So you have big dreams. You should! The cliché saying, “If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough” is true. But, how exactly do you get from just dreaming to actively living you dream life?
Over the last seven years, I’ve created my dream life one leap of faith at a time.
I’ll keep the backstory as short as I can. When I was 15 years old my family moved from Georgia to Texas. At the time, I had just started dating Kemper. I started at a new school for my sophomore year and it was tolerable. I was surviving, but not thriving.
It was during this year that I started to make my first leaps of faith. I decided a few things:
- I was the only person who fully knew what my dream life looked like
- I was the only person holding me back from that dream life
I went to my parents and told them I wanted to do online school. I was a straight-A student, in honors courses, and had a few friends. However, I hated spending all day at school and all evening doing homework, just to rinse and repeat it the next day. There had to be more.
They agreed. My junior year, I started online high school and got my first “real” job. That was leap of faith #1 to living my dream life.
Leap of faith #2 was a long-distance relationship. Kemper and I chose to date long-distance despite being 15 and barley knowing each other. He said, “I’d rather try and it work out, than not try and miss out”. I thought that was fair.
Each leap of faith, I trusted my intuition.
School was mandatory. Going to school all day wasn’t. Living in Texas was mandatory at the time. Breaking up with a guy I liked wasn’t.
I kept trusting my intuition, and knew in my bones what my ultimate dream life looked like. I considered where I wanted to be in 5 and 10 years, and committed.
- I started a photography business at 17.
- I chose not to go to college right after high school.
- I chose to go to college online to avoid debt and have flexibility.
- I worked full time while going to school.
- I got engaged at 19.
- I got married at 20.
- I saved 20K+ by 20.
I did all of those things in pursuit of my dream life. I made hard decisions (like living at home for 2 extra years). I made sacrifices (hello tight budget!). But, I did it.
Today I am living in a beautiful apartment, driving my dream car, working my dream job. I’m debt-free, married to the same boy I dated long-distance for 5 years, with the cutest pup in the world. My life is FAR from perfect. But it’s a dream come true at 22.
So, how do you start living your dream life?
It took me nearly 5 years, and I had a head start on most people. Your dream life will take work, sacrifice, growth, change, and hard decisions. But it’s worth it. Here are some simple first steps to get you started:
1. Get clear on your vision
Be specific about what your dream life looks like. Write it down. Create a vision board. Imagine what you want life to look like 1 year from now and 5 years from now. There are NO limits. You need to be picturing this life every. single. day.
2. Believe in yourself
Listen, this may be the MOST important step. If you don’t believe you’re worthy of your dream life, then how do you expect to live it?! It’s time to level up. It’s time to invest in and value yourself. I’m here to tell you: you are WORHTY. You are amazing. This is your ONE LIFE. It’s far too short to waste.
3. Commit to yourself
Your dream life requires your commitment. If you want to be debt-free, you have to commit to making that happen. Whether that means getting an extra job, cutting back on your expenses, or both, you can’t magically become debt-free without work. Change requires growth.
4. Take the leap
This is the hardest step. I recently took the scariest leap of faith I’ve ever taken and oh my goodness I cannot explain to you how intense the decision was!! But, I did it. I took the dang leap. No looking back now. I bet on myself, and you should too.
There you have it, friends: the first 4 steps you need to take in order to achieve your dream life. My deepest desire for you is that you achieve your wildest dreams. No playing small. No doubting. No people-pleasing. This is your one life, girl. Live it.
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Sending you all the love and courage!!
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