Which makes me happy.  Because I’ve got a passion for pain. 

Well, I don’t really enjoy being in pain, but I know this soreness is a result of me challenging myself to reach a new level of fitness.  The more fit I am, the more prepared I’ll be to compete in some upcoming road races I have planned. 

That’s what I’m really passionate about:  being fit and being competitive.  The way I express that passion is through my challenging workouts and racing against the clock in 5k’s, 10k’s, half-marathons, etc.  The race I’m training for now is a 15k trail run in June.

Fitness and athletic competition is only one area of my life, however.  So tomorrow I’ll share with you another passion I have as well as how I’m expressing that passion right now.

In the meantime, think about your own level of fitness.  Whether you’re an athlete like me or not, exercise should be an important part of your lifestyle.  So find a form of exercise that gets you excited and allows you to express your passion for being fit and healthy.

Because the more fit and healthy you are, the more energy you have to focus on living your dreams.

To your dreams,
Bonnie Jean

If you want to always find a way to DO what you DREAM…

Then you need to follow the five Cool Dream Doer Rules.

And the Cool Dream Doer Rule of the Week is Rule #3: BE PASSIONATE: Express Your Passion.

Being passionate is all about expressing your intense emotional drive and excitement toward any strong desire.

But how can you express that intense emotional drive if you don’t know what you want or desire?  You can’t!  That’s why the first step in expressing your passion is to figure out what makes you excited.

In other words, you have to figure out what you REALLY want.

For instance, I’ve got a list of 111 things that I want.  These things include what I want to give to my family or to charities, businesses I want to own, activities I’d like to do, places I’d like to visit, people I want to meet and just fun stuff I would like to have.

When I look at my list and think about making these dreams of mine come true, I get excited.  The way to express that excitement and live my passion is to chase every single one of those dreams.

I can’t chase them all at once, though, so I’ve got to ask myself:  what dream do I really want more than anything right now?  What dream should I do something about that would allow me to express my passion in the biggest way possible right now?

I don’t have an answer to those questions.  Yet.  I’ll give it some thought tonight, then share my biggest RIGHT NOW passion with you tomorrow.

In the meantime, what about you?  What dream do you want to do something about RIGHT NOW?  What do you REALLY want?

Leave me a comment and let me know!

To your dreams,
Bonnie Jean

And here is the question:

1. WHY do you believe your dreams are (or are not) possible?

The only way to pass the quiz is to be completely HONEST with your answer.  So go ahead.  Answer the question for yourself knowing the only person grading you is…you.

Then if you’re brave enough, share your answer in the comment section!

To your dreams,
Bonnie Jean

So what’s your moral code? In other words, what do you value? Do you even know?

Whether you realize it or not, your values guide your behavior. You choose what to say and do and even what dreams to pursue based on your values.

For instance, if you value honesty, you’ll tell the truth.

If you value winning, you’ll do what it takes to win (but if you value honesty, you won’t lie or cheat to win).

If you value loyalty, you’ll stick by your friends and family no matter what.

If you hard work, you’ll have a great work ethic and always work hard.

If you value kindness, you’ll be nice to the people around you.

Take some time right now to identify your top five values. If you’re not sure where to start, here’s a list of the 12 core Dream Doer League values to give you some ideas:

• Integrity
• Passion
• Focus
• Consistency
• Energy
• Enthusiasm
• Leadership
• Discipline
• Creativity
• Wisdom
• Courage
• Strength

By living with these values as your guide, you can always find a way to do what you dream.

Once you know what your top five are, share them with me in the comment section.

To your dreams,
Bonnie Jean

And have you ever stopped to think about how many of your thoughts are true?

Go ahead. I dare you. Think about what you thought today.

For instance, did you tell yourself you couldn’t do something you were perfectly capable of doing?

I did. Only I didn’t realize how I let that lie limit me until I took action that proved me wrong.

Let me explain.

I was out running today in this beautiful, spring-like weather. Because I haven’t exercised in the past three days and because I didn’t get much sleep last night, I told myself I would only have enough energy to run for 29 minutes. (That’s about how long it takes me to run 7 loops around my one-street neighborhood.)

I told myself that running seven loops would be a challenge today and that I would be doing good to finish in 29 minutes.

The truth is I didn’t feel like running more than that today, so I set that goal to make me feel good about just getting by and not pushing myself the way a champion does. In other words, I lied to myself about what I was capable of accomplishing today in my workout.

Then something weird happened when I finished my seventh loop in just under 29 minutes. Instead of stopping to walk and cool down, I sped up.

I wanted to see if I had enough energy left to run for just one more minute and make it an even 30 minute workout.

When I hit the 30-minute mark, I was halfway down the hill and picking up speed. If I pushed myself, I believed I could make it to the bottom of the hill in another 60 seconds.

So I kept running. Faster. I gave it all I had. And I made it down the hill and around the cul-de-sac as fast as my super slow Schaefer speed would take me. (My fast is actually kind of slow!)

I sprinted to a finish time of 31 minutes.

As I walked up the hill and recovered from my final two-minute dash, I wondered how else I was limiting myself. I had just run more than I thought I was able to run during that workout, so what else could I do that I’ve been telling myself I couldn’t do?

I’m still pondering answers to that question for me, but right now I want to know about you.

What have you been telling yourself you can’t do? How have you been limiting yourself?

What do you think you could accomplish if you were honest with yourself about your abilities?

Think about your answers, then share them in the comment section!

To your dreams,
Bonnie Jean

If you want to always find a way to DO what you DREAM…

Then you need to follow the five Cool Dream Doer Rules.

And the Cool Dream Doer Rule of the Week is Rule #2: BE TRUSTWORTHY: Live with Integrity.

Why is being trustworthy and living with integrity so important?

When you live with integrity, you can trust yourself to set goals you have the ability to achieve.

When you set goals you trust yourself to accomplish, you gain confidence in who you are and believe that your dreams are possible.

When you believe your dreams are possible, you take action that makes your dreams happen.

In other words, no fears or doubts or worries can ever stop you from finding a way to do what you dreams when you live with integrity.

Over the next few days, we’ll talk more about what it means to live with integrity. In the meantime, leave a comment and share why you think being trustworthy and living with integrity is important.

To your dreams,
Bonnie Jean

A talent is a skill you’re naturally good at and love to do. The more you practice that skill, the better and better you become.

Your talents are what make you special and unique. These are areas where you can achieve greatness.

So discovering your talents is pretty important. If you don’t know what skills you need to practice, you’ll never have a chance to reach your potential!

One thing you can do to discover your talents is ask yourself three questions about your friends and family.

• What kinds of things do they ask for your help with?
• What kinds of things do you enjoy doing for them?
• What kinds of things do they struggle with that comes easily to you?

Go ahead. Answer those questions honestly right now. By answering those questions, you’ll begin to discover your talents.

To your dreams,
Bonnie Jean

You’re sitting on your floor in your bedroom. Your knees are curled up to your chest. Your arms are hugging your shins. Your forehead is resting on top of your knees.

It’s night. Your eyes are closed. The lights are off. Your computer is off. Your phone is on off. Your tv is off.

You’re breathing. Calmly. In. Out. In. Out.

You’re smiling. You’re happy.

You’re imagining what your life is like when you are free to be yourself. To live your dreams. To make your own choices.

What do you see yourself doing?

What do you hear yourself saying?

What do you feel yourself feeling?

Now you open your eyes. You smile.

You’ve just experienced what it’s like to be yourself in your mind.

Now you’re ready to experience what it’s like to be yourself in reality right now.

What do you do to be yourself right now?

What do you say to be yourself right now?

What do you feel when you are yourself right now?

(It’s up to you to finish this story. So answer these questions, then TAKE ACTION based on what you write!)

To your dreams,
Bonnie Jean

Imagine yourself ten years from today. It’s March 3, 2020.

Go ahead. Picture it. How old are you? Where do you live? What do you look like? Do you have a pet dog, a pet fish or a pet pencil?

On this day, you get to do whatever you want to do. You get to choose your actions. You get to control what you say, what you do and where you go.

By the end of the day, you know you’ve done something important and valuable. You know that you’ve made someone else’s life better by doing what you dream.

So what is it that you do? What skills do you see yourself using? Who do you see yourself helping? What difference do you make?

Have fun with this. Trust your instincts, and write down the first things that come to your mind.

Chances are that what you see yourself doing reflect who you are and what you can become great at.

To your dreams,
Bonnie Jean

Being yourself means you’re free to choose how you think, how you feel, what you say and what you do instead of relying on other people to create your identity for you.

Being yourself also means that you stick to your strengths when chasing your dreams.  Of course you first have to know what your strengths are in order to stick to them.

The kind of strengths I’m talking about here are your God-given talents, skills you are naturally good at and love to do.

Need help identifying your talents? 

Then you should prepare yourself to accept the BE YOURSELF Dream Doer Challenge of the day.

Are you prepared? 

Excellent. 

I now challenge you to answer this question: 

• What is the BEST success you’ve had in your life so far?

(Was it getting a good grade? Winning a competition? Helping a friend?)

(What is one thing you’ve done that made you feel great?)

Write your answer down…because recognizing your own success is the first step to finding your unshakable confidence, chasing your unbreakable dreams and living with unstoppable success.

To your dreams,
Bonnie Jean

P.S.  Don’t keep your BEST success to yourself!  Share it with me by adding a comment!