse that I love very deeply.

Spending time in the saddle riding quietly through nature brings me peace I can’t even describe. However, horseback riding is a very physical activity and as you well know, we walk a lot. So by time my day of 8 walks totaling 5+ miles ends, I don’t have the energy to drive to the barn, saddle up my horse, ride through the woods, take off all her tack and then drive home.

Even typing it made me feel tired! Before I know it, it has been weeks since I’ve made it to the barn (thank God for incredible barn managers!). But yet every time I do go I don’t even notice the effort it takes because my soul is refreshed.

We are always trying to get one more thing on our To-Do List accomplished because we tell ourselves that’s when it will be okay to rest or have fun.

But life short!

Life has so much to offer us if we will dare to allow ourselves to have fun and dream!

My Goals Challenge To You

I am not a big fan of people who preach to others what they don’t do themselves, so I am making a personal challenge for myself to start accomplishing dreams that I always put on the back burner for the sake of other things.

I encourage you to accept my challenge as well and find two things that have nothing to do with pet sitting or work of any kind. Discover a hidden talent, take an art class, pick up dancing, take a college course and learn something new…you’re only limited by your own ability to dream.

So here’s mine. I’ve set one short term and one long term goal.

Short Term Goal

I’ve been watching a lot of Bob Ross on Netflix lately and I just love him! Not only do I enjoy him but I discovered a year or two ago that I really love painting.

I have a somewhat natural talent for it but I know if I actually spent time learning, I could be quite good. Aside from whether or not I am good at it, I just genuinely find it peaceful. This month I have decided to invest in everything I need and I am going to do one of his paintings no matter what it takes.

Long Term Goal

I love photography and find a very natural peace in it. My mind just shuts off and instead I focus on nature and the beauty in front of my lens. I specifically want to focus on bird/wild animal photography and in order to do that you need a pretty good lens.

I’ve done my research and have decided what I want to get. The lens I want costs $1400. Outside of my horse, I’ve never purchased myself something that even remotely costs that much. It seems almost impossible for me (an admitted spender) to save that amount of money for something!

But I am going to do it!

I absolutely love cardinals and they are never so beautiful here in Michigan than in the dead of winter. So, my long-term goal is that by time the first snow falls in November this year, I will have my new lens ready to catch their beauty.

Stop Making Excuses

If money is your excuse, even if you can only save $5 a month towards whatever your dream is it’s $5 more than you had last month and you’re one step closer to your goal.

If time is your excuse, you make time for what you value. How many Netflix Originals did you watch this week? How much time did you spend staring at the news feed of Facebook? We are each given 24 hours in a day and it’s up to you to decide what you’re going to make of it.

I will leave you with this final quote in the hopes that after having read this article you’ll be inspired to start living a bold, beautiful, exciting life and fulfill ALL of your dreams!

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream” ~C.S Lewis

What Are Your Dreams?

Tell us below what your dreams, skills, talents, or hobbies are outside of our professional industry.  What keeps your spirit alive and purring along?