Last updated on March 7th, 2023 at 11:00 pm
I set a big dream intention many years ago to travel to at least one international destination a year, along with travels within the United States. And one way or another, I have managed to pull off a travel dream destination just about every year since.
Spain, Argentina, Cuba, Russia, India, Jordan, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Malta, Costa Rica, England, and Canada are just some of the places I’ve traveled to. And I’ve gone to 40+ of the U.S. states.
I love to travel, and I’ve attracted travel opportunities, some through work and many personal. I have family members in Argentina and Spain, which has afforded me many opportunities to travel there. My discretionary spending cash tends to go toward plane tickets. It’s a high-priority dream for me.
I make my travel dreams happen, yet I feel confident that they happen because I commit to the vision.
It’s a dream vision I have maintained all of these years to be that “jet-setter” type who travels often. I believe in it and live it as a lifestyle. It feels powerful. But I think it all happens because I set the intention, visualize it, and believe with all of my heart that it will come true. I am a living, breathing example that the Law of Attraction works.
I can’t tell you how many times I have needed something to advance my career, and the right person has turned up at the right time. I’ve met producers, HR managers, and someone needing my type of coaching–just as I became available to give my time and energy to something new.
Somehow those I need on my dream path always show up. Of course, it means I have to be dedicated and committed to a goal and show up myself, getting out there in the world. In “getting out there, ” I’ve found people who can help me take the next step toward my dream.
Ask, and You Shall Receive the Support You Need
This has also been true of my spiritual teachers, who were referred to me by somebody else or “showed up” in my life just when I sought advice and wise counsel. This was true of my spiritual teacher from India, whom I found on Facebook one day when I felt down.
Rather than stew and be miserable, I found something inspiring, and I stumbled upon my spiritual teacher through a friend. He is a “happiness teacher,” and I had a somewhat nebulous goal at the time to be a “joy teacher.” He was being and doing in the world just what I had intended to be and do. I knew his teachings were bringing freedom and happiness to many people.
I set a firm intention, making a wish to meet him, and as it turned out, although he is based in Pune, India, he was going to be teaching in NYC one week later. Nothing could have kept me away!
Another Buddhist teacher, this past spring, “found me” when a friend needed help promoting his workshop via email and Facebook. I helped and discovered that he was there to deliver just the message I needed in my life at that time.
It seems that when I put the call out using the Law of Attraction to the universe, asking for guidance from teachers, the universe always responds. It still amazes me every time how much synchronicity there is and how much love and guidance.
We need to ask.
Be Clear on the Vision for Your Big Dream
The first step, of course, to asking for what you want is knowing what you want. So if your goals and dreams aren’t clear yet, taking some solo time to work on that is essential. I find that there is something magical about writing goals down and creating a vision board around a particular dream.
Putting my dreams and goals on paper makes them feel more concrete and makes me more likely to “ground them” in reality by setting a targeted deadline. It just makes it all feel more real to me (and research shows that those who write down goals are generally more successful and more likely to achieve their goals).
The next step is called “enrolling” others in your dream. This means sharing your big dream with others and stating them aloud so that people know what you want and can help you to achieve it. This is part of the Law of Attraction that many people tend to leave out.
In the age of social media, this could mean writing about your dream as dreamers do here on 8WomenDream, or posting about your vision on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter with your trusted connections. Or it could just be “enrolling” people through individual conversations or having an “accountability partner” who checks in with you to see how you are progressing with your goals.
You never know what these interactions might spark in someone else or who might be instrumental in helping you achieve a dream. That’s the fun of it: it’s an adventure and a mystery.
Set Dream Goals and Take Turtle Steps Every Day
Martha Beck, the life coach who writes for Oprah’s “O” Magazine and co-produced her “Live Your Best Life Show,” advises her clients to take “turtle steps” or baby steps over time toward their big dream.
If you take a turtle step every day (she advises clients to create a “four-day win” by taking turtle steps four days in a row), before you know it you’ll be living your most prominent dream. It requires consistent movement, a little step every single day.
You have to help the Law of Attraction work by taking action.
I believe that when we take the first step in faith, the universe will often meet us more than halfway, and synchronistic events will help us live our dreams.
Celebrate Your Small Dream Achievements
When en route to a goal or dream, you will encounter obstacles. I find it helpful to celebrate some “mini-wins” when I reach a milestone to remind myself that I am making progress. The “big wins,” landing a new job, getting married, buying a house, having a baby, etc., happen less often, so it’s vital to celebrate all of your little victories on the dream path every day.
Notice when you are doing something well, and congratulate and celebrate yourself as you make progress on your big dream.
Don’t forget that it’s about the journey, not the destination. If our happiness depends upon something outside of us and achieving goals, it can be taken away from us at any time. If we choose to be happy just because we are alive and creating our lives as we go, and if we enjoy the process of creation, we will have much more fulfilling lives than if we postpone happiness until we “get somewhere.”
There is nowhere to “get to.” Life is now. Happiness is now.
Lisa P. Graham is an inspirational writer, life coach, TED motivational speaker, and globe-trotter whose passion is to help others to find happiness and meaning in their daily lives. A political activist at heart, Lisa would like to empower more women to run for political office as a way to create positive change in the world. You can find her on her website or watch her TEDx speech on YouTube.
Note: Articles by Lisa may contain affiliate links and may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on an affiliate link.