I’m scrolling down my Facebook feed expecting to see the regular baby pics, dinner pics, motivational memes, Broncos fans still talking about that game with the Patriots (GOOOOO! BRONCOS!), etc…

Then a headline stops me.  I read it. Blink my eyes a few times. Read it again.  I look away from my phone for a few seconds and read it one more time because there’s no way I was reading correctly.

The headline from the NY TIMES read: 

Mark Zuckerberg and Wife Pledge 99% of Their Facebook Shares to Charity

I hadn’t slept well the night before so I was sure my eyes were deceiving me.   After the 99th time of me re-reading the headline it was apparent that I was reading correctly.

(You can check out the article and get all the details about what that means.)

I was inspired to write a quick blog about this because

THIS IS WHAT WORK-LIFE-DREAMS BALANCE looks like!

Thank you, Mark and Priscilla, for being such great examples!

When I told someone that there is no such thing as work-life balance, they looked at me like I was crazy.  The issue that I have with work-life balance is that it omits DREAMS. It doesn’t acknowledge the importance and validity of DREAMS.  It does relay that subconscious message that our dreams deserve us just as much as our jobs and our regular life does.

Work is work.

Life is what happens after work (events, relationships, education, paying bills, chores…the everyday stuff).

Dreams are those visions your soul is hoping you will make come true.

 

Work-Life-Dreams Balance is the magical, love-filled, happy flow of life that happens when you combine:

Purposeful WORK that you actually enjoy doing (and works for you)

with

LIFE relationships, experiences, lessons and accomplishments

and

Dedicated, actionable steps (no matter how small) towards your DREAMS (soul work)

 

There is a way to work happily while you enjoy life and build your dreams.  It’s possible. It’s real.  It’s necessary.

You did not come to this planet to just work a job, pay bills, take a few vacations, retire and die.

Your dreams are as much a part of you as your heart, lungs, brain, hands, and legs.  They’re real.  They need to be fed with action.  That can only be done by you.

Neglecting your dreams isn’t just hurting you.  Do you understand that?

Neglecting your dreams is hurting all of the people who could potentially be helped by you fulfilling your dreams.

What if Mark gave up on his Facebook dream?  Now he works at Facebook and is still pursuing more of his dreams.

Many of us somehow gave up our dreams for a job and now want to give up jobs for our dreams.

If you can quit your job and chase your dreams, then do it!

If you can’t or don’t want to quit your job, though, then making your dreams come true is still possible.

You don’t have to choose between your job and your dreams.  If you’re making your job work for you, then you really can make it work for your dreams, too.

What actions can you start taking today that will reacquaint you with your dreams?  Who can you put on your DREAMS team to support you and hold you accountable?

It’s so natural to ask people to help us at work and in our everyday life.  Why is it so hard to ask for help with making our dreams come true?

I suppose, then, that there is work-life balance…when you completely disregard your dreams.