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

Recipe For Adventure

Take one Buckaroo Barbie. Put her up against the world.

Tell her that she is strong, intelligent, brave and beautiful.

Mix with a healthy dose of battles to sharpen her wit, strengthen her resolve, gentle her heart and keep her humble.

Add a horse or two, or five or seven, depending on how much fun she can handle.

Include family, a good friend or two and a mentor to keep her company, guide her, love her, support her and laugh with her.

Stir things up with Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome. Laugh at the resulting chaos.

Smooth it all over with a thick layer of humor, mother’s wisdom and daddy’s love.

Frequently provide a full tank of diesel, a map and a bedroll and send her on her way.

Allow her to fail to keep her human and to encourage the growth of her tenacious will.

Add cattle: to increase the joy in her heart, the skill of her roping arm and her ability to scream multiple ‘slang’ variations of certain impolite words at the offending beast.

Give her a dog to comfort her when human words are not enough.

Provide her with a soundtrack so she can dance.

Flavor with home-cooked meals and good wine.  

Encourage her with people wiser, handier and kinder than she is to push her on her way, then watch her grow by introducing people with less experience and a thirsty mind that crave her company and insight. 

Set before her a truly daunting task; one that makes her quake with fear and doubt. Watch in wonder as she fights her way through it.

Sweeten her path with good books, fine art and music.

Tell her she can’t and watch her fly.

Rope up ladies…you’re in for one hell of a ride!

xo xo Liz 

My Letter To You

There are days where it seems that it takes an indomitable will and all the effort you can muster to just put one foot in front of the other. Painful perseverance to just make it through the day.

No one knows your story completely. No one knows the pain you’ve suffered or the changes it’s wrought in you like you do.

No one knows what brings you joy exactly, and what brings you tears.

Persevere. Hang in there.

No, scratch that. Don’t just manage, limping along. Don’t accept second best, the bread crumbs of what your life could be.

Fight. Get mad. Get spitting mad that you aren’t living life to the brim, mad that you aren’t doing everything that you want to be doing and achieving the victories you should be achieving. Fight tooth and claw and decide that you will win. Win in this game of life. Decide that you are going to live the life that you could and want to live and accept each day as a personal challenge.

You are brave.

You are strong.

You will want to call retreat, but you won’t because there are better things than you could ever imagine waiting for you if you push through these hardships right now.

Life isn’t fair. That sucks and sounds horrible and uncaring. But unfortunately it’s the truth and life isn’t fair. It’s not fair. It’s not and to each one of you that has been dealt a shitty hand, I am more genuinely sorry than you will ever know. But please, take what you’ve been given and turn it into something beautiful, something strong, and be the beautiful Buckaroo Barbie that I know you are.

And never forget that you are loved.

xo xo Liz