I have to come clean on something.  I was getting ready for my vacation…packing, getting stuff done, making sure my blog posts were ready.  In the midst of all of that, I only skimmed Jami’s guest post.  I already knew her business story, so I didn’t feel the need to read every sentence in great detail. Well, I checked my e-mail as I was on the way home from Maine and I started reading all of the comments.  I could see how people were so encouraged and inspired.  I figured I needed to go back and really read the post, so I did.

It cracked me up when Jami said, “I actually have a pie in the sky dream for the “softly spoken” collection too.

Hmmm. You know what? I’m going to share it with you. Marian seems to have a magic blog over here. Everything she writes happens. 

(Kidding, of course. Every opportunity that comes her way is a result of the passion, work, and smart decisions that she puts into it. That and she’s just good people.)

BUT, on slim to none chance that we are, in fact, dealing with magic mustard seeds over here:

I would love for my cuffs and a few other wares in the new collection to be picked up by anthropologie. There. I said it.”

It’s funny to me, because I laugh about that with my family often.  I say what I’m hoping to do and then I get an e-mail offering an opportunity.  Not always and not always right away, but it happens enough that it’s a bit of a joke.

“My dishwasher isn’t working very well.”

“Well, maybe you should write about it on the blog and one will show up on your doorstep tomorrow.”

I never thought if I shared about wanting to write a book or be in a magazine or have a line under my brand that those things would actually happen.  I was just dreaming out loud.  I wanted to share my hopes and see what happened.  It’s the same thing that makes me buy a junky piece of furniture or look at dilapidated old houses.  It’s possibility.  Potential.  What if.  Pushing through the self-doubt and the fears and anxieties and the nay-sayers.  Putting it out there in writing.

I used to think musical theatre was one of the most useless degrees (and I can say that without offense, because that’s the degree I have), but I now see tons of value in it.  Auditioning for plays is mostly about rejection, but you have to dust yourself off and remember that a “no” doesn’t mean you stink (although it could, I suppose), it just means you’re not right for the part or maybe you were edged out by someone more right for the part.  Or maybe the director’s daughter got the part instead of you.  Either way, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep trying.  We all love the stories of actors who were rejected hundreds of times before landing a roll that rockets them to the “A List.”  We love knowing that some moron told Michael Jordan he wasn’t good at basketball, because that leaves the door open that the person telling me that I can’t do what I want to do might be a moron, too.

I’m not saying you can be anything you want to be and do anything you want to do.  I know I’ll never run a four minute mile or climb Everest or be a size two.  I can, however, use the gifts, talents and abilities that have been given me to go for what I daydream about when my mind drifts.  I can hone thos abilities and learn new ones that make me even better.  I can put myself out there and go for it.

All of this to say, I want to give you an opportunity to share your pie-in-the-sky dream.  To say, “I want to fill-in-the-blank.  There.  I said it.”  You can do that right here in the comments or write a post and leave a link in the comments.  Or you can just write it on a napkin.   Whatever works for you.  Let’s not be afraid to dream big.

Blogs have really opened up the world for women like us.  Let’s go for it.

There.  I said it.