Monday, October 22, 2012

Learn To Listen To The Screaming Of Your Secret Dreams



Secret dreams are the fuel that keeps our inner fire burning.  The quiet voice inside us that whispers, “Maybe…maybe I could do that one day” or “Maybe I could be like that one day”. Without a secret dream, we loose ambition in life and lack the sparkle and zest for living that people project who have something bigger that they’re working towards. The secret dream is the drive that pushes us onwards when everyone else has fallen to the wayside, bored with the work and dedication it takes to make a dream come true.

I had a secret dream when I was about 12 years old. I wanted to cowboy on an outfit, like my dad, in Nevada. When dad was cowboying in the early 90’s, girls would help out if they were family, but it wasn’t very common to see a whole bunch of women at a branding. “If you marry a cowboy, you might be able to work with your husband, but I wouldn’t count on getting to work on a place as a single girl.” I took what my dad said and figured that he was probably right and I decided I would focus on becoming the best that I could be at starting colts. And yet, a quiet voice inside me kept whispering that maybe, maybe one day, if I worked hard enough…maybe the impossible would happen and I would be able to cowboy on my own. That secret dream is what made me write out a list of skills I decided I would need in order for the impossible to happen….that secret dream is what made me wake up at 3:30am every day to do my school work so that I could work with my horses during the day…that secret dream is what made me give up fun trips with friends in order to work on what was important to me…and you know what? At the end of the day, at the ripe old age of 19, I got my secret dream. I got a job in Nevada that I never should have been able to get as a single woman and I got the chance to work for an outfit that friends that I respected and looked up to had worked for as young men. Because of that secret dream I got the chance to work with horsemen that I had idolized from a young age, I got to work with people that MY dad had worked with and made friends with people that I respected not only as cowboys and horseman, but as people too. And even though I don’t cowboy anymore, my secret dream of cowboying gave me the skills and experiences that are applicable to my secret dream now. Without the absence of cowboying in my life, I would have never had the courage to pursue writing, and writing is now my new “secret” dream. The quiet voice inside me saying, “You could maybe do this, Liz.” And because of that, I know that the impossible, secret dream is possible. And I want you; yes YOU reading this long post, to know that you have all promise and ability to achieve your dreams.

Don’t squash that small, quiet voice inside you.

Don’t you dare say that it’s impossible. And if someone tells you that it’s impossible, don’t discuss your dreams and hopes and fears with them.

Cultivate your desire, feed the want and watch it grow. No one else will go out there and make your dreams happen for you. You have to have the courage to admit to yourself just what your secret dream really is (for some reason this can be the hardest part), and then set out on the journey to making it happen.

Good luck! And just so you know, I am your biggest fan, and I know that you can succeed.



xo xo Liz

6 comments:

  1. This is amazing! You do it every time it must be in the stars for you to have perfect timing. thank you so so very much for this post!!!!

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  2. Whoop whoop! I'm so glad! I hope that means you have secret dreams that you're going after! :)

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  3. Carol VanFleet ViscarraOctober 23, 2012 at 9:49 AM

    I am copying your post and including it in my 13 yr old grandaughters Christmas stocking...ALL she wants to do is cowboy in the Great Basin...a secret she has only shared with me....I want her to believe...and your sentiment shared here is inspiring.. Thankyou!!!

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  4. Carol, that just makes my day! Please do! I can't wait until Buckaroo Barbie (the book my sister and I are writing), is finished...I think your granddaughter will really like it. I love that she shared her secret with you, that's precious! If she wants to cowboy in the Great Basin tell her to learn how to shoe. That will definitely increase her chances of getting a job one day!! :)

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    1. That is an awesome idea...shoeing..I will certainly pass that on...and the future would be better in more than a few ways if we had a "shoer"n the family... Can't wait til you book comes out...any estimate...before Christmas or after??

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  5. LOL Amazing how the shoeing bills pile up! We're guessing after Christmas because we have an inordinate amount of photos to take and Adrian's schedule is a little dicey to work around...but it is being worked on! :)

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