CONCLUSION

Turn to this page to see what to do with these lines!

Wow! What a journey we’ve been on together. If you can remember way back to the very first page of this book, when you and I were just starting out exploring your passions, forming them into a dream, and finding your path to reach that dream, I told you that I believed in you, just because you’d picked up this book! Choosing to read this book told me that you were interested in, or even just curious about, discovering your dream and chasing after it. Now that we’re here at the end, I hope that, on top of knowing that I believe in you, you know something even more important—that you believe in yourself.

Throughout this book, I’ve shared skills you can use, stories from my own life, examples of role models who’ve put in the work, activities to get you going, and more, all geared toward helping you, well, dream big. I hope that you’ve been able to learn something new and useful while reading Dream Big!, something that’s given you confidence in your ability to set out and accomplish your dream, whatever it may be.

You now have a mental tool kit of knowledge, skills, and resources to help you on your path to success. Let’s think back on what exactly this tool kit holds:

☑You’ve learned what passion is and how identify what you’re passionate about, and then take the next step by shaping that passion into a solid dream.

☑You’ve learned how to find and take pride in your dream, as well as how to share that dream with others.

☑You’ve broken your dream down into manageable steps and created a plan to reach each step and, in the end, accomplish your dream as a whole.

☑You’ve discovered what it means to be disruptive—and how you and your drive to reach your dream will have a ripple effect on many other people.

☑You’ve faced fears head-on, chosen to take control of those fears before they can control you, and gained skills to manage them.

☑You’ve learned that failure is inevitable, and that it is actually your friend, not your enemy, in your quest to achieve your dream.

☑You’ve explored how balance can help you to achieve your dreams without losing sight of the rest of the wonderful things around you, and skills for how to strive toward a balance that fits you uniquely.

☑You’ve discovered the importance of role models and mentors and learned the different ways that a mentor can affect your path toward your dream, and you’ve also found out how to cultivate a mentorship. And you’ve even learned how to be a role model and mentor to others!

☑And finally, you’ve learned what it means to have a seat at the table, how important it is to encourage and nurture diversity, and how you can both gain from and give back to your community by bringing others to the table along with you.

Now that you have these skills and tools, it’s your time to go out and make your dreams a reality. There’s nothing holding you back—now is your time to take action! As you do so, remember that you can always come back to this book to reread any chapters or sections that you find useful, to do the activities included again as many times as you want, to revisit the stories, quotes, or portions that gave you inspiration or motivation, and to generally refresh your mental tool kit for chasing after your dream. It may take some time, and it’s entirely possible that you might fall down, stumble, or even lose sight of your path along the way, but in the end I have no doubt that you’re going to reach your dream, and possibly even change the world as you go. Now get out there and dream big! I can’t wait to see what happens when you do.

Now It’s Your Turn!

As you’ve read through this book, I’m sure you’ve noticed that each chapter starts with a quote from an inspiring person whose life and work have demonstrated the ideas showcased in that particular chapter. Now that we’re here, at the end, you have all the skills and information you need to go out and chase after your dream. This means that it’s time for you to be the inspiring person! That’s right: it’s your turn to add your awesome words to the collection, because you’re just as amazing and inspiring as anyone referenced on the pages you’ve just read. You can use something you’ve said in the past, or even make up a quote that current or future you might say! Is there something that you feel truly captures your spirit, your drive, or your passions? Is there a lesson you’ve learned in life that you think has been super helpful? Is there something you like to say to yourself to keep pushing forward toward your dream? Write it down here!