We recently partnered with the University of Iowa‘s Marketing Institute to hold a BIG Dream Gathering Experience.

The dreams kept coming at the University of Iowa!

It consisted of about 80 people… dreaming BIG together as a part of the Marketing Institute’s semi-annual meeting.

Well… we’ve been getting updates from people on some of the dreams they posted.  It’s been fun to hear about some old dreams that were reawakened… and some new dreams that were sparked.

I wanted to share one update with you.

It’s from Stephanie, a U of I Senior.

Dreaming BIG together at the University of Iowa!

She posted a number of dreams… but one in particular got a special boost.

Here’s her story… in her own words.

Q: Okay, so we’ve had some really cool stories play out with the BIG Dream Gathering but yours is especially fun.  Tell us about the dream and what happened after you posted it.

A: For the past three summers, I have lived on West Lake Okoboji and have done everything on the water from teaching children how to water-ski to learning how to sail. 

I was especially interested in sailing when I learned last summer, so my dream that I posted on the wall was…

“I would love to learn how to sail on my own, and to someday help crew in a sailing race.” 

I thought it was a pretty far-fetched dream since we live and Iowa and do not have much contact with water.

Stephanie's BIG Dream is already playing out!

After I posted the dream, I only thought that I would have comments telling me to “go for it” or “that’s an awesome dream” and never did I think that in a room of about 70 people would someone have a direct connection to giving me a sailboat. 

When I took my dream down at the end of the gathering, this is what was written on my dream sheet (The donor’s name has been removed)…

“Call me ########.  I sailed across the Atlantic twice as crew.  I have a boat you can have for free.” 

I could not believe what was written so I found this person after reading my sheet and he gave me his business card to make sure that I emailed or called him about the boat!

Q: What was going through your head when you posted that dream?

Were you wrestling with whether you should post a dream like that?  If so, what made you post it anyway?

A: Like I said earlier, I didn’t have high expectations that anyone could help me with pursuing my dream just because of being in Iowa and not many people having the experience of sailing.  I only put up the dream because after this summer it has been one of my long-term goals to own a sailboat and sail on my own.

I knew I was going to post this dream when the BIG Dream Gathering took place because I wanted to write it down, almost to finalize my decision to make the dream real.

 Q: Why is something like this important to you?

A: I believe that writing goals/dreams down on paper makes them more real to me and almost a permanent thought in my mind.  It makes me truly think about the dream and how realistically I could accomplish it. 

My dream of sailing was not too outrageous because I already knew how to help crew with a smaller sailboat on Lake Okoboji, but I wanted to learn to sail on my own.

Q: Now, it sounds like the boat is used.  In fact, it may or may not have some “issues” for you to address.  Even if it has some things you have to deal with… how has this type of encouragement made an impact on you?

A: The boat is definitely used, I would not in my wildest dream expect ##### or anyone to give me a brand new sailboat but that does not in the slightest stop me from wanting it. 

It can become my learning boat and I have all spring and summer to be able to fix it up to get it ready for sailing.  I have connections to different marinas on Lake Okoboji so I would be able to take it there to get anything fixed. 

I am willing to invest in the boat to have it fixed because it is the closest way that I am able to afford having a boat of my own.

Q: Where do you hope to take this big dream?

A: I am hoping that eventually I find a place to keep it at a lake in Northwest Iowa and learn how to sail on my own, and to simply enjoy sailing on the weekends! 

I hope that this can give me experience in order to get onto a sail crew team and race someday on a larger lake like Lake Michigan or even the ocean. 

I feel blessed that I could have this great opportunity to learn a skill that not many people have the chance at doing with the help of ######## and the BIG Dream Gathering.

How about that?

Thanks Stephanie for sharing your big dream AND your story!  You’re awesome.

Now… I’ve got to tell you that I love that Stephanie’s big dream got a boost at this BIG Dream Gathering.  And… I’ll also say that I’m wildly appreciative of people like the person who is giving Stephanie a boat to get started.

I think that’s an example of incredible generosity… and I think it’s an act that we can all be inspired by.

What stands out most?

But… honestly… the thing that stands out most to me… is something that we’ve seen over the years of holding BIG Dream Gatherings.

And that’s the fact that when Stephanie wrote down that she wanted to learn how to sail and someday be a part of a racing crew… she wasn’t looking for someone to give her a boat.  That was just a bonus! (A really really cool bonus… but a bonus all the same.)

Nope… Stephanie wrote that dream down to draw a line in the sand.

She did it to make that dream more real.

She gave herself permission to dream big and when she did… it to made the dream more tangible… more accessible.

Do I think there was some sort of magic at play here?

Yes I do.

But I don’t think it was some sort of attraction theory.  I don’t think the sailboat “manifested” because Stephanie saw it in her mind.

Nope.

I think the magic happened because there was a group of people who were willing to give themselves permission to dream big… AND they committed to helping each other to go after their dreams.

That was the magic.

No hocus pocus.

Just real people… dreaming big and helping each other.

And that’s something we can do every day… right?

So… what if?

What if… like Stephanie… you gave yourself permission to dream today?

What might you think about?

What might you write down?

Why not try it?

Why not give yourself permission to dream BIG for 5 minutes today… and just see where it takes you?  Those big dreams might take you around the world… or they may take you around the block.

But unless you give yourself permission to think about them… you’ll never know.

Oh… and why not also take some inspiration from our friend… the “Boat Giver?”

Now… I’ll admit that most of us don’t have an 18 foot boat to give.  But… what if we encouraged someone else in their big dream today?

Again… you may not be able to deliver a boat… but by delivering some encouraging words, some ideas or some connections for someoneelse’s dream… you can change a life today!

So… why not?

What’s something you could give yourself permission to dream about today?

Who’s someone you can encourage today?

Now… get to it!

Thanks for being in this together,

Mitch Matthews

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When WIBW’s own Melissa Brunner came to cover the BIG Dream Gathering in Topeka… she not only told the story of the BDG… she got into the spirit of the gathering!

Melissa Brunner

As she did… she posted a few of her own big dreams… including the idea of writing.

Well, here’s a fun update in her own words!

The update:

“A new adventure came to fruition this week.

The February issue of MVP Magazine includes articles written by…. drumroll…. me!

Click here to read Melissa's story in MVP Magazine

It’s the result of a conversation I had with publisher Tara Dimick at the Big Dream Gathering last September. I told her I was interested in writing and we got to talking about how she recruits writers for the magazine. By December, we were having lunch and talking specifics about how I could get involved. Tara (and her husband) are behind both MVP, which focuses on Shawnee Countyhigh school athletics and TK, which looks at Topeka‘s business community.”

To continue to read the story from Melissa’s own blog click here…

How cool is that?

Melissa’s going after one of her big dreams.  What does that inspire you to do?

Join in the conversation:

Click comments and let Melissa know you believe in her big dream!  Plus, let us know about your big dream journey.

Plus, if you’ve got an update on a BIG dream that you’ve posted at a BIG Dream Gathering, let us know.  Just shoot us an email at contactus@bigdreamgathering.com.

We’d love to hear from you!

Keep dreaming big and helping others to do the same,

Mitch Matthews

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It’s funny because when Christy Leibundguth came to help at a BIG dream gathering in 2007… she NEVER intended to share her dream on video.

But with a little encouragement from friends… prompting from our video guru Brad and… okay… I pushed a little bit too… she sat down to talk about her dream.

She kept it short… sweet… and contained.  But she got so excited she was about to burst in the end.  Here check it out…

(Can you tell we have fun at these BDG’s… or what?)

Well… Christy stayed with her BIG dream and what seemed impossible in 2007… became a reality in 2009!

And it sounds like it’s all been worth it.  Here’s an update from Christy… in her own words…

“I launched my business in April of 2009 and opened my doors for child care in June. My goal financially was to have 4 children and I had that within 3 1/2 months. At the end of January this year I will be at full capacity with 6 children.  The thing I am most excited about is that I always knew this was a dream but I didn’t know what my motive was for it and if it was ‘to be’. The journey to get to this place has been long and grueling without end in sight or vision at times. But I know now that all those jobs, opportunities, tests, and struggles I went through were to prepare me to be the business owner that I am today and run a successful, high quality child care program where my parents continue to stay extremely satisfied….and I am satisfied as well and have pride in what I do. The best is yet to come.”

If you spend two minutes with Christy… you’ll know that she was made for this!  If you’ve ever gotten to see her interact with her kiddos… encouraging them… making them laugh… teaching them… having fun… you’d just know it.

It’s a beautiful thing to see her doing EXACTLY what she was created to do.  And she’s doing it because she dared to dream… and go after it.

So we say… WELL DONE CHRISTY!

Okay… so let me ask you… which of your BIG dreams seems impossible right now?

What’s something you were created to do?

I know… I know… it might feel like a hard question because the answer might seem impossible right now.

Or that inner-critic might be saying “I can’t think about that because I don’t have the money for that!”  Or… “My dream seems totally out of reach.”  Or… “I don’t have the credentials to do that.”

All fair.

But… what if you just took a few steps towards it… today?  Even though it felt impossible… what if?

That’s how Christy did it.  One step at a time.  With a little help from friends… with some prayer… and with a whole lot of work… she was able to see her dream happen!

Listen… if you’ve been around the BDG long enough… you know that we’re not trying to sell you something.  This isn’t a set up for an “8 steps to success” cd set.  Nope.  We just want to encourage you to go after what you were put on the planet to do.

And… we’re the last people to tell you that it will be easy… but just like Christy found out… the process that you take to get to your dream (no matter how hard it is) will help to prepare you for your dream!

So go for it.  Take a step today.  You just never know where it might take you!

Keep dreaming BIG,

Mitch

Today’s featured BIG dream is a BIG dream update from Sean Moore!

You maybe remember Sean’s inspiring story from last year.

Rattlebox LIVE

He is the awesome dad, hubby and member of his small community… who had a dream.  That dream was to form a band… and rock the house. (Check out the story by clicking here.)

Now that may sound a little simple… and it would be fine if it was.  We want to celebrate all kinds of dream pursuits!  But as we talked with Sean, we found out that the “why” behind this dream… had a much deeper heart connection than just getting out with the “band” from time to time.  This dream was also important to Sean because of his sister Kendra and her battle with something called Stevens-Johnson Syndrome.  You can read more about Sean’s story in his own words by clicking here:  BIG Dream Gathering – Sean Moore -big-dream-story-2010.

Well, the update is that RATTLEBOX has continued to ROCK!

(more…)

Today’s featured BIG dream is a bit of an update on a big dream that got posted at a BDG last fall.

LAST NIGHT WAS A BIG NIGHT!

The BIG Dream Gathering had a fun night last night!  Why?

Well… we got to celebrate a BIG DREAM… coming to fruition.

That’s right… A BIG DREAMER… Jay Carstensen hit a major milestone in his big dream journey last night.

Do you remember Jay? He posted a big dream last year… and it was one that seemed impossible when he put it on the wall.  Here he is… talking about it.

But last night… just 8 months after he posted that big dream last November… he had his GRAND OPENING!  That’s right… Jay opened his martial arts school in Des Moines!

How about that?

I’ve got to tell you that it was so cool to be there on the sidelines to see the people who were there to root Jay on in his big dream pursuit!  (Plus, get a little kick-butt-action schoolin’ along the way!)

He’s now teaching classes each night and on Saturday mornings.  Plus, he signed up a big group for one of his self-defense/self-preservation courses while we were all there too!  Heck, it was great to see a group of women learn one technique that would help them get away from someone who grabbed them!  You should have seen it.  They were in their business attire… but they were fired up!  As they tried it… and it worked… they were whooping and haulering… and “feeling the power!”  It was fun to watch!

MY FAVORITE THING: THE GRIN

THE GRIN - Jay at his grand opening!

But my favorite thing… was that little grin on Jay’s face.

That grin that only comes from an inner-knowing.  That grin that comes when you’re on that big dream journey.  That grin that comes when you’ve taken a big step towards that dream.

Jay had “the grin.”

And even though Jay doesn’t usually like to be the center of attention… he stepped up.  He welcomed people into his business. He showed them things.  He introduced them to his current students (who were there in droves and wildly excited for Jay too!).   And he wowed people with some demonstrations.

Yup… it was a MAJOR milestone in his big dream pursuit!  And we are so proud of him for walking it out!

So… what’s next for Jay?  Well, he needs your help on getting the word out about his school.  He’ll do some advertising and those types of things, but he’s wanting to grow it over time.  He wants to gradually grow the school one student at a time… one class at a time.

So if you’re interested in finding out more about the school… or you want to find out more about why this big dream is so important to Jay… connect with him.  You can visit the school’s website by clicking here or you can call Jay directly at 515 255 9698.

You can also check out this recent interview with Jay to find out more about the school and his approach to teaching.

So… okay… what’s the call to action?

Well… a few things.

The first is that I’d ask you to leave a comment to encourage Jay on his BIG DREAM PURSUIT!  Let him know you’re excited for him or that you’re inspired by him… or that you’re pulling for him too!  Also, if you have an idea, a connection or a question for him… let him know that too.

Second… I’d offer you a bit of a challenge.  I’d challenge you to think about your own big dream pursuit today.  What’s something you could do… today?  I can tell you that it was so fun to see Jay’s grin last night.  But I can tell you that there were a lot of small but significant steps that he had to take to get to that point.  He had to get clear on what he wanted to do.  He had to plan.  He had to ask for help.  He had to take risks.

But it all happened because he was willing to take those small but significant steps… every day. And by the way, there were a lot of those “grins” along the way… because Jay has been enjoying the journey too!

So… how about you?  How can we put one of those grins on your face today?  What’s a small but significant step that you could take?  Why not take it?  Think about it.  What if you wound up walking around with a BIG DREAM GRIN on your face all day?  I guarantee that grin will make people wonder what you’re up to… and… like Jay…  you can just know you’re taking some steps towards making your dream a reality!

Keep dreaming big!

Until we hit a million,

Mitch Matthews

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Today… we are featuring the “updated” big dream for Denise Forney.

Featured BIG Dreamer - Denise Forney

The reason I say it’s her “updated” big dream is because Denise has been with the BIG Dream Gathering for a while! In fact, her big dream journey started back in 2008 when she came to her first BDG and she posted a dream that was all about writing kids music.

Then… she started walking out that dream!  And she did it one small but significant step at a time.

She didn’t quit her day job.  She simply started to look for opportunities to flex her “music writing” muscle.  She was involved with the children’s ministry at her church and so she started to write some original songs for that.  Someone asked her if she’d do some songs for a kid’s birthday party… she agreed… and wrote more songs.  She wanted to encourage her own kids to be musical… and BAM… more songs came.

Fast forward to 2010, when she came to another BIG Dream Gathering.  This time she had 14+ original songs written, but now the big dream was to record a CD.  So she posted a dream sheet describing the dream and asking for help.

Get this… someone in the room had a recording studio… and they wanted to help Denise make this dream happen!

Denise Forney - Criss Cross Applesauce

Now… it’s 2011… and Denise has her own CD – CRISSCROSS APPLESAUCE!  How cool is that?

Since she’s been walking out her dream… I asked Denise for an update.  Plus, I wanted to find out what was next.

So here’s her “updated big dream,” in her own words…

You are just the best… thanks so much for continuing to be so encouraging of my dream!

Our big dream is getting this CD into the hands of as many childcare providers, parents and young children as possible!

It always blesses me when I hear stories of families around the country that are listening to the CD with their young tots and enjoying the music. When a child I’m teaching says,

Denise with two of her back up singers getting ready for a gig!

“Konichiwa!” after hearing “Hello Around the World,” or gets excited about recycling after hearing “Let’s Go Green.” Or when another mom can relate how hard it is to be a working parent and drop their child off at daycare in the morning after hearing “Tic Tac Toe, X’s and O’s.” Yes, it’s cool to leave this kind of legacy with my kids… but to know that the songs are touching other families too makes my heart smile. So… the dream continues… with plans in the works for a children’s Christmas CD of songs I’ve been writing for a few years… and fun performances with kids this summer at the Blank Park Zoo (where we’ll outroar the lions!) Wellspring Christian Bookstore, KangarooBoo, and the Great Iowa State FAIR!

How cool is that?!

Denise Forney with her ALL STAR Back Up Singers!

So that’s Denise’s “Updated” Big dream.  We’re excited for her and I bet you are too!  Why not let her know if you have some ideas, connections or encouragement for her?  Just click on comments and let her know!

Also… as I’m wrapping up this post… I’m wondering what Denise’s story might inspire YOU to do today?  What if you took a few lessons from her BIG DREAM PLAYBOOK?  What if you thought about a few of those big dreams that you have and wrote them down?  What if you looked for opportunities to walk them out?  What if you took a few small but significant steps towards them?  What if you got started… TODAY?  What could happen?

Denise’s story is proof-positive that those small but significant steps can add up over time!

So let Denise know that you believe in her BIG DREAM… and also know that we believe in YOURS!!

Until we hit a million,

Mitch Matthews

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We first met Calvin Johannsen at our BIG Dream Gathering at the University of Northern Iowa in early 2010.

Calvin Johannsen

I really connected with one of his big dreams and we started to explore working together on some projects.  That has lead to a freakishly cool working relationship and some amazing videos for the BIG Dream Gathering too!

So… I asked Calvin about some of his big dreams and where he wants to go.

It was interesting because before he started to talk about his future… he started to talk about his past.

He talked about the fact that his big dreams have involved producing cutting edge video for as long as he can remember.  As a result, he would go above and beyond to create it.  For example, when he was at UNI, he took it upon himself to create a “stripped down” video series.  This wasn’t for a class.  This wasn’t for an assignment.  This was just something he did to push himself and see what he could come up with.  (With little to no budget and limited equipment.)

By the way, Calvin won BEST of SHOW for a video contest at the University of Northern Iowa with this!

He has since graduated from UNI and he now has his own video production company called VisualHouse.  The flippin’ cool thing is that he’s been having a lot of success with it.  In fact, to give you an idea of how he’s continued to grow in his craft… take a look at some recent videos that he produced.

In these videos, Calvin said he built off of the experiences like his “Stripped Down” project, but he was able to add additional know-how and new tools.

(more…)

I’m excited to say that I’ve teamed up with visual author, Jocelyn Wallace to create…

IGNITE! – A little book to spark your BIG dreams

It’s been something I’ve wanted to do for a number of years… and it has everything to do with my own big dream of helping to launch 1 million dreams!

Click here to find IGNITE on Amazon!

Why?

Well… because IGNITE is a combination of stories… questions… inspiration… and ideas… paired up with incredible design and photography from visual author Jocelyn Wallace… and some original artwork from my wife (the BIG Dream Gathering’s co-founder) Melissa.

It’s not 400 pages of “how-to.”

Who has time for that?

Nope… IGNITE gets to the things you need to think about with your big dreams (and even remember them if it’s been a while)… plan for them… and launch them!

We’ve received some great feedback too…

“If you want to learn an extremely effective method for dreaming BIG that will also help you to make your dreams come true, IGNITE is the book to get you there.”

- Bob Burg, Co-author of the National Bestseller, The Go-Giver

“This wonderful little book will be a modern day treasure map to help you excavate those buried dreams and spark your passions again!”

- Patricia Rossi, Author & Television Host

So… if you want to spark some of your own big dreams… or give it as a gift to spark someone else’s… we invite you to check out IGNITE! 

Click here to find out more and/or order it from Amazon.

Thanks for joining us in helping to launch 1 million dreams… including yours!

Mitch

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Jay Carstensen has been a fan of the BIG Dream Gathering for a while.  In fact, if you’ve been to a Des Moines based BDG, you’ve probably seen him helping out.

But back in October… Calvin Johannsen, our videographer, finally got Jay to talk about one of his BIG dreams.

Here’s the short but sweet vid:

Even though it seemed pretty darn impossible at the time…  Jay has been hard at work… making his BIG dream a reality!

Yup… he had to take one small but significant step at a time.  And let’s be honest… some of these were HUGE and significant steps.

He had to do things like put together a biz plan… get insurance… find a location… get funding… find supporters and advocates… AND STUDENTS!

And guess what?

Drum roll please…

This week… Jay opened his doors!

And look at that smile!

How cool is that?!?

I asked him why this BIG Dream was so important to him and he said, 

“I saw how it helped me in so many ways that I can’t NOT share it.”

You can find out more about the school and Jay at his website:
http://www.ksma.us/desmoines.html

Check out the site and leave Jay a comment here to congratulate him and to let him know you believe in his BIG dream!

Again… Congrats Jay!  We’re all excited for you and proud of you! You’re going to crush it!

Lastly… what’s one of your BIG dreams?  Does it seem impossible?

Even if it does… what’s a small but significant step that you can take towards it today?

Why not get started?  Jay did… and look at his smile!

And that’s just a beautiful thing!

Keep dreaming BIG everybody,

Mitch

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Image via Wikipedia

Hey gang -

We wanted to give you the update on friend, successful first-time author and BDG alumnus Kevin Hansen.

He and his book Secret Regrets are set to be featured on Dr. Phil tomorrow, Friday, April 1st.

You can check local listings or visit Dr. Phil’s website to find out when it’s on in your area.

If you’re from Kevin’s neck of the woods in Northeast Iowa, then you’re invited to watch the show with him!  Click here to find out about the special viewing party that they are holding in Kevin’s home town of Cedar Falls.

You may remember from past posts about Kevin… but just to give you the quick scoop…  Kevin and I connected a few years ago around his big goal of writing a book.  We shared some ideas and some encouragement and he started rolling with his big dream.

He experimented with a blog first… which blossomed into several blogs… and then one of those blogs… Secret Regrets… started to explode!

He soon had over 500,000 hits and several thousand comments on his blog where people could share some of their regrets in life.

As Kevin worked to grow the blog, he saw people being able to share their regrets but he also saw opportunities for healing and support.  So he kept at it and then turned the blog into an Amazon best seller.

And that brings us to the next chapter in his BIG dream journey… with his story and his book (as well as some of the people who have posted to his blog) being featured on Dr. Phil.

Check out the related links below to hear a podcast I did with Kevin to hear more of his amazing big dream story!

And… tune in tomorrow to see a BDG alumni continue to walk out one of his VERY big dreams!

Kevin… Great job! We’re exited and proud of you!!

For everyone else… let this inspire you.  This all seemed pretty impossible a few years ago… but Kevin took action and stayed with it… and in a relatively short time… his BIG dream has taken off!

Just remember… yours can too!

Keep dreaming BIG,

Mitch

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