Following your dreams is a never-ending process. It truly is. But what if all you ever do is dream and never take any action towards achieving those dreams? … What does life look like if you just dream? …
… I’ll tell you what it looks like … it looks like your angry peers, like your stubborn neighbors, like the jealous kids who pick on you at the bus stop … it may even look like your stressed out parents, your mean ol’ grandparents, or maybe it looks like the career lady who attempts to discourage 11-year-olds in small towns from ever achieving anything more than ordinary …
I can remember being a child knowing that I wanted to do big things with my life, but I was never really certain what my calling would actually be. I never wanted to work a "regular" job … I wanted what some, or probably most, call a dream job.
I specifically remember being in a classroom in seventh grade at Westgate Middle School in East Liverpool, Ohio and we had some type of career day. A guest—a woman--came into our classroom that day and brought in these worksheets about choosing a career. The woman leading the career day asked each of us what we wanted to be when we grew up ... I had all these jobs listed … probably like 10 … and EVERY SINGLE ONE that was listed on my paper, she shut down.
I will never forget that day. The lady said, "Ok, but those are ALL dream jobs. You need to pick a real job and you need to pick just one, two at the very most.”
"A real job?" I thought to myself … "Being a singer IS a real job! It takes a lot of work. And just one? … but my dad has five jobs?” …
Whether I agreed with her or not, she had one thing right ... I shouldn't have written down singer because, well, I wasn't much of a singer. I could dance just a little. I wasn't super athletic. All of my talents were just so-so, so I understood what she was saying ... be realistic. But to me, I was being very realistic. My dreams and ambitions were very real to me … maybe just like they are to you, or to your children or to anyone else in your life. And to be honest, that’s all that really matters. But circle back to why that relates now, and here’s how--I didn't really think about that moment and its impact on my life until last night ...
Last night, I had the privilege of visiting some amazing girls, ages 7-26 years old, from Place of Hope at the Leighan and David Rinker Campus and I was inspired … so inspired that it took me back to that moment in seventh grade and had me thinking …
What if the career lady would’ve handled that day with a different approach? What if she would’ve changed the way she instructed us to do the exercise? What if, instead, she had us list our hobbies and passions and our strengths, and then helped us choose a career based on that? … Or had us do it the opposite way … pick dream jobs first THEN a “realistic” job!?
Just moments before I did a little exercise with the girls at Place of Hope, I had that flashback and realized this: We go through life being ordinary, being complacent, being comfortable, thinking we have to have everything figured out so we can make a decision we can “live” with and abide by the “rules” surrounding that decision … the rules that no one ever really made up, but just followed by precedence ... the rules of go to school, get a job, struggle financially for years like our parents and friends’ parents did, save up for a 2-week vacation that we have to get permission to go on, and work that job for the rest of our lives until we retire on barely any money and barely any time left to do the things we enjoy ...
What if instead of picking things, people, careers, circumstances, etc. that we can live with, we choose the things we can’t live without?
I have to say wholeheartedly that having to remain complacent is not a life requirement nor is it my reality. I am fortunate to have been a visionary since I was just a child and literally EVERYTHING I have fully set my mind to, I have accomplished in one way or another. Those accomplishments were not easy to attain by any means, but they were attainable to say the least and for that notion alone—the notion of understanding that they were, in fact, attainable—I feel I am qualified to speak on this subject.
If you are one of those people, who no matter how hard you try, you can't shake your ambition, or your vision, or your life’s purpose or desires, please seek me. Without revealing too much too soon of what’s on the rise for me and possibly for you, and what’s going on in my brain, just know that if you are a dreamer who wants to do more than just dream about your dreams, I can help you.
My experience last night at Place of Hope finalized my plans on expanding my vision because I realized that I want to be for those girls what the career lady was NOT for me ... an encourager, rather than a discourager.
About six months ago, I had an astrology reading and acupuncture done in Miami, Florida and it was there I discovered my life purpose. First off, let me say I fully believe in the hype. I'm totally down with the sickness. I drink the Kool-Aid. I believe in the power of our thoughts and when I had that experience back in July, I discovered that my purpose is to be of service to the world in whatever capacity I can by using my God-given talents and skill sets.
That day in Miami changed my life forever because from that day forward, I learned how to properly meditate to obtain everything I desire and more. Here’s how:
1. I prayed.
2. I bought this cool book.
(You’ll hear more about the cool book in an even cooler book this Spring … the book I am writing) … and after two months of meditating specifically on what I wanted out of life, and praying, I met James Fowler ... the love of my life. Not only was he the type of person I had been describing and focusing on, but he just so happened to be in one of the lines of work that I had envisioned myself being a part of since I lost a friend to drug addiction in 2013.
Several other crazy and bizarre and fu-fu type things happened since then, but the big thing to make note of is that I deliberately created my life experiences with my mind. I had done so since I was a child, I just didn’t understand the power until recently … and with that, with fully understanding how powerful my thoughts are, I am again, transitioning and growing in another direction and fulfilling more dreams than I ever thought possible because I think, feel and believe I can.
In 2017, I will continue to live out my purpose of being of service, sharing much more of myself and my motivation to help others with the world in a bigger way ... bigger than ever before … and I encourage anyone who has a dream to do more than just dream about your dream … go out there and chase your dreams until you feel deep inside the most positive source of energy you’ve ever experienced. And if you can’t do it alone, reach out to me. Because here’s the reality …
We get these powerful tools, (mind, body and soul) and they are absolutely FREE to use. We have so much power right between our ears and the majority of us aren’t fully dialed in. If we knew the power of our thoughts, I promise you, we would all choose to think differently, in a more positive way.
Dreams don’t work unless you do, so don’t let your dreams just be dreams. Do what makes your soul happy and instead of asking what the world needs ... Ask what makes you come alive and then go do that because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
I invite you all to join me in my business ventures by downloading my app Whitney Chaffin™ or by staying up to date with the new ventures and developments on www.whitneychaffin.com! Both the app and the website are in the process of being redeveloped to include all the new ideas, products and services that I've been working on for more than a year, so please, hang in there during the transitions.
Thank you for the continued support and love, and most recently, for all the prayers for James and me. Despite any difficulties we may face during our journey of being of service, I wouldn't choose to do life with anyone else and fortunately, because of the power of my positive thoughts, I don't have to. =) God bless!
