I woke up early this morning and couldn’t go back to sleep. Everything that is causing stress and worry in my life just kept parading through my head.
My love, my health, my money, my kids, my business, my family, my purpose – everything, just running a loop.
The house was cool, but I was in a sweat, lying there.
I know you’ve been there before – nothing you can do, just lie in bed and watch the tree tops through the window.
Eventually, you don’t even think about specifics, they just all jumble together in one uncomfortable mess.
Finally, I fell back to sleep.
I had a dream.
It was a simple dream. I was in a school gym – and my extended family was there. Everyone was waiting for something, but I’m not sure what it was. The mood was neutral. No one was upset, just waiting. I sat with my cousins – who looked a lot younger in my dream than they are now. They were high school age. My parents and my aunts and uncles were there too.
Then, I was standing up in the bleachers and I could see all of them facing away from me – waiting for I don’t know what – but this time, I had my arms around my wife, Nancy, who was facing me and in her arms was my daughter Katie as a baby. She must have been a year old, a soft lunk of a kid, and she was smiling – all squeezed up between us.
Nancy said to me, “Kiss your daughter.”
And I did and I smelled her baby powder smell. And I nuzzled her neck and she laughed.
Then I kissed my wife, a long deep kiss and she smiled at me with her green eyes.
Then I woke up.
I don’t know what it means, but I do know how it made me feel.
The stresses and worries of my life didn’t go away, but these images helped them became less important.
I was ready to start again – pick up where I left off – face what needed to be faced – deal with what needed to be dealt with. I was also able to remember what is important – remember what I’m living for.
I was able to get back to work and move forward.
I was able to know that whatever comes, good or bad, there is love in the world and good things everywhere you turn.
Every day I hear from my mentor students and see them working through the challenges they face trying to build a new business. They tell me about what plagues them, the forces that they sometimes feel are up against them.
One of them asked me, “Does it ever stop?”
And I can tell you with certainty that it doesn’t stop until you’re dead – not if you stay alert – not if you pay attention – not if you want to keep growing and moving forward and have a happy life.
But why would you want it to? The stresses and pain and fear that we all face every day is what makes our successes so valuable.
Don’t let your fear of these things hold you back from taking that chance that could change who you are for the better. And I’m not just talking about business and real estate – I’m talking about life.
Never forget that love exists in the world. It is the engine that drives everything good.
Go after what you want with love in your heart – don’t be afraid.
