I received an email from a new client. I had asked him to fill out a form with a series of questions like, "If life were as good as it gets, what’s there?" These questions help the client express his deepest desires and dreams.

This client’s comment after filling out the questionaire was startling:

"Can I really have all this??! When did my world and wanting shrink?" 

This reminds me of a conversation I had last fall with the Dean of the School of Engineering at Northwesten University. He saw students dreaming too small.  Dreams consisted of being a doctor. Or a management consultant. That’s it?

Dream shrinkage comes from being in the same waters for too long. It can also occur when it’s a struggle to just stay afloat. When we swim in the same fishbowl, essentially a closed ecosystem, our minds and our spirits stagnate. I’ve seen it with colleagues who have been at the same company for 20 years. And I’ve seen it in myself when I focus only on what needs to be done, not where my energy takes me.

The world is a big place. Big as in rich with resources, people, ideas.  Big as in opportunity and possibility.

Yes, dear client, you can have all this.  Not with the snap of the fingers. Hardly. And intention and vision are powerful steps to manifesting. Dream big. Dream very big.