19. Dream Big Plan Small: A conversation with Jill Wright

You're listening to The Success-Minded Woman with Deidrea Kiesling, Episode 19. Today, I'm shaking it up a little bit, and I am going to share with you a replay of my being interviewed on a podcast by my friend and coaching colleague, Jill Wright. She has a podcast called Connect the Dots, and she is a life coach on a mission to help coaches connect to profit with purpose, and I love this conversation that we had, and it was a dream come true for me, so stay tuned.

 

All right. So welcome Deidrea. I am so excited we get to do this.  I was excited to learn more about your Dream Academy and your podcast, the Success Minded Woman, and all of the things that I hope we can fit a bunch of that stuff in today, in this short 30-minute conversation because I'm excited to hear about all of this.

 

So, welcome. Thank you. I'm so happy to be here. This has been a dream of mine to be a guest on a podcast, and this is my first one, so I'm super excited. Know that, oh, this is going to be so much fun then. Yeah. All right, so I was checking out your Dream Academy and I love that name.  Because I love the idea of everyone achieving their big dreams.

 

Yeah. So the idea of the Dream Academy really intrigues me. One, because I don't see myself as necessarily a teacher at heart.  So I feel like I'm more of a coach than a teacher. And, but I love the idea of the academy one of my clients, wants to do an academy-based thing in her business.

 

She wants, she called it at one point, she called it the Braveheart Academy. And  I just, I don't know, there's something about the academy that I just love that word. So that really intrigues me. Just talking about kind of your journey and what led you here to this time in this place where we get to talk.

 

 About the Dream Academy and about The Success-Minded Woman and everything that means as far as what you help your clients with and whom you were in, in getting here.  I am just so interested in finding out more about that. Oh, well, thank you. I'm so excited to be here and I love the Dream Academy.

 

 There's a fun story about how the Dream Academy started. So I had always thought of myself, as a dreamer, like a big dreamer, a big action taker, like I've just always dreamed big and I was about to start this new chapter in my career of becoming a life coach and starting a life coaching business.

 

And  I wanted it to have a name. I didn't want it to just be my name. I think part of that is I wanted to hide a little bit behind a name instead of having it be my own identity. But I wanted to have a name, like a brand that was something separate from me and I thought about the Dream Academy and I Googled it to see if, you know, I went to like thedreamacademy.com and it wasn't there.

 

And I went to GoDaddy and I looked and it was available and it cost $4,000. To buy the U R L, The Dream Academy. So right then and there I was making a decision and a commitment that I was creating the Dream Academy. And this is, I had only made probably less than $10,000 as a coach and I paid $4,000 for that URL.

 

And I think that was the first bold, courageous action that I took in creating this life coaching business. And. I just, when I saw that it was $4,000 and I wanted to make that decision, I knew that I was changing the trajectory of my business by creating the Dream Academy and I knew it was a good idea if it cost $4,000.

 

I thought that's a good name. So that is how The Dream Academy started and I told my dad that day, it was on Christmas Eve. I said he was standing there while I got why I actually put the credit card in. And I said, I just created the Dream Academy. And I told my dad, I just started my million-dollar business.

 

Oh. And my dad looked at me and he said, I know you can do it. That is how the Dream Academy came to be. That is so fun. So you are an action taker. I am an action-taker. And I am. I  mean, and that is really the heart and soul of my coaching is we take that dream. I love to help people dream big and vision and just, I say, create the best version of your life and dream, and just ask yourself a question like, what would I love?

 

Like what would I love? And just imagine what that dream come true in life is, but then pull that down into reality to make that dream come true. And that takes. Action. And I am an implementation person. I actually, my career as a corporate consultant, I was actually called an implementation consultant.

 

So I am all about, Taking action. And that is really my strength. And that's really what I bring to my coaching is I help my clients get into action because all of our dreams are on the other side of action. So I love taking the combination of dreaming big and I say dream big, plan small, and take consistent action.

 

And that's really simple. The steps that we need to do to create this dream come true life. It's actually in the implementation where we all get stuck. Yeah. All of that Mine's drama happens in the implementation. Yeah.  I want to take this a little step further because on your podcast, the success-minded women Yeah.

 

You share a question that you ask your clients from Mary Oliver. It's a quote from Mary Oliver “What is your plan for your one wild and precious life”. Yeah. And so, I want to pose that question to you. What is your plan, Deidrea? For your one wild and precious life. Tell me your big vision for the Dream Academy.

 

You know,  I love that question. I love that quote. It gives me goosebumps every time I hear that quote or read that quote.  I love the fact that in that quote, she uses the word plan. She doesn't say, what is your dream? She doesn't say, what is your vision? She says, what is your plan? Which I think is so interesting because she's a poet and even a poet knows you need a plan.

 

So that's one of the things that I love about that quote and what my plan is. And this is like, it's taken me so long to get here, but I'm living my plan like I am living my purpose. I'm following my plan. So what is my plan for my wild, precious life? It is exactly what I'm doing right now, and even being here with you on this podcast was part of my plan, part of my dream, and that's something that I want for everyone to know that what you're doing at this moment, listening to this podcast, picking up your kids from school.

 

Reading that book that's inspiring you, whatever it is, like to know that that is part of your plan, and if you're doing something that's not in your plan. Then that's why people come to us, right? As coaches. Yeah. Yeah. We help them get and figure out that plan. Yeah. So talk a little bit more about that. Like how would people listen and give legs to what you just said?

 

Yeah. I'm living my plan. I'm living my purpose. Tell them, you know, paint the picture of what that actually means to you. And maybe even how that translates to what that means for your clients.  What does that look like in real practical terms? Yeah, so I think that it starts with the goals and that vision.

 

So whatever it is that you dream about, that you imagine that you would be like your best self, your best life.  I really believe with my whole heart that our dreams are meant for us. Like whatever we dream, whatever we long for in our soul, that is meant for us. Our dreams are meant for us. And I believe that is our purpose,  our dream is our purpose.

 

Like we wouldn't be given that dream or that desire or that wish if it wasn't meant for us. And if it wasn't our job to bring that into reality. Yeah. So as far as what our purpose is, I think your purpose is whatever you decide it's going to be. But I do think that comes from a true desire in your heart about what you want.

 

And I think what holds a lot of us bad is we get scared that it, that we can't make it happen. Yeah. So let's see you as an example. Yeah. So with me, I had this dream for the Dream Academy, right? And I made a plan. And so I love to make a plan actually, in my coaching program, I have this process, I call it a three-step process for success, and it's really just three steps.

 

Decide what you want and why you want it. Make a plan and then take massive action and then just keep repeating that process. And I love taking things back down to like their simplest form. And that's really what we do at the Dream Academy, is just take it back to those steps, like where am I in those three steps?

 

And for me, so I decided what I wanted. I wanted to create this life coaching business, the Dream Academy. I made a plan. To do it. And I gave myself three years to exit my corporate consulting business and move into this new Dream Academy business. And so I've been implementing that exit strategy plan for the last three years.

 

And so with that planning, you have to have patience, right? You have to make sure that you have everything lined up and that actually reduces the risk that you're taking, right? Because some of us are. More risk-averse than others. So I really took all the risk out for myself by setting myself up for success, making a plan to exit my corporate job, and taking on extra assignments to make extra money so that I could save my money so that I could invest in my future.

 

And that's what I'm doing now. So I have, I actually just, I'm in the final stages of my last corporate client.  And then I'm walking away from my career to start this next phase of my life. And so that's what I want to help other people with, is to not ever give up on your dream, to make a plan.

 

And even if it's a long plan, right? You have a plan and then you know where you're going, right? You have a direction that your life is going. And when we know where we're going, it's much easier to get there. Yeah. Yeah. So where did your dream come from? Tell me a little bit about that. I'm just so curious.

 

Well, So I first had a dream of being a coach, and part of my dream is to be a speaker and I had that dream back in my teens. Oh, wow. And I really, I realized all of this when I was preparing for that first episode of my podcast. And in that episode, I talk about my entrepreneurial. Journey and how I had this dream back then, and this was 30 years ago, so this is before people had life coaches or anything, but I just grew up in an entrepreneurial family.

 

My dad was an entrepreneur. Both of my grandfathers were entrepreneurs. So it's just in my blood, this entrepreneurial spirit and dreaming big and creating your own path. And charting your own course. And so I was just exposed to all of these success principles and mindsets with my dad. So he listened to Jim Rhone, Zig Ziegler.  I just grew up being surrounded by this sort of success, philosophy, and mindset. So it was just something that I always was aware of, studying Jim Rhone, studying Zig Ziegler, knowing about having dreams and having a vision. And so it just started from a really early age of wanting to do that.

 

And now it's finally full circle after a lot of different paths along the way and different dreams that I had of having a career and building a family. I think we all have seasons of life and we have different dreams as we evolve and mature. So that's really where it started for me back when I was a teenager.

 

Wow. So what about people who might not have had exposure to those things?  So I mean, like, you were steeped in those principles, those traditions, those ways of thinking and believing. Yeah. What about somebody who didn't have that, who maybe came from more of a family with not because  I would call that what you're describing as maybe an abundance mindset?

 

That's what it sounds like to me. Yeah, yeah, for sure. But people who came from more of a scarcity mindset who just the complete opposite. Yeah. Oh yeah. You have to work hard and then you still don't reach your dreams. And dreams are just a waste of time, you know? Yeah. You don't have what it takes or, you know, any number of limited mindsets.

 

Yeah. Well, I think that I just want everyone to know that if you have a dream, it is possible and it is meant for you, and it's your job to take responsibility in your life. To bring that dream into reality. So one of the things that are always going to get in our way are obstacles. So scarcity mindset, having limiting beliefs about what is possible for you.

 

That's just an obstacle. It's just an obstacle that's in your way. But if your dream is big enough and you are committed to it, you just, okay. That's one thing. I don't think that will happen to me. Okay. But I know I have this dream. And if you can just hold onto it, okay. I have a dream.

 

Okay. It's meant for me. If you can just hold onto that so find something that you can hold onto that gives you that belief when you don't believe in yourself. And I really do think that's the first step, is just like stepping into the belief. Just knowing, believing that it's possible even though you don't know how to make it happen, even though you don't think you can.

 

But that's like stepping out into faith really. Yeah. That you can take that first step and I really do think whatever we're thinking, whatever excuses we're making, whatever we think is in our way,  is just an obstacle and there's always gonna be obstacles. In any journey, in anything you do, there's gonna be obstacles and when you can kind of just like step back a little bit from that and go, oh, this is just an obstacle in my way.

 

Okay. What do I need to do about it? And that's why, I love coaching, and I know you do too, is because that's what we do, right? Yeah. As coaches we're like, oh, no, that's just something you're thinking, that's just an obstacle. That's just a limiting belief, a mindset that we're just gonna get in there and help you figure it out and we're gonna remove the obstacle, right?

 

Yeah. And then you keep going and then there's another obstacle. So I would think, I would say  for people that. Have more of a scarcity mindset. The first step  is to just know that's what it is. It's just a way of thinking.  It doesn't really mean anything about you or anything about the possibility of your dream.

 

 It's just the way you were thinking and maybe the way you were raised and what you were taught to believe about yourself. But  it doesn't mean anything about the possibility of the dream life that you want. So it's just an obstacle that you need to overcome. I love that. Yeah. When as you were talking you especially  the two, I guess I would call them anchors.

 

Like I I love finding where can I anchor myself to what I know for sure. Yeah. And you know, I love those two things that you gave. I have a dream and it's meant for me and I'm doing a little bit of exploring this spiritual direction path  in my life and in my training.

 

Really, I'm  getting ready to start a spiritual direction program this fall. And I don't know how that's gonna be. Oh, I love that. Integrated into my coaching practice. But one of the things that they talk about in that spiritual direction program, which I haven't started yet, but I'm also in a group for spiritual direction.

 

 It's a short term group. We meet once a month and yesterday we learned about dreamwork in the context of spiritual direction. And one of the things that they say is that your dreams, whether they're positive or negative, whether they're dreams or nightmares no matter how they make you feel, they are specifically for you.

 

So the only person that can interpret a dream is the dreamer and then the other thing that they say that I absolutely love that kind of fits into your, what you just said was every dream that we have is intended for our good. Yeah. So it's for healing and wholeness and  that speaks to like, it is meant for me.

 

Yeah. And it is a gift for me, specifically me individually. It's a unique gift that only I can accept, that only I can receive. Yeah. And so I just love how that all goes together that coordinates so well and is a place that you can anchor yourself. Yeah and I wanted to say, I was thinking about when you asked if someone has a scarcity mindset, they probably don't realize they have a scarcity mindset.

 

But if you are, have a dream and you are stuck in not thinking that it's possible or it's like a problem that you can't solve. I think the first thing or one of the first things is to connect with people who can see that dream and help you live in the possibility of that. I think that's so important.

 

And that's something that Jim Ron, that's a quote that Jim Ron said. Surround yourself with like-minded people. You know, you're, what is the quote? What's something like the five people you're like, you're most like the five people you spend the most time with or, so the, you people spend the most time with you.

 

You become like, yeah. So you wanna be around people that are doing what you wanna do or believe that success is possible for you. Like that is really one of the things that you always wanna do is surround yourself with people that have a similar dream or similar vision, and you can do that without knowing them.

 

That's what I love about podcasts, right? Yeah. And books. Like I talk about all these people being my mentors, and some people think, oh, when did you meet them? Or when, I don't wanna, I've never met them, but doesn't mean that they're not my mentor. I mean, you know, Oprah is My best friend. Yeah. She doesn't know me.

 

Yeah, so that's, I really think it's to surround yourself with like-minded people, whether it's in person or on podcasts or in books, but I think that is, Really the best way to take action towards your dreams. Yeah. And that's another way that if you're in scarcity mindset, I think you can notice.

 

Thoughts and feelings around that dream, right? You feeling resistant or you're feeling incapable or you're feeling incompetent or inadequate or insufficient or whatever.  The other way is just look at your actions, like what are you doing to progress toward that dream? If you're not taking massive action like you talked about, that could be because of those subconscious limiting beliefs. Yeah. And I notice that a lot in my clients is they're not, they might say, I know it's possible for me, but their actions don't reflect what they're telling me. Yeah. And so that's a clue that, that I use to reconcile, what are you really believing?

 

Because that's what really drives your actions. And so that can be a clue. Yes. And there's this journey,  I don't know what the right word is, but you have the dream, right? Like your clients, they have the dream, they have the vision, but then they're stuck in that middle of taking the dream and taking the action.

 

Like that middle part. Yeah. That implementation, right. The implementation and what implementation. Yes. And part of that is that they can feel like if you think about when you're dreaming or visioning or something, you can actually take yourself there, right? You can really get into if you really start to envision it.

 

Like you get into the feeling of that and that feels a lot better than actually making it happen. Like just dreaming about it. And so what happens is if you keep holding onto that dream, but you're not actually taking action on it, you're building a habit of dreaming and not taking action. And so then the longer you stay in that dream without taking any action, the harder it's gonna be to actually start taking action.

 

Cause you've built up this almost like story about how it's going to be hard or I don't know where to start, or it might not work. I don't know what to do. But if you just stay dreaming and not taking action,  I guess some people would call that the comfort zone.

 

Like you're enjoying the fantasy or the dream of it, but you're not doing anything to bring it into reality. Yeah. And I think that's where a lot of people get stuck because I call 'em dream squashers, overwhelm, gout, confusion, fear. They're just obstacles. But we think they mean something about us and our dream.

 

Yeah. And so we stay safe in. Just imagining and dreaming and not taking action. Yeah. For me, one of the biggest freedoms I've had over the last couple of years is really not caring what other people think about me. Yeah. And I find myself still not wanting to do a post or not wanting to do something, and   I'm so good now at catching myself.

 

Okay. What going on? And it's usually, I don't know if I'm doing this right. I don't know what people will think about me. And once I can just remind myself that I don't care what people think about me, it just makes it so much easier. Yeah. To do it for me, that was the biggest thing I wanted to be right. So I was afraid of what people would think about me because I was afraid  I wouldn't do it right. But with the freedom to not worry about what people think about me and letting myself not be right. It's making it a lot easier. Yeah. Yeah. And I think one of those things is being really connected to that dream.

 

And so being able to envision that dream is important. But notice when that's actually stopping you. Right. And I think when we're connected when we're truly connected to that dream at a level that it's almost like a part of us.  You can get to a place where you're willing to figure it out no matter what.

 

Yeah. And that doesn't mean that it happens tomorrow or this year or next year.  That doesn't have to be time-based, but just knowing what you're willing to risk, what you're willing to invest, and being completely honest with yourself. And that's where my journey is I don't necessarily resonate a lot with like, What are you afraid of?

 

Because I don't feel like I necessarily resonate with the fear. But I can recognize resistance and so seeing where I'm resisting and like you said, not making, because resistance is a dream squasher, right? Overwhelm is a dream squasher all of those that you talked about.

 

Yeah. And so the problem is not that you have those things. Yeah. As you said, it's what you're making them mean. Yeah. About you or about your dream or about what's possible and just recognizing, oh, I'm feeling this.  What is it trying to tell me? Or What part of me needs might need to be reassured or might need to be reminded that I don't care what other people think.

 

Yeah. Or it, and I think it's when you're willing to figure out like, what are you willing to do no matter what, to get this dream and not judging that's not enough or that's not right, or that's not what other people do or whatever. I think that's and. And I'm working on a book called No Matter What. I love that.

 

I saw that in your email and actually, that was one of the URLs I tried to buy nomatterwhat.com, it was like $10,000. I'm like, no, I'm not buying that one. But I love that concept of no matter what, that's a hundred percent commitment, right? But at stake in the ground of what you're doing and then no matter what you're doing it Yeah, I love that.

 

It doesn't have to be, huge, right? Yeah. It can be like just the other side of your comfort zone. Yeah. Just and you don't have to be there 100% of the time, you know?  So it's you, it's learning how to work with who you are, who you really are, what you really want, and then, knowing what you feel comfortable with and then being willing to go that direction no matter what.

 

No matter how long it takes, no matter who says what about your idea. No matter what it costs you. there are bit, a bunch of differences, no matter what you can apply to that, but it all depends on what you're willing to do. No matter what. Yeah. And being able to give yourself freedom in that, to not be judged about if that's good enough or if that's the right way or whatever.

 

Yeah. And I love what you said about willingness. I think I was just thinking about willingness. Today or yesterday.  How powerful willingness is because when you're willing it, that opens up for possibility, right? When you're willing to have a conversation to go, or to take some kind of action to go to the gym or go for a walk or just when you're, just that being willing  is so powerful when you're willing to maybe be wrong about something, when you're willing to just take one small step, just whatever willingness is to me, so powerful because it's a opening.

 

Right. Being willing. I love that. Yeah. Yeah. When it's an honest willingness, I think sometimes, I'll just speak for myself. I don't know about other people, but I know in the first couple of years of my journey after I started my business, what I was willing to do wasn't an honest willingness.

 

 It was  I'm willing  if that will make me successful. If that will,  the other thing that I talk about is  what I've learned since then is to get rid  yeah. Because that's not an honest willingness. Yeah. So you kind of have to be onto yourself on that.

 

Yeah. I love that. But what if, what about when you're willing, so if you don't have a, so that, then what is the willingness? it's just about what is it directed towards.  So I'll use an example from my business. I'm currently in a period of transition in my business where I'm kind of figuring all of this out.

 

But I'll tell you what I have figured out so far. When I started my business,  I knew that I didn't wanna do it full-time, but I was willing to work harder in the beginning so that I could, you know, make that initial investment. But what I found was that wasn't coming from the right energy. It was coming from, okay, so you're telling me if I do this, then I will get that.

 

And so it was very transactional. But where I am in my business right now is I've decided, because, you know, I tried building my business and all the time I was trying to build my business in the back of my head. I'm thinking, but I only wanted. To do this part-time because my husband's full-time retired.

 

I wanted that flexibility and I wanted and I didn't start this business to be a replacement of any income because we both left our corporate jobs before I started this and so I had to get honest with myself about what I really wanted and who I really was and who I really am in this stage of my life. And a lot of the people that I was hanging out with were probably 15 years younger than me. It's a very different stage of their life. Where they still were building their life. Right. I was kind of past that. And so I had to get honest with myself and say, you know who are you really?

 

 And what do you really want? Yeah. And then learn to not judge me for that. Yes. Right. Because it didn't look like everybody else. Yes, yes. And so what I've realized, and this is fairly recent, is that there are certain things that I don't want to do, and if I have to do them in order to have a business, then I just don't want to have a business.

 

Yeah. And so getting clear about those things and then being willing to not judge yourself for them because they don't look like what everybody else is doing. That is an example of what I'm talking about. So I'm not doing it for anything other than to fulfill my mission, my vision, my purpose, which is to have an impact in the world,  to impact people who are impacting people. Right. And so the degree to which I do that is no longer as important to me. And so no matter what I'm going to do this business no matter what. As long as I don't lose money,

 

That gives me so much freedom. But what happens if you lose money?  Then I figure out, okay, what happened and what can I do about it? Yeah. What am I willing to invest to change that circumstance, that result? Yeah. I love that.  I love being, I love willingness, and I love what you said about it.

 

Really making sure what your dream is versus what maybe you thought your dream should be right, but really getting clear on what it is for you. What I love is that, it really is. Yeah. But it really is. Yeah. Well, we're running out of time. I wanted to talk about obstacles a little bit more, but maybe we can do another episode where we talk about obstacles.

 

Yeah, absolutely like that can be the only purpose of that episode because I think that is a big topic. So there's one thing that I just wanted to make sure because you asked me something and we kind of started talking about something else, but you've mentioned about your clients and how maybe they're having a hard time taking action because they're getting stuck. And one of the things that I just wanna encourage everyone to do, and this is why I love planning so much, and planning could just be writing some things down that you're gonna do, and then assessing the plan, which is basically, did you do it or did you not do it?

 

And why? And getting that specific on a piece of paper, even if it's just one thing that you say on Sunday that you're gonna do. And then you look at Friday and say, did you do it? Or did you not do it? Why or why not? Like that is part of the implementation, right? Because yeah, that's what you're saying about resistance, about obstacles.

 

So that's one thing I just want everyone to just write, even if it's just one thing, write one thing down or a Sunday or a Monday that you're gonna do this week to take action on your dream. And then just answer honestly if you did it or didn't do it.  And why. Yeah. And they get honest yourself.

 

Are you willing to do it? Yeah. Why or why not? And that's it really this whole thing really is simple. And that's what I say, it's simple.  That's what I love about it. Yeah, it's simple, right? And simple doesn't mean easy. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. So, Deidre, what else would you hope that people take away from this conversation?

 

Well, I hope that everyone listening is inspired to follow your dream, to let yourself dream, and to write it down in a journal or talk with a friend about it. But I think getting a dream out of your head and onto a piece of paper is the first action step to making it happen. To bring it into reality.

 

You have to get it out of your head, that's the first step. I love to talk about people's dreams with them, so I encourage you, to reach out to me or Deidrea and, you know, we can be your sounding board. Yeah. So how can people find you, learn more about you and the Dream Academy and your podcast, the success-minded woman, or maybe if they just want to connect with you and continue this conversation, how would they how did they get in touch?

 

Yeah, so definitely,  you can find me on my podcast which comes out weekly. It's called The Success-Minded Woman, and it's everything that we've been talking about, but I get into the very practical steps of implementation and what gets in our way. So I would love for you to listen to that. And my website is thedreamacademy.com, and I've got a wonderful free course on how to get 10 hours back a week because time management is one of the ways you create your dream come through life.

 

So you could definitely check out my free course there, and then if you wanna just get together and talk about your dream, you can schedule a free visioning call with me and I wanna hear all about it. Oh, I love that. I might schedule one of those myself. I love that. I just love, that my favorite thing in the whole wide world, is to talk with people about their dreams.

 

 You have the most fun job? I do. Oh yeah. I do. I, and if only my kids would listen to me. Yeah. One day they will.  And that's what my mission is to inspire my kids. Well, it has been so much fun and I hope we get to do this again soon. Deidre, thank you for coming on.

 

Connect the Dots podcast. I'm so honored and blessed to be your first guest assignment. I know me too. And I love how we did connect the dots. Yeah, we totally did. All right. Thank you so much. All right. Thank you. Bye.

Thanks for joining me this week on The Success Minded Woman podcast. If you like what you heard on the podcast and you want to know more, then head on over to thedreamacademy.com where you can sign up for my weekly success and mindset tips to help you create your dream come true life. Talk to you all next week, bye.