Us & Them - Why You Should Always Dare to Dream

I remember as a child looking at the big houses and shiny, new cars in the street thinking “Wow! Those people are so lucky!”. As I grew up, I observed how much it seemed so normal to separate “us” – the middle class, from “them” – the wealthy. It never really occurred to me as a teenager to question this, but as an adult chasing my big, grandiose dreams, I have found myself eternally perplexed by the self separation that seems to happen amongst humans.

Why do so many people seem to ‘wish’ for the abundance of wealth that life offers, yet never truly believe that it’s in any way possible for them? My question is… Why not? The only way that wealth is ever going to happen is to first believe it is possible. The crazy thing is, it is SO MUCH MORE POSSIBLE than most people ever really know!!

I came from a middle class family, and we often (I mean really often!) struggled with money, but we always kept the dream alive. My father always had an entrepreneurial spirit and started many new business ventures, even though, unfortunately, the financial jackpot always eluded us. We had a better kind of wealth though – love and encouragement. You see, our parents always encouraged my sister and I with strong words like “You can be anything you want to be, if you want it bad enough”.

So now, at 31, I own a multi-million dollar property portfolio, I quit my job several years ago for a life of freedom, I’ve married the man of my dreams, I live abroad and I frequently travel the world. So what’s the difference between me and the other middle class people who didn’t realize their dreams? Only a belief that it was possible.

For instance, I would walk into a store and try on the most expensive pair of shoes I could find, even though I knew I didn’t have the money to buy them. I wanted to be comfortable with that kind of wealth, and I was also very aware of keeping my language, internal and external, positive and aligned with my dreams. Instead of looking at the shoes and immediately saying “I can’t afford those!”, I would say “I choose not to buy them, today”. Being wealthy starts with feeling wealthy. Consider all the people who didn’t feel wealthy and won the lottery… most of them squandered it all away, because even though they really wanted it, they never really felt worthy of having it.

So take the time to reflect on what you’re thinking, feeling and saying (both to yourself and out loud), and decide if it’s aligned with your goals and dreams. If not, consider finding a new approach… and be sure remove the phrase “I can’t afford it” from your vocabulary!

As for me, I’ve still got a long way to go, and I never want to stop growing and striving for more, (does that journey ever stop?), but these days I can see a $40 Million dollar mansion, or 180 ft Super yacht and comfortably say “that’s for me”, and know for sure that it is.