Life Thoughts:: On Dreaming Big

Recently I have been doing a lot of thinking about what it takes to be successful.  Of course the definition of success is different with every individual and can vary at different times in life. For me success means achieving my dreams and carving out a path of my own and starting a new venture.  Recently I have found myself hungry to find how others have achieved success by digging for inspiring quotes, hearing stories and watching it happen before my own eyes.  One of the most inspiring things that I read was the commencement speech that Tory Burch delivered to the Babson College Class of 2014.  In her speech she spoke about the power of the entrepreneur and emphasized the power of passion, hard work and believing in your vision even if there is noise around you telling you that all you might have is a pipe dream.  Something that resonated with me the most was when she stated ‘If it doesn't scare you, you’re probably not dreaming big enough.’ Wow. Yes.  How often do you have a dream that ends up scaring you straight and then you abandon it shortly thereafter for fear of rejection, failure of just plain lack of confidence. 

Her words definitely inspired me and made me think about going past the state of comfort and realizing that if something is scaring me, it might just be the best thing possible.  This is where the breakthrough can occur. I have always been a woman of big dreams, but often scared of them at the same time. I do not want to settle and I want to continue to reach for more. What about you? How have you gotten past the state of fear to make things happen?

Notable Quotes from Tory Burch's Speech 

"It’s about seeing connections others can’t, seizing opportunities others won’t, and forging new directions that others haven’t.  It’s about having the courage to give in to passion for an idea that makes your heart race.

"The good news is that if you’re willing to pursue your passion, put in the hard work, and believe in yourself, you will succeed."

"One of the best pieces of advice I ever received from my parents is to think of negativity as noise. Believe in yourself and what you’re doing."

"Remember: if the most unique ideas were obvious to everyone, there wouldn’t be entrepreneurs. The one thing that every entrepreneurial journey has in common is that there are many, many steps on the road to success."

"Here is what I’ve learned: We may live in an age of instant messaging, instant gratification, and Instagram, but there is no way to short circuit the path to success. It takes hard work, tenacity and patience."

You can read the entire speach at Babson College

Image via Pinterest (original source unknown), artwork by Alison