As a kid I had big dreams. At age 8, I wrote: “When I grow up, I will be an NFL Quarterback. I will be a rare coin collector and have several coins worth $1 million dollars. I will write several books.”
I may start in on the books soon, but my first dreams have fallen a bit short. What I found interesting was the rest of the story: “I will live in the country and have a very good dog. I will have several kids. After the NFL, I will farm.”
Two decades later, my most important goals have been met. I am farming with my wife and family and live in the country. We have a beautiful baby girl, and we have a very good Dalmatian named Joey.
REFLECT AND COMMIT
The story is not about me, though. It is about your dreams, goals and ambitions. Now is always a great time for reflection and a commitment to self-improvement in 2023 and beyond.
I was inspired by a short book called “The Dream Manager” by Matthew Kelly (four hours in audio format). It tells the story of how a janitorial company with high turnover decides to support the dreams of their employees. They started by addressing employees’ key concerns, and then hired someone to coach and help employees achieve their dreams.
Today, turnover and burnout seem to be at an all-time high. You might not need to hire a dream manager for your farm, but what if you served as that person for your family, team and yourself? What impact could it have in the year ahead?
I promise you; it can be tremendous. Here are three steps to take:
- Grab a sheet of paper and write down all the goals you had at some point in the past. Have you achieved them? Are they in progress? Maybe some of your dreams were unachievable — that’s OK.
Listen to the “Dream BIG” podcast I recorded with my wife, Hannah. Map out your dreams and talk about them with your spouse, business partner or farm team. Discuss how to achieve these dreams.
- Become your own dream manager. This requires one hour of uninterrupted, undistracted work. Grab a new sheet of paper and start listing out your dreams today; you want to hit 100 dreams. You will quickly realize this is a lot, but it forces you to be creative, search inside your heart and come up with some unique goals. If you are married, I highly encourage you to invite your spouse to do this, too.
Some dream category suggestions:
- Travel
- Professional
- Learning
- Marriage
- Long Term
- Family
- Spiritual
- Personal
Some of Shay’s Dreams:
- Build a nice bookshelf.
- Read to our daughter five nights per week.
- Travel three weeks per year.
- Add a conference room to our office.
- Restore our seed house.
- Work with transitioning farmers locally.
- Grill three nights per week in the summer.
DREAMS INSPIRE DREAMS
For 2023, set your sights on achieving your goals. Start with something small, and you will be amazed how dreams inspire dreams. Please share some of your dreams or thoughts with me. Hannah and I hope you have a blessed new year!
