For years now, my dream of becoming a writer has lived on, through jobs, marriage, children, it was the one thing that I held onto since my childhood, the one thing that lived on over the years. The hope and dream of one day being able to call myself a writer was always cocooned in the back of my mind. Looking back on my childhood, it's difficult to pinpoint the exact day that my dream formed. It gradually grew stronger and became what I knew in the deepest of myself that was the one thing that I was meant to do in life. Perhaps my love of books and reading was the seed that eventually sprouted the dream. Maybe it was reading a writers' inspirational story or perhaps a collection of biographies so intriguing that I became curious of what consisted of a writer's life. I recall reading “Anne of Green Gables” as a child, and reading up on the author, Lucy Maud Montgomery. I was fascinated at such a young age, to learn that someone from this part of the country had become such a prolific writer. It certainly aided and inspired me to write and to always believe in the possibility, regardless of what cards life had dealt me.

As time went on, and life became a mixture of responsibilities, trying to balance all the aspects of the many roles a woman today has to step into, I gradually put writing in the back of my mind. It seemed that success was measured by the things that are tangible in life, and to obtain those things, all time and effort had to be put into the cycle of billable hours and what precious little time was left had to be devoted as quality time with the family. “Spending time on a dream”, someone once told me bluntly, “is a waste of time that nobody has the luxury to afford these days”. I put writing on the bottom of my to do list. Though I did write a bit through the years, there was no real effort put into it, mostly keeping a journal, it was more of an outlet rather than an active pursuit of following a dream. Throughout the years, the excuses arose, not having enough time, not having the skills, not having the resources, etc. A string of negative self talk wound it all together nicely, in a tightly bound lifeless dream. As lifeless as it was, there it remained, dormant in my mind.

It was true, I had many more responsibilities, the roles of wife, mother, employee and the like clearly took up all of my time. The one thing I failed to acknowledge though, until recently, is that if I want to achieve this dream, only I can make the time, reassess my priorities and reorganize my daily routine and my schedule in order to carve out the time to work on it. The time is there, it is what we choose to do with our time that dictates the life or death of our dream.

Another dream-killer, or at the very least, something to make us think we cannot or should not even dare to follow our bliss, is listening to other people's opinions about what we should or shouldn't be doing in our lives. Their opinion is their opinion, but it should never dictate what you as a person think of your own dreams and desires. That belongs to you and you alone. Personally, I know first hand how discouraging comments and reactions had its toll on my putting off my dream. Gradually it faded away from my day to day thoughts, bit by bit. I let others decide for me that my dream didn't merit pursuit. Today I can say that for me, the dream never really goes away, not when it is what we are meant to do in life.

The dreams we all hold onto have been carved by thoughts, feelings and experiences we have held in our lives. I also believe that through our upbringing and what we are exposed to, that we develop a set of personal traits and characteristics that eventually form who we are and what our life potential is, which is really an immense cluster of boundless opportunities, if only we allow it to be as such.

What I have come to learn in recent months, is that a dream is only a dream until one puts in the work and the energy towards achieving results, transforming the dream into reality. While doing this, it is important to keep the why of our dreams in clear focus. Why do we want to achieve this? What are we pursuing exactly? Ultimately, I believe the goal of achieving absolute success in regards to any dream is to find happiness and fulfilment. Sometimes, the false ideas of success, the materialism, the fame and notoriety, these are all secondary to the true reason behind any dream. The true end goal of any dream is simply doing what makes us happy, what brings us joy. Doing something just for the love of doing it, whether or not we are recognized for it, or paid for it, as long as you do what you love, you will reach your dream!

The pursuit of my dream, writing, has finally become my reality. My good friend and collaborator Pierre has thought me that hard work, dedication and keeping the real reason for my dream clearly in view is the key to catching up with the dream itself and living it every day.

Today I can proudly say that I am living my dream of writing and I invite you all to look into your own life, and rekindle those dreams you may have forgotten or abandoned, for whatever reason. With a little time and dedication each and every day, your dreams will become your reality too. I invite you to share with us your dreams and goals that may have been forgotten over the years. Send us an email, post it on our guest book if you are comfortable sharing it. Sometimes just seeing it in writing can be the jump start you need to start working towards your goals.

Dare to dream my friends, but more importantly, dare to make your dreams a reality!