1 surefire way to have extraordinary dreams.

A friend of mine once taught me a brilliant trick for brainstorming.

She runs a team that puts on elaborate theater performances. And each season, she gathers them together to plan the next year’s shows. But do you know who she doesn’t invite to these brainstorming sessions?

The people who build the sets.

Why?

Because they can’t stop saying “no.”

When someone says, “What if we made it snow inside?” their answer is “no.”

When someone says, “What if we found a way to transform the stage into water?” their answer is “no.”

When someone says, “What if all the seats were on the stage and the audience became the performers?” their answer is “no.”

Why do they respond that way? Are they creative or talented or artistic? Of course they are, but they’re focused on executing the idea. Years of building the actual sets have made it difficult for them to step outside of the logistics and details and practicalities of making the sets.

Try as they might, they can’t suspend that part of themselves to allow a free flowing, anything goes brainstorming session.

So my friend doesn’t invite them to the early idea sessions because she knows they can’t help saying, “That will never work.”

And today, I propose that you and I struggle with that same problem.

Inside us all is that fierce voice that says, “That will never work.” When we think about our dreams, it pipes up. When we dare try something a little different, a little outside the ordinary, a little wild, it thunders at us from a deep, dark corner. “That will never work.”

We listen to it and end up creating some pretty average goals and dreams. We water down our craziness until that curmudgeonly voice quiets. We retreat into normal lives and afraid to poke our heads back over the bushes and stare out into the wilderness of our hearts.

But it’s time for a second look my friend. It’s time to wonder and wander beyond safety. It’s time to make sure your dreams are extraordinary. And I have exactly one way to make that happen.

Today, I want you to write out a dream in the comments of this post that will never work. That is the assignment. That is the only requirement. The dream you share must have absolutely no chance of working or succeeding.

Let’s agree with that voice. Let’s find something that is a deep, true passion that will never, ever work. Let’s turn that voice of doubt into a friend. The louder it gets today the closer we’ll know we’re near the dream we’re looking for.

Like a metal director that chirps above buried treasure, we will tap into that sense of fear and doubt to find the real treasure that lurks inside us.

And I‘ll go first.

I want to write fiction. And not just fiction, I want to write a three book epic fantasy tale like the Lord of the Rings. I want to write a heroic quest that unravels over made up centuries in made up lands in the hearts of made up people.

It will never work!

I’ve never written fiction. That’s a completely different animal when it comes to publishing. 100% of any influence I have when it comes to social media has nothing to do with fiction writing. People who read me for satire or business writing or dream chasing would never quickly jump on board with a fiction book. There are millions, literally millions of fiction proposals submitted every year and almost none of them get published. People would laugh at my ideas and think I’m silly. It would be completely foolish for me to do.

It will never work! And I love it.

Today’s challenge is as simple as that.

I shared my dream, what’s yours?

What is one dream you have that will never work?