Last October I was looking for ways to promote my book, Dream BIGGER: Reclaiming a Life of Joy and Ease so I set up the Dream Bigger Reinvention Challenge. It was a two-month online contest in which participants described the dream they wanted to fulfill. In just 60 days, there were nearly 900 visits to the site from 20 different countries! People showed their support by voting for their favourite dreams, and then I chose the winner based partly on the public vote and partly on criteria established in the contest rules.
The winner was Tiffany Lazic whose dream was to open a centre in downtown Kitchener, Ontario that would feed mind, body, heart and soul. She envisioned a gift shop with crystals, herbs, books and locally crafted items. There would be a reading room with purple velvet chairs, complimentary tea and peaceful music playing in the background. She wanted to have treatment rooms available to local holistic practitioners and large workshop/classroom spaces for a wide range of community activities.
This had been her dream for ten years and she had transformed the ground floor of her home into a compact version of her vision. She entered the contest because she felt the time had come to expand the dream and create a community hub – an intersection point for healers, teachers and the community.
Since winning the contest, Tiffany has been receiving financial coaching from Kerry Cudmore and media consulting services from Dunn Pellier Media. I’ve been coaching her forward with her dream.
I’m delighted to announce that her dream, The Hive and Grove, opened for business in early May. She found an ideal location in downtown Kitchener (226 Frederick St.) with bright spacious rooms that allow every aspect of her vision to flourish. The classroom space is already booked well into the summer with workshops and courses, the purple couch and chair are often occupied in the reading room, and there are displays of jewellery, crystals, books, cards, incense and unique gift items everywhere you look. She even has an online shop!
Tiffany is a great example of the power of dreams to inspire, motivate and propel us to action. She started with what was available to her and then followed where the dream led. Just like the six Dreammakers I interviewed for my book, her dream has now expanded to have a community impact. Here’s what she has to say about her dream.
“I thought the dream was The Hive and Grove, the wellness centre and shop with a wonderful image of what that might look like to carry me forward. And, though it does give me great joy to walk through the door every morning, to be in this beautiful spot and look forward to the events, classes etc, what I have realized is that the true dream is community. In the Dream Bigger contest, that is the category under which I placed the dream. It wasn’t exactly personal and it didn’t feel global. And having a place that could serve as a hub for community was definitely a present thought. I have realized since, in the events leading up to making the dream a reality, that beneath the tangible vision of a place, that the essence of community was the true motivating energy. In the past 3 weeks I have seen amazing connections made between like-minded folks and passions within shared. There is truly nothing better than that and I am so looking forward to seeing where these connections and passions lead. Following a dream is always a worthwhile pursuit – no matter how how long and windy the path may be. But I have learned through this process that, if one holds the essence of the dream as one’s rudder, the windy path will unquestionably lead to the perfect manifestation.”
What’s your dream? What is one step you can take today to move it closer to reality?
Great post and impact, Julie! Congratulations!
Thanks!