Chapter 12
Dare to Dream
Lisa:
Something intuitively told me, as a young girl, to keep my mind sharp, that maybe dancing wasn’t going to work out for me. I blocked that thought out 1000’s of times, maybe even millions of times.
My dream job, what does that mean?
My family will tell you, they moved all over Australia for me to work in many of my ‘dream jobs’.
Every time I had an idea or a dream, I would do everything and anything to make it happen. If that meant giving up something or starting again, I would not think twice. Well maybe I did think about it a bit, but my passion for the dream would always win. Winning is in me!
At a very young age, I was taught a winning mindset.
Dancing was my world. My Grandma was usually the one to take me to all my lessons after school. I vividly remember getting changed in the front seat of her tiny car. We would be racing to the studio.
We had exactly 14 minutes to get there, and it took me 12 minutes to change out of my school uniform and into my pink ballet tights, with the seam perfectly aligned up the back of my leg. To squeeze into my black v-neck leotard and strap up my soft pink ballet shoes. Grandma never let me down. Out I would jump from the car with my tap and jazz shoes along with a snack and spare hair ties. 3 different lessons every night, ballet, tap and jazz. I was very dedicated and wanted to be the best I could be.
Mum worked 2 jobs. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. I knew she wanted to see me dance, however, I understood why she could not always be there.
I remember a tap exam where my Mum was attending, which was rare.
She had to sit behind this partition and could only hear the music and the sound of my tap shoes. I was going to make sure it was perfect.
The piano player started playing, I started dancing and the lady who was facilitating the exam looked rather happy, however, I was not.
I did not feel like I was doing my best. So I stopped.
I heard my Mum gasp from behind the partition wall. “Is everything okay, Lisa?”, asked the examiner.
“No! The piano player played the music wrong, we need to start again!”
So, we did.
I have always had a voice.
I was 10. It is this Lisa, that I call on when I need to speak up.
WIN (What’s Important Now) is something we all need, to empower ourselves.
It is in the moment that matters to you most that you can choose to have a voice and not to look back or continue on and regret it.
I went on to achieve Honors that day, with a very interesting comment from the examiner. One that reminds me of who I really am. Someone who knows what they want and is prepared to do what it takes to get it.
My vivid imagination has always seen me through, always planning what my life would look like and then taking the necessary action to bring it to life. Asking for help from the people around me that had, ‘made it’. Being taught to surround myself with successful people, people who know how to dream sure did help me later in life.
As a young girl, I would often walk around with my head in the clouds, never being discouraged to dream. My Pop, my first mentor, would share with me stories from his workbooks. There were pictures of scientists and their inventions. I was always excited about the achievements of others.
This type of grounding taught me that anything is possible. All you need is an idea, determination and persistence to bring it to life.
When Rob was a child, he was never taught to dream. His dad used to say, “Dreamer’s dream, doers do.”
Rob:
Yes, there were things I would have loved to have done or been in my life, like a champion sportsman, a policeman or fireman. But I was never taught to dream.
If we wanted something we would need to work for it. It wasn't until my 40s with my soon to be wife, that I had my first dream.
We came on a holiday sailing around the Whitsundays. It was an awesome two weeks spent together with her uncle and aunty.
Lisa’s dream holiday would have been travelling around Europe. After this adventure, we decided that we wanted to live, just like we were on holidays and have these adventures every day.
We dreamed of sailing our own yacht around the islands, up and down the coast of Queensland. We looked at many boats for sale, went to yacht and boat shows, looking, dreaming, hoping one day that we would own our own vessel.
It wasn't until I was in my 60sthat we got to the point where we were able to fulfil this dream, then COVID hit, and we were stuck on an island where I worked.
Looking through the boat-for-sale ads, we discovered a beautiful vessel that we wanted. We couldn't get to see it, as we were unable to move from the island.
We would sit at the marina and visualise our own yacht and share stories about our future adventures.
It took three months before we were able to go to the mainland and view this vessel.
It was love at first sight.
We knew this was the vessel that we had dreamed of. After 22 years our dream had now come true.
Today, I'm speaking to you from that vessel in a bay, on an island in the Whitsundays. I never dreamed as a child. But maybe I was still a child when I was 40. Now at 63, the dream is a reality.
Lisa:
When we first met, I thought Rob was a dreamer, living the life of his choice. A bachelor until he was 42, I guess that is why he has so many life stories. He was a doer. I would challenge him about the dreaming stuff, and always asked him what he would like to do next, knowing intuitively that one day our dreams would come true. Of course, being a doer, he let me dream and together we have created a life of our dreams.
Never enjoying being tied down to one place, we now live on our boat and travel Australia, sharing our adventures with families and friends. Encouraging them to connect, dream and DO.
We reflect on the unforgettable moments in our lives and continue to dream even bigger dreams.
Are you ready to DO?
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