ļ»æHey guys, welcome back to the podcast. I'm back from my trip to Florida, and I'm just feeling really inspired. So I'm really excited for this episode that I'm calling Daring to Dream. I'm very inspired by Walt Disney, and so I'm just gonna give a quick recap of my trip because it was so awesome. So I spent about, let's see, five days in Florida in Orlando.
So I went for two days for my mastermind with a bunch of other business owners and coaches to work on our business and not in our business, and it was so good to just kind of see people that I love and take a step out of the day-to-day, which I really enjoy doing. It helps that sometimes it's nice to have a mom break. And so to be in a different state, knowing that my babies were taken care of was very nice and relaxing, and so it was awesome to work on my business thinking about what's next.
Thinking about the future of Amber Smith coaching LLC, and just what I wanna do and how I wanna do it and what matters to me and all the CEO-type thinking. It was really refreshing. After that, I spent two days going to Disney World with my mom and sister and we did - well I did - three of the parks in two days and so it was a little bit busy, but so fun.
I grew up going to Disney World and it just is one of my happy places. And I'm very inspired by Walt Disney and how he was a dreamer and how he brought to life something that a lot of people thought he was crazy for. Like many entrepreneurs, right? I can't even remember how many banks told him no. When he pitched his idea for Disneyland. People were like, you're crazy. That's not gonna happen.
And he just wouldn't give up. And I'm just so inspired by the legacy that he's left. One single man creating the company, the super, super powerhouse of a company, Disney. And so I really feel like I combined two worlds on this trip where I was working on my business at my mastermind and then just play for two days.
I'm like, this is what I always wanted. Like I really had that moment where I'm living my dream. And it almost made me emotional. I'm on the plane just like thinking and reflecting in a huge wave of gratitude just hit me. Like when I started my business almost five years ago now, I wanted this, I wanted this life where I was successful in coaching full-time - not full-time - full-time income with part-time hours, right? As the cliche goes. And traveling and just being able to afford what I wanted to afford and working with amazing clients and all these things that I have now. I'm so grateful for Amber five years ago, who worked your butt off, who challenged her limiting beliefs like every single one of them to get here.
And I'm not done by any means. I know I have more to grow, but hey man, I'm just really grateful that I found this space to do this work. I really feel like coaching is a calling. I know not everyone feels like that, but I also know many coaches do feel like that, and I resonate with those words.
I think it's a really unique way to serve other people, and so I'm just feeling inspired and so today won't be a super tactical podcast episode, but I do think it'll be inspirational for you. Daring to dream is something that is not super common anymore. I think sometimes we get the entrepreneur or coach space, and we hear all these inspirational stories. And we hear all these like quantum leaps and multimillionaires and all these things. And we forget that's not our norm in our life.
And so if you are a dreamer, you are rare in the world because a lot of people are skeptical. A lot of people think it can't be done. And I just wanted to speak to that because I think if you have a dream, even if it's not super big. But for some of you have really big dreams and you are so afraid to speak it out loud because other people don't think that way, that it actually dims your spark.
It makes you feel crazy for having big dreams. It makes you feel like it can't be done. And I think for the dreamers and the big visionaries, the people who have a vision for the future who sees something that isn't current reality, but sees what's possible, even if it's just what's possible for your family.
There is a time in my life that dropping out of school, I dropped out of my master's program, had student loans due and all these things, and it felt totally overwhelming to me. I did not know what we were gonna do. And now to be able to create a financial reality that feels incredible and so freeing and I still have a long way to go, but holy crap, I've come a long way.
And I really attribute it to my ability and willingness to dream despite people being skeptical or even just safe around me. And I say that with a lot of love. I think a lot of people who say, don't get your hopes up high, or don't dream too big, or you know, keep your feet on the ground. Those kinds of things.
It's not bad, it's just we also need dreamers. We need people who are able to have a vision and bring it into reality because that's how the world changes for the better. When I think of Walt Disney, like I said, I was in Disney World and I just thought about what it would've been like to have this huge vision.
Imagine him in a helicopter or an airplane looking at the swamps of Florida and really seeing what was possible - looking at a swamp. And I feel like for a lot of us, that is how we start our business, is we're in a swamp. Maybe we're burdened by debt, or we have a job loss, or we have health diagnoses or whatever, or things are okay, but you envision something much grander and much better, and most of the people around you don't think that way.
And so we tend to gravitate towards each other, right? We go and gather virtually because we want other people who think like us, who are dreamers. And so we are the people who dare to dream. I think it is our responsibility to protect our little thoughts. In fact, I caught myself on one of the matrix calls recently talking about how our thoughts are like little plans. And we have these like tiny seeds and it's our job to protect them.
And then maybe a little sprout pops up out of the ground and then it's like, Ooh, I gotta like keep nurturing this. I gotta keep watering this. I gotta protect this. Until it is a full-blown tree. Right? Let's say you're planting a palm tree, cuz I was in Florida. It's on my mind. Let's say you're planting a palm tree.
It's gotta start with this tiny seed. And it grows and it's not big at first, and so you need to protect it. It's not appropriate to share it with other people. The reason that I was using this metaphor was that someone was getting coaching on their beliefs, like when is it appropriate or when is it safe to share a dream or a hope or a thought with someone who loves you, like a husband or a mom or a best friend that feels really big and vulnerable?
And one of the things that I talked about is, I'm super careful about who I share my dreams with, right? Because I don't want people to squash it. I don't wanna present my little plant of belief in someone to just step on it because they don't believe it. And then because I am still working on my belief, it feels like impossible to me.
And so I guard my beliefs. I guard my thoughts. And I really only share tender ones, ones that I'm working on with people who are gonna help me hold that belief and protect that belief like a coach. And I think this is the value of coaching, right? When you share your dream with a coach, at least a good one, they're gonna protect that belief with you instead of squashing it.
And I think for people who are willing to dare to dream, to stick with that theme that I started. I think part of our work is to develop the belief so much so that it is a grown tree of belief. I don't wanna beat the metaphor to death, but I think when we present an idea to the world, it should be able to withstand other people's doubts.
I think dreamers are able to hold a vision despite what other people say. In fact, that's what makes them successful, is they're able to hold a vision of what could be regardless of circumstances around them. And I don't think this has to be super big. I don't think this has to be this huge idea in order to be meaningful.
It could be a dream for your family, it could be a dream for your business. It could be your dream, you know, to travel or a financial reality that you wanna create. I don't think it has to be, I wanna start the next Apple or the next Google. If you do, that's great. But I think what I'm talking about is like a personal creative endeavor.
For me, I don't necessarily wanna create the next like Forbes 500 company. I don't necessarily even wanna be a CEO. I do have dreams for what my coaching business will do. I have dreams for what my family can do. And I think my job as the visionary, as the person who holds the vision, it is to protect it, to nurture it.
And honestly to feel the fire and not let other people squash it or doubt me, that in a way that it doesn't usually present itself as doubt. It usually presents itself as, I just don't want you to get hurt. I don't want you to get your hopes up and then be crushed. I don't want you to fail. I don't want things to go badly.
It's usually in the form of protection, but usually it has to do with their own limiting beliefs about what's possible and what's possible for people like us and actually thinking about people like us. It's not that we're better, it's just that we have different ideas of what's possible, and that's okay.
It's good because we create change. We create transformation instead of keeping the status quo, we create new ideas and bring it into our reality. And it actually reminds me of the quote by Theore Roosevelt, and I'm gonna say it here because it's just so good, and you've probably heard it before.
He says, it is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who's actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who airs, who comes short again and again because there is no effort without error and shortcoming. But who does actually strive to do the deeds? Who knows? Great enthusiasms with the great devotions who spends himself in a worthy cause.
Who at the best knows in the end, the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither knew, no victory nor defeat. And when I think about this, it's such a powerful quote. We are in the arena.
If you're listening to this episode in particular, or just my podcast in general or other personal development entrepreneur coaching-type podcasts where we have this vision of something better. We have a vision of what could be, and other people don't necessarily have that vision. It's not that they're bad, it's just that it's different.
And when we listen to what Roosevelt said with the people and the stands, talking about the man in the arena, it's easy to think that they're right. It's easy to think we need to believe them. Except the vision came to you for a reason.
This is what's interesting. You know, I love my husband and as you guys know, but he doesn't really have big visions like me. He's not a dreamer. And I love him the same. To me, it's not even about who's better or worse, it's just knowing who you actually are. I know I'm a dreamer. I know I'm a visionary. And instead of denying that or playing small, I leaned in and it is scarier. There is more risk.
But I can't imagine pretending I didn't know that I have these big visions for my life. I can't imagine setting them down because someone told me I was thinking too big or I was crazy. Or that I shouldn't think like that because I already have a good life. You should be grateful for what you have. Or you know, that's kind of risky. Or whatever version of that story comes out from other people.
They don't have the same vision that I have, and that's okay. We need people like us to have a big vision and to move toward it because I really feel like when we get what we want, the world becomes better, right? The world becomes more prosperous, more loving, especially coaches. Like especially the work of personal transformation and personal creation, the work that coaches do. The world gets better when we go for what we want because we can only get what we want by helping other people get what they want.
And that's a really good thing. And so if you're listening to this and you have a vision and maybe you don't even know exactly what it is, you just know that there's a better life available, that better results are possible. I really feel like you have a responsibility to bring them to fruition. Not by some moral superiority, not because you're better than anyone, but because it came to you. The dream came to you. You are a dreamer.
I think about Walt Disney, you know, he had that vision. He could have pretended that it never did. And there's people that do. There's people that pretend the vision didn't come or that the dream didn't come. I've heard it said that the richest people, or the most wealthy ideas exist in the graveyard. And I can't remember exactly, I'm paraphrasing, but the idea is that people die with their good ideas. People die with their dreams, not brought to creative reality.
One of my favorite movies is The Greatest Showman. In this movie, Hugh Jackman plays an entrepreneur and PT Barnham, and he has this vision for what could be. And he goes through a lot of trials and a lot of hard things to make it reality. And at the end he realizes that it's not just the business and the financial success that he wanted. He also wanted a family life.
And I deeply resonate with that, that I want both. And I think for the people that have these big visions and big dreams, it's so easy to be distracted by what other people say is possible. And for a moment doubt. And so I think this comes back to that idea of really protecting the dream, protecting the ideas that you have that are good, that you know will bless other people if you make them a reality.
It is our responsibility to nurture them because they came to you. And I really love the book Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. She talks about ideas of like tapping you on the shoulder and that if you ignore the tap on the shoulder long enough, eventually it goes to someone else basically to tap on their shoulder to see if they wanna create it.
And I think about it all the time. I think being a dreamer is a responsibility because not everyone has ideas for a better future. Not everyone has ideas for what they can create or what could be different or improve what's something new.
Like on a grand scale, we see things like Tesla with Elon Musk or Google or Apple. I mean, there's a lot of huge companies that do it on a mainstream, huge scale. I do it on a much, much smaller scale, but I still know that people have been impacted because I went for what I wanted in a good way. And I think that's available to you too.
When we get out of our own head and when we forget, or I guess more expand our thoughts about getting what we want, we really see that it is good for the world when we get what we want. Because the only way to get what you want is to help other people get what they want. And so the circle goes round and round.
When we have a good heart, the seeds that we plant become good plants, right? The seeds that we plant in faith and love and hope and charity and light become trees that deliver that kind of fruit to the world. And so for me, it isn't just like a selfish thing. I wanna get what I want. I wanna be financially free. I wanna be all these things. It's, yeah, I do want that and I want to create that through a business that serves other people, that makes a difference in people's lives, that helps people be more conscious, that helps people get what they want.
Like what a better career path. I also know, kind of like that book, Big Magic, that if I stop listening to the little promptings and ideas that I get, they will stop coming. I've had that happen in my life, and it feels empty. It feels like I betrayed a little bit of myself, like who I really was. I've been a dreamer since I was really little, where I always imagined something better than what was.
And one of the secrets that I've learned over the years is that you don't have to dream big and sacrifice the now. I feel like this is the biggest secret that I've learned to embrace for myself is I could dream big and love my now. I can have huge plans and ideas and dreams for the future and love my life now.
And that makes dreams less scary because you're not sacrificing a better tomorrow for today, right? You're not giving away moments with your kids now so that you can have financial freedom in the future. I really feel like there's a way you can have it all now, at least experientially, while you're creating the physical reality of it in the future.
What I mean by that is you can feel abundant now before the money comes. You can feel successful and grateful now before the circumstances line up for that to be so. And so I think it is safe to dream because we have powerful tools through coaches, where we know we can create a reality and experience the emotions that we want now.
We don't have to wait, and it allows us to have the patience we need to create the actual, physical reality, circumstantial reality that we want in the future. And to me, being a dreamer is something that, it doesn't distract me from how great my life is now. It just gives me something fun to work towards.
It gives me meaning to my days. It allows me to innovate and create and make a difference and serve and think big ideas now. It doesn't just exist in the future. My big vision, even though it's not here now, changes my reality. Because all there is is now, right?
I love the work of Eckhart Tole for that reason, and Byron Katie both. They're both incredible teachers about the present moment. And so I think part of our challenge as dreamers is to not let the dissonance impact us negatively where something better is possible in the future. So you feel like crap now. I feel like we missed the point, right? I feel like that's where a lot of exceptionalism turns toxic, where it's like I have this huge idea for the future, but now I really feel like my life sucks because I don't have that yet.
That makes me sad. I feel like a lot of the work I do with my private clients is about dreaming really big and enjoying the present moment, finding the gratitude for what is, while they create what's next. I honestly feel like that's what most coaches do in general, right? We help people have an incredible quality of life while they create the results that they want in the future, and that is the secret of the universe, in my opinion, right?
That you can have both. You can create whatever you want. You can. And it doesn't mean you have to hate where you are right now, and that's beautiful news for us. So if you are a dreamer, keep dreaming. I called this Daring to Dream because I do think it is risky. For most people, it is a risk to put yourself out there to try to build something that hasn't been built before or to do something that is not the norm.
I think it feels vulnerable or exposing to us because we have to try things that we're not good at. We have to fail. We have to be publicly seen trying something. And I think for a lot of people it can feel hard and I just wanna acknowledge that it is, it's not for the faint of heart. Being a man in the arena is not the traditional path or else everyone would be in the arena and not in the stands.
Statistically speaking, most people are in the stands with a few people in the arena. And so if you identify with the person who is in the arena, I see you and I want you to know what you want matters. The vision that you have matters and the vision came to you for a reason. So keep daring to dream, keep holding a vision for what could be.
We need more people like you to stick with it to make our world better. I really believe that. So I wanted to share that with you. Thank you for listening. I'll talk to you later. Bye.
