When was the last time you sat down with yourself, no distractions, and daydreamed about what you want out of your life?
I mean really let your imagination go.
What would you write down? What is it that you desire?
Dreamcasting lets you do just that. Consider it like casting a broad, expansive net out over all of your dreams and desires so you can reel them in for closer examination.
This is not the time for self-editing. We’re Dreamcasting, not dream killing. Don’t consider all the ways it might not work or even how you’re going to accomplish these things. Don’t rush through this and be honest with yourself about what you desire most. Don’t write down something just because you feel like your desires should be nobler. Not everyone’s dreams include solving the climate crisis or ending poverty.
Don’t judge your desires– If you want the Tesla, write it down.
What do you dream of having?
Is there a certain car you want to drive or a neighborhood you imagine living in someday? Or maybe it’s a purchase you want to make that feels extravagant right now. It could be that new laptop you’ve been eyeing, a piece of art for your office, or the pair of boots that are priced just north of what you’d normally justify spending.
What do you dream of doing?
Do you fantasize about traveling through Europe with your family? Maybe travel isn’t your thing. Your thing might be a desire to learn ballroom dancing or growing the most gorgeous herb garden this side of the Mississippi.
Who do you dream of being?
Is your future self fluent in Spanish? Or is she a marvelous cook who hosts weekly gatherings for her closest friends? Who do you envision your future self being?
For this process, aim to come up with at least 2-3 dreams for each of the above questions.
Still feeling blocked? You may need this exercise more than you realize.
Try asking yourself these questions and see what comes to mind:
If you had $50 million in the bank, how would you spend your time?
What would you be excited to wake up to each day?
What do you fear or dislike? Consider the opposite.
Maybe thinking about it like this will unblock your creative energy,
Where is one place you’d like to visit?
What is one thing you want to do before you die?
What is one thing you’d enjoy doing daily? Weekly?
What is one thing you’ve always wanted to learn?
How much does the dream actually cost?
The next step of this process is to determine how much your dreams are going to cost. You may be pleasantly surprised to discover that your desires aren’t as lofty and out of reach as you first assumed.
Using the example of becoming a marvelous cook, let me show you what it would take to achieve that goal.
To begin with, what does it mean to be a marvelous cook? I think you would agree that being able to host a dinner party for 6 people without help is a sign of being a good cook. Using that as our target, what would you need to have or do before you could host that dinner?
You might come up with ideas like signing up for a local cooking class or investing in the appropriate kitchen tools. You’ll certainly need to decide on a meal and buy ingredients.
So how much would each of those steps cost?
After a quick bit of research, it appears our dream of dazzling our friends with our newfound cooking skills could easily look something like this:
Six beginner cooking classes – $360
New pot, pan, and chef’s knife – $169
Ingredients for dinner for 6 – $100
The total cost of this dream adds up to $629. A little more than $600 to realize a dream!? I don’t know about you but I’ve spent a lot more on far less.
Now it’s your turn.
Look through all the ideas you wrote down and choose the dreams that speak to you most. Those are the dreams you’ll focus on first. Brainstorm what steps you will need to take to achieve each of those desires. Then research how much, as in actual dollars, you will need to invest in each of those steps to make your dream a reality.
But what about those loftier goals? What if I don’t know all the steps?
Some dreams are attainable in a matter of weeks or months, while others come with a longer horizon. For those bolder dreams, it helps when you imagine them as a series of stepping stones that will get you to your desired destination.
The bigger the dream the foggier your path will be, especially in the beginning. But keep in mind, a single step is all you need to move forward. Once you move out a few steps toward your goal your next move will come into focus. Clarity is nearly impossible to find without some sort of action.
What action or actions can you take right now that will move you forward?
Let’s use an example to illustrate this in more detail.
Your boldest desire is to walk away from your day job and focus all your creative energy on the side hustle you’ve been building over the last couple of years. You believe that if you had more time to devote to your business you could grow it to a full-time income. However, the idea of leaving your job with your current lack of savings makes you feel uneasy.
Through this process, you’ve landed on a goal to have four months of living expenses in your emergency savings. Instead of focusing on the lump sum total of your goal, you consider what you could do to add extra cash to your savings.
Since one of the easiest ways to save money is to not spend it, your first step leads you to analyze your expenses and reclaim $375 each month to put toward your goal.
Next, you clean out your closets and cupboards and sell a handful of things online, adding an additional $850 to your emergency fund.
From here your focus moves to your side hustle. You may try your hand at teaching online classes for a small fee or maybe you notice a gap in your product offerings that you can fill to increase your revenue. Or maybe you do both!
You don’t have to have the whole map figured out to get started. You only need to figure out the next step, see where that takes you, and make your next move from there.
One foot in front of the other.
Step by step.
That’s how you get there.
So what are you going to do first?
Will you research and sign up for cooking lessons in your area?
Will you price Airbnbs for a long weekend getaway?
Will you parlay your fashion sense into a Poshmark windfall?
What’s it gonna be?