Doubt Kills More Dreams Than Failure Ever Will

Today we’re looking into something that affects the whole wide world. It is something we generally all have…dreams. They are important because we should value our dreams, our goals. There are many things in life, we look at relationships, we look at investments, we can look at things that have meaning for us. A piece of art or something else might be of huge interest to you. Perhaps something that brings back memories that you value and are of importance. Things we are sentimental about.

Dreams Are Hard

You know, lots of us dream about doing something but it's very few people who will actually put in that investment and time to make the dream an actual reality. Dreams and goals are hard, no matter how you look at it. Living The Dream is a hard thing. But this is why it's great because when it becomes a reality, we have ourselves to congratulate. We strived for something and we made it happen. Kudos to us!

A dream is something to everyone. Some people are not so lucky in finding their calling and often watch in wonder those that make their dreams come true. It's such a blessing to those of us that have a calling. We all have a gift. We all have a unique thing that we bring to the dream that we are passionate about. You know if it's your dream because you feel like you’re on fire. There's something that's in the pit of your gut that continually thinks of it. It travels to your brain and you envision it. You have a vision of what your life would be like if you fulfill that dream. But it is very few people on this earth that really do make their dream the actual reality.

It's the action part that always needs to transpire in order for that piece to happen. We have to have the know-how in ourselves to be able to make the decision when to invest in what we want to do. Here’s a quote: “doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.” Have we failed at things in this business? Of course, lots. There's lots of things that didn't work or didn't go right. Hence the term: trial and error. It doesn’t mean there won’t be success. However, doubt stops you before you even start. How will you ever know if it could have been a thriving business when you didn’t try?

How do you move forward?

We're going to talk about this today, how do you get moving forward and how do you make it happen today? It's not that you can't wait on these things forever, you can. Does that help you though? Waiting? If we learned one thing from the past few years, it is that our world can change in the blink of an eye. And if you haven't moved forward, are you thinking I should wait. Is that going to stop you in the end? What’s going to push you? What's going to happen if it all changes again tomorrow? We don't know and we never will. So we have to start moving ahead with our dreams now.

In our jobs at Equine Connection (our dream jobs by the way), we actually physically, literally, emotionally and spiritually work with these horses and allow them to speak in their culture and their language. We're not trying to change what a horse is, because a horse can only think, act and respond like a horse. They can never, ever, and I'm repeating this to you, never, ever think, act or respond like a human. A lot of us have started into a role and it's just what happens in our life. Where we've started to put human actions onto horses. There are so many different ways that our horses are trying to help us but we're not able to listen to them, because we're putting too much of the human piece onto them. We anthropomorphize horses. Why? Because they connect themselves to us. They’re intuition is mistaken for feelings. Yes, they feel but not in the way we think. Horses are an investment in ourselves, they offer us value and understanding of who we are.

I definitely always wanted to work with horses. Perhaps I had that sense of feeling good when I was around them. That their intuition beckoned to my own and helped me appreciate myself more.

We were poor, dirt poor, as a young child we moved 25 times not because we were in the military but because my mom was a single mom. So back and forth, back and forth 25 times. And you know, the one thing that I'd wanted when I was young was a horse. I was never going to get a horse because my mom was too poor. But what she did do, was she bought me a used garage sale book and I still have it with the price tag on it for $0.25.

It changed me. I started to build my whole world around how I could get to work with horses? So when Equine Assisted Learning finally came into my life (I was now getting older) it changed my entire world because this is what my whole life had led to. Focusing on this journey of getting to what my purpose is on earth. We all have a purpose. Every single one of us. Only some of us, are lucky enough to find it and achieve it.

Through the paths and the journey, our purpose has continually shown that it has shone through many times. Maybe we don't know it but I know I was really digging for something, something really deep. Why? One thing my life has always been: I understand I'm going to die. I never mean this in a morbid way because I feel as humans we forget to live because we forget we're going to die. I'm very focused on this, could it be my last day? I really try to stay in the present I live for today because I don't know how many days I have left.

When Equine Assisted Learning came along, it was literally my dream of working with horses. It has been quite a journey over the years, since 2008 starting the business. It's been a long life journey and a long journey since this whole thing began in my dreams as a small child. But I created this one huge dream that I've had all of my life and the final application was one of the best parts of it.

Not only is the support always there but we have created even more for everyone in your new business. We’ve started and finished it so you don't have to recreate the wheel. It’s all that is needed and it's all there for you. It was hard. We've talked to many people about that, those who have other businesses or know of this idea of Equine Assisted Learning and thought something like this should exist. They've seen horses helping people but they don't have a structure or the pieces for it.

We hear that all the time. I just didn't want to recreate the wheel again. Of course not because it's a lot of work. It's enough work just to make your dream a reality. This is why we've taken away those pains and confusions. You don’t have to perform years of work (we’ve done that for you) everything is ready to go. I think this is the major part of this piece. You come in and step out of your comfort zone (which to me is the best slice of the value) as you know there's no value in being a couch potato. There's no value in just doing something you don't want to do or you don't enjoy or even don't like. However, there is a huge amount of value that comes from getting out of your comfort zone.

Sometimes it's scary...

Even though it feels scary at times: there's some fear, there's some excitement. There’s emotion that comes with getting out of our comfort zone. I think that's one of the best parts of continually living in the day, knowing we do something today that brings you more out of your comfort zone.

It’s got to be a continuum because we don't know when our last day is going to be, and we don't learn in the comfort zone. It’s a way to stay stagnant, if we’re just comfortable all the time, we’re not moving forward.

So we have to be able to get a little bit out of that. I myself am not an outside the comfort zone kind of gal. But by the same token, I do know from life experience at this point that without moving outside of it, nothing changes. It all just stays the same and you're stuck there doing the same thing day after day. I noticed I started to overthink because I was in the comfort zone all the time. Because it doesn't stop being mundane and you consider your dream. You know you want something but you can't get yourself out of your comfort zone.

When there's no such thing as can or it’s not a place we’re wanting to go right now. We continually have all these thoughts that sometimes aren't really that great. We talk ourselves out of doing something different. Mainly because we’re afraid and think it is a risk, which makes it scary. We can beat ourselves up over this, doubt ourselves and our accomplishments. Recognize what you’ve done, made for yourself and believe you can move ahead, you have it in you. You made it this far.

It is 100% everything about moving forward or doing something different. It's scary stuff in life. However, the reward I can tell you is phenomenal for going outside of that comfort zone, to try something different, to follow a passion or a career path or whatever it may be that you're trying to switch up or change in your life. It is absolutely empowering.

Stepping out of your comfort zone is easier when you are going forward towards your true passion. It is true because there's an excitement with it. You know (this is where research and facts come in) it makes everything that you do much more solid in the strong foundation of your business. The sensory receptors in us (we have more of them in our gut than we do in our brain). A lot of times we get that initial gut feeling, which is the passion. That's the field you want to run to, it’s right there with you. Your passion. Then the couch potato or the comfort zone happens. You start to think through it and come up with, but what if this or that happened or what if I fail? Or what if I don't fail? How would things go from there? What's the worst thing that could happen?

Think about it. What is the worst thing that could happen?

Perhaps, it takes a while to find your niche. You struggle to find the right clients. You’re overwhelmed by so many people taking an interest. All of these sentences have solutions and good ones. Don’t see the wall blocking your view, see the different paths you can take around it.

The feelings you get in your stomach are from sensory receptors in the pit of your stomach. So that initial gut feeling, that vibe you have, that feel, that pull, that push to go towards your passion, that's the truth of the matter. The rest of it is from your brain because it's very powerful. It's a good thing. But we do need to learn to go with our gut sometimes while we're still learning. Like our five senses. They’re something we need to exercise and use regularly. It takes time and practice. Kind of like dancing. You have to train and keep those muscles in shape and know how they work.

We talk about red flags all the time. Those red flags are your gut talking. We feel that strange sensation of things not feeling safe within our comfort zone. If we still went forward it’s because we knew it had to be done. If we hadn’t gone through it, we wouldn't be who we are today. So we're supposed to have these doubts and questions and take a wrong turn in life now and then, because it does definitely make us stronger. But what if your gut is telling you it’s right but your brain is coming up with wrong. We will often choose the anti because our intuition has lessened from many years of being the apex predator. Hmmmm! There’s a thought. Which should we go with now, our gut or our brain? Oftentimes we need to have balance so we should aim for both to work together.

I do have to say, when we have purpose and passion, there's something there that, even when we get off track it guides us back to where we need to be. It's like you're supposed to be on this journey. Sometimes, you go in a direction you never thought you would. Much like Carolyn because she would have never, ever, in a million years have thought she would work with horses. She didn't have that desire or need to work with a horse. Yet, here she is after many years loving her job and working with horses. It's amazing how the journey keeps us on the path we need and keeps opening up for us to see something that we didn't think was going to be there before.

There is only one value. When it comes to a dream, when you are wanting to make a dream a reality. You first need to have that vision of what your life will be when you live that dream. Because you have to visualize that you could be doing it. It truly is a first step. But a lot of people just leave that hanging or they write it down, but then they never go back to it again. Or they pooh pooh it, or they think, oh, it wouldn't happen for me anyway. The timing is not right or this or that. But, you know, I have to say, the thing that I personally have heard most is the money. You know it always makes me sad because I do understand money.

I mean, don't get me wrong, I grew up poor. I've always been an entrepreneur, so I understand that you can make money and you can lose money. But you know, we forget that when we put money into ourselves, into the business because you are yourself in this business. This is the power, you actually make more out of it. I know it always looks like a hard dollar figure but really think about what it is that you get from that investment. Because you see, when you invest in yourself, to start your own business, you always have those tools and those skills and the support to continually move forward. Your horses, whatever they are, really are strong pieces to understand that the investment is not, if I don't make it or I've lost all the money. It's not gone.

Money is a very cool thing because money always replenishes. But people get so paralyzed with the fear of spending money that they choose not to do anything with it. That's staying in the comfort zone.

You say: I can't do it because what if?

Well, what if…you're very successful? What if the return on your investment pays you back in a year, six months or three months? You see, then you have not wasted any money. There's never waste. When you invest in yourself, you gain knowledge and transferable skills. Now you have filled your skills tool box with more beneficial implementations. No matter what path you take. Let’s say after this certification, it takes you to another path, all of that brings you to your next path. All skills are transferable.

One of our facilitators came and did our course, he started running some programs. He also worked at a tech company where he liked his job. When a boss came in and changed the running of things our certified facilitator was not happy. He decided to switch things up and started his own hot tub business. But he came back to us and said: I attribute my successful business to everything I learned from you guys. So although he took the Equine Assisted Learning course with us, he now has this incredibly successful hot tub business that he deems is profting due to our teaching. You never know where the journey and the path is going to take you.

Carolyn and I think about money very differently, but not as much now. Carolyn is still more frugal. I would always say, you know, the difference between $30,000 and $300,000 is just a zero. Not to Carolyn. It is 270,000 individual dollars. That is the difference she sees between those two things. But at the same token, this money replenishes itself. I think Carolyn thought I was a little bit bonkers but it's very true.

If you have the work ethic, if you have all those pieces, you want all of it to keep happening, it doesn't just fall from trees but it does replenish itself. It becomes almost like a cyclical thing where you start bringing it in and money goes back out again. But it does start coming in because the more you put out, all of a sudden, the more you get back in. Why? Because you're putting it in the right places.

A hint.

Tell someone out loud. Whether you're typing it and sharing it. If you can get out of your comfort zone and share one of your dreams, it truly does make it real. I've always believed, you know, pen, paper. Write down what it is that you want, what you desire. There's so much more power than just saying, I wish I could have this or I wish I was doing that.

Our certification course sets you on your path to becoming an entrepreneur. We supply all of your business needs to print and our training prepares you to become the facilitator you want to be. We all have special skills, you will find yours and whom you want to connect with as a business client. Not only do we give all of this to you but we continually support and certify you every year to be in good standing with the EAL Network.

Know this, with every program you run, you will learn alongside your clients. You will empower yourself to be a better leader, a better entrepreneur, a better person in your life. We all aim for balance but there is no true balance, it is a constant juggle of the scale to keep it as close as you can. As you work through the programs you will find your own juggling easier for balance. Just as your clients will. What a major investment for you and for your clients. Think of your purpose, because that's the value in what each of us brings to this earth. The number one thing for us, is to help another human. So any of you who have been stuck or lost with what is my purpose? That's a piece that we're often most connected to.

How do we help a human to be able to move forward? The best part is when you’re with horses, you can smell them. You can see their kind faces. You hear them breathe, blow out air through their nostrils when they release. You get to touch them, a beautiful tactile feel of horse hair beneath your fingers. You almost taste the earthiness of them. Because horses are truly connected to the earth, the ground, the soil, the vegetation. You get to love them because they bring peace to your soul. There are so many senses involved around horses all of which help us feel alive.

When you see clients before your eyes make a change. Not because you, the human, said something that was going to happen but because the horse said something. And the human, your client made the change because the number one thing they want to do is keep their horse safe. It's really a win. Especially when you make money or a living. I always say make a living.

You make enough money in this life to do what you love every day, you wake up and breathe, I think simplicity is one of the greatest things we can give to ourselves. Your dream is going to be hard but it's going to be worth every single piece of effort. The push, the drive, the blood, sweat and tears that you put into it. Why not start out by being on the right foot, rather than having to feel like you're behind the ball? Remember, you are a gift, you are unique in this world and you deserve to have a dream become a reality, because we're here on
earth to create these things.

I do have to say as the final ending, I loved Steve Jobs. I know a lot of people didn’t but Steve Jobs was inspirational. His saying was. They don't know what exists until you create it. And that is why you are the one who will bring this to fruition. It’s exciting when we're starting such a purposeful and passionate career. Keep those dreams flowing and keep them alive. Keep your cup filled up with them and start moving towards your dream.

Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will. So true but you don’t have to live by it.