Have you ever had an opportunity to pursue a dream, but then life seems to present obstacles in every direction? I have always had the dream of presenting on a TEDx stage. Last year during the “open call for speakers” my parents had medical emergencies and I felt the need to be with them, which took me out of state. I got so caught up in taking care of their needs that it completely detoured me from pursuing my own dreams. This year, when the “open call” came around again, I promised myself that no matter what was going on I would complete the application process. As I am sure you can guess, life once again offered me more diversions. In fact, they were more intense diversions as they related to my own personal matters. I was determined not to let another opportunity go by. Each day I began my day by asking myself “What one step can you do today to move you closer to your dream?” Some days were harder than other days to answer this question, but I did in fact take at least one step each day, even though the things in my personal life were affecting my emotional state. I did everything I could to stay focused on my goal of completing the application on time. Once the application was submitted, it was out of my hands.
Days following the submission of my application, I was experiencing another one of life’s diversions. This was an opportunity to heal a wound from my past. At first it shook me to my core and left me feeling emotionally vulnerable. I woke up on Monday, July 18, 2017, still emotionally recovering. Yet staying focused on my dream, I asked myself my question “What is one thing you can do today to move you closer to your dream?” My answer was to tend to some business bookkeeping. As I worked with the spreadsheets, I heard an email notification in the background. Looking for any distractions, I quickly went to see what it was. This is what I saw in the subject line:
“Congratulations! You have been selected to speak at TEDxOcala 2017”. I fell to the floor on my knees with gratitude and tears. I was so proud of myself, not only because I pushed through what appeared to be a challenging time, but that I stayed focused on my dream. Life is constantly presenting us with detours. What one thing will you do today to move you closer to your dream?
I am humbled to present and share the TEDx stage with such amazing, talented, brilliant people and ideas!
