Two weeks ago, I traveled to sunny L.A. once again for another business conference put on by the Live Your Message team, and it was nothing short of remarkable. I came away with more clarity and focus on my editing business, new clients, new venues to give talks at, and more. 

But perhaps the greatest takeaway was discovering my raison d’être, my ultimate reason and purpose behind all that I do in life.

And now I’m ready to take that dream and lasso it down to Earth, to make it real.

It’s true what they say about conferences: there is nothing like being in the room with your peers, absorbing all the information and inspiration together. More than that, though, many breakthroughs happen outside the sessions, over dinner with friends, during activities, etc. That experience can’t be traded for the comforts of home.

During this conference, we had one activity that changed my entire outlook on my life. It was an “Improv Hip Hop Playshop,” put on by the edutainer Justin “JC” Cunningham. In his event, Cunningham incorporated “improvised performance music, transformative business science and results hacks” to shift your mind and get you viewing yourself and your business on a whole other level.

Well…GUESS WHAT. I got chosen to go onstage and talk to the MC of the Hour, Mr. Cunningham himself. And he got me digging deep into my core and really asking myself why I’m pursuing my own business.

My first answers? Life flexibility and variety. That’s what I tell myself on a daily basis, but in this moment of clarity, I realized those weren’t the deeper truth.

I already HAVE that. I am literally living that dream life right now, and I’m dissatisfied. I don’t feel fulfilled. What was wrong with me?

And then I shared it. My ultimate dream, the one I fantasize about when I pretend I’ve written a bestselling novel and have J.K. Rowling-levels of money: an artist colony. A place for people to gather and write and create, to take workshops and have the freedom to pursue their art. A place to inspire.

That sounds pretty big, I know. But, I’ll tell you, a huge wave of peace and excitement flowed over me as I said this, and I lit up. Suddenly, I had coalesced all the disparate things I do into a single purpose: create community.

I had found my dream.

It doesn’t have to be an impossible one, either. Getting people together for retreats, giving talks to motivate and inspire people, using my new Twitch channel as a way to build not just an audience, but a community. All these steps are doable. All these steps are within my power, my reach.

In fact, on the day I left the conference, I had the brilliant idea to create a “buddy retreat” for all of us in our Live Your Message mentorship program. We won’t be gathering again until December, which is far too long for my liking. So, I created the initiative to get together in the interim, to learn from one another, be inspired by each other. It’s the perfect beginning to my ultimate artist-colony goals.

I may never get to that larger goal, but I can get close. You know what they say: reach for the stars, and you’ll land on the moon. Or, in this case, lasso the moon to you, because YOU are the one to make dreams happen.

I’m making mine real, from this day onward. Everything I do is in service of that dream of inspiring people and bringing them together to create something great in the world.

I thank the Live Your Message team for helping me realize MY fundamental message. And I’m loving every minute of planning this buddy retreat because it aligns with who I am and what I want to bring to the world.

What are your life fantasies you never dreamed could be real? What small steps can you take on that journey, to live in your Truth? Share in the comments below!