DREAM THINK DO | Motivation, Encouragement & Strategy

Jessica Zweig is an award-winning entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of the SimplyBe Agency. It's a premier personal branding firm based in Chicago but they're serving clients across the globe. Jessica's got an amazing story of going from being a theater major… to launching her own magazine… to growing it to be the largest online magazine for women in Chicago for 7 years running. That experience lit a passion for digital marketing… AND she realized she was REALLY good at it. Plus… she also started to live by her mantra of BEING fully authentic. All of this set her apart… and led her to create SimplyBe. We're talking about her journey and what it takes to pursue your dreams, and do it in a way where you're true to yourself! Let's do this! RESOURCES: Jessica's Book - "BE. A no BS guide to increasing your self-worth and net worth by simply being yourself" Click here Jessica's Instagram:www.instagram.com/jessicazweig Jessica's Website: www.jessicazweig.com THE "DREAM TOGETHER" APP IS HERE! That's right! Our DREAM TOGETHER App is here! The "Dream Together" app is designed to help you clarify your goals as well as connect with like-minded individuals so you can "dream together" to make those dreams (big or small) a reality! So… HERE ARE THE STEPS: STEP 1: Download the app. Find "Dream Together" for your Apple Device: HERE Find "Dream Together" for your Android Device: HERE STEP 2: Sign up and enter the group code: dreamthinkdo STEP 3: Be inspired by the dreams that are already there. Then… follow and encourage a dream or two! STEP 4: Post at least one of your own dreams… and then invite friends to join you so you can DREAM TOGETHER! Let's do this! MORE ABOUT JESSICA AND THIS EPISODE: Jessica's brand new bestselling book is called: "BE. A no-BS guide to increasing your self-worth and net worth by simply being yourself." Zweig's work in defining personal brands has gained her some impressive awards, including being named one of Crain's Chicago's 2020 Most Notable Entrepreneurs, one of Inc.'s Top Digital Marketer to Watch, and she's been named one of the Chicago Tribune's Top 10 Entrepreneurs to Follow. Zweig also received TWO Stevie Awards® of "Female Entrepreneur of the Year." Zweig is also the host of The SimplyBe. Podcast, one of the Top 20 Marketing podcasts on Apple Podcast. Guests of the show include NYT best-selling author Candace Bushnell, global peace ambassador Prem Rawat, and designer Rebecca Minkoff to name a few. We're going to be talking about the importance of giving yourself room to pursue dreams… and be authentic and true to yourself as you do. MINUTE BY MINUTE: 0:02 What to expect today 1:36 Download the Dream Together App 2:49 Get to know Jessica 4:16 Conversation begins 5:55 How Jessica found the courage to go after her dreams 8:11 How Jessica kept herself going even in the hard times 12:09 Does fake it until you make it work? 16:22 Branding your dream 19:49 The different ways you can share your message 26:11 How Jessica lives and remains authentic 29:50 Wisdom of the week 31:07 Mitch's biggest takeaways I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: What did you think of Jessica's story? What stood out to you? Drop a comment below… and let me know. I want to hear from YOU! And hey… don't forget! Join us on our DREAM TOGETHER app. We've got Dream Think Doers who are dreaming together AND some are setting up their own "Dream Together" groups too. The info is above or at: www.DreamTogether.co. Lastly, if this episode resonated with you… please share it with a friend! And as you do it… know I'm so grateful for YOU! Keep bringing your awesome!

Welcome to our special "Dream Together" Q&A series. We're going after the biggest questions we've received over our 15 years of BIG Dream Gatherings. That's right. As we held these events around the country, we'd always wrap up with a Q&A with the audience. That's when we'd go after the biggest questions and the biggest challenges people face when moving forward on their dreams and goals. In today's episode, I'm going to offer some simple but powerful strategies to help you to get CLEAR and help you to get STARTED. So… let's do this. RESOURCES: Episode 195: Shawn Askinosie: Finding Your Call and Feeding Your Soul: www.mitchmatthews.com/195 Episode 250: 3 Things I've learned from 250 Episodes of DREAM THINK DO (I talk about perfectionism in this one!) https://mitchmatthews.com/250/ Episode 262: Dan Grec: Finding Happiness Amid Chaos: https://mitchmatthews.com/262/ THE "DREAM TOGETHER" APP IS HERE! That's right! Our DREAM TOGETHER App is here! The "Dream Together" app is designed to help you clarify your goals as well as connect with like-minded individuals so you can "dream together" to make those dreams (big or small) a reality! So… HERE ARE THE STEPS: STEP 1: Download the app. Find "Dream Together" for your Apple Device: HERE Find "Dream Together" for your Android Device: HERE STEP 2: Sign up and enter the group code: dreamthinkdo STEP 3: Be inspired by the dreams that are already there. Then… follow and encourage a dream or two! STEP 4: Post at least one of your own dreams… and then invite friends to join you so you can DREAM TOGETHER! Let's do this! MORE ABOUT THE EPISODE: Okay… so as we've held our BIG Dream Gatherings around the country over the last 15 years… we'd always try to include a Q&A session at the end. Now… if you're new to DREAM THINK DO… and you're not familiar with what a BIG DREAM GATHERING is… the short version of the story is… these are fun… HIGHLY interactive events that we'd hold… that would bring people together in a room… anywhere from 30 to 800 people at a time… I'd kick it off with a talk… but then we'd have people write down some of their goals and dreams on sheets of paper… post them on the walls… and then we'd invite everyone to go around the room to look at each other's dreams and then write notes on the "dream sheets." People could offer encouragement… ideas… suggestions and offers to help. Now… with the current season we're in… we've created an APP called "Dream Together" to provide the same opportunity… to… well… dream together… but now instead of being in the same room… we can do it from our phones and dream with people around the world. It's pretty cool! Well… as I was saying… when we'd hold our BIG DREAM GATHERINGS… we'd do a Q&A at the end to give people the chance to ask any questions about things that were holding them back. And one of the biggest questions… one of the most common questions… that would almost ALWAYS come up was… "Which dream do I go after?" It makes sense though… right? People would come to this event… and come up with a couple… all the way to sometimes 20… to 30… dreams. STORY ABOUT IAN. So… they get excited… but then their brain starts to spin because they're thinking, "Great! Now that I have clarity on all these things I want to do… things I could do… where do I start? Which one should I go after first?" And this is an important question for several reasons. 1. If you're a perfectionist… this question can KILL your dreams before you even get started! You're sooooooooo worried about starting out with the PERFECT choice… and doing it PERFECTLY… that you never start. "Perfectionism is the mother of Procrastination." - Michael Hyatt "The fastest way to break the cycle of perfectionism is to give up the idea of doing it perfectly and instead embrace uncertainty and imperfection." - Arianna Huffington Or as I like to say… "Progress beats perfection." And… "Let's learn as we go!" 2. Another reason it's a BIG question is… a lot of people are VERY busy… busy schedules… lots pulling at you… lots on your plate. You probably don't have TONS and TONS of time… days and days… to just throw around. SO… you want to be smart with how you're spending your time. Hey… you're listening to DREAM THINK DO… so I'm betting you don't want to waste a day of the time you've got on this rock. Am I right? Those are 2 reasons… and there are many more. BUT… since we're keeping this episode at 15 minutes… we'll leave it at that. So let's get to those questions I promised you. All right… maybe you've been using the DREAM TOGETHER app… and you've got a few dreams in mind… let's help you decide on which one to go after next. So… the first question I like to ask in this scenario is… "Of all the dreams and goals you could go after… which might be the best in THIS season of your life?" It's a simple… but powerful question. It's all about thinking about your CURRENT SEASON… and then weighing out which dreams would be the best fit for you… right now? And I think it is important to mention… that just because a dream isn't right for "this season" of your life… it doesn't mean that's a bad dream… or a silly dream. It's just not right for THIS season. So give yourself some grace and say, "It's a good dream… it's just not for right now." At the same time… a powerful follow up to our SEASON question can be: "What might be a way to take a small but significant step towards one of my bigger dreams?" I'll give you a few examples. You may have a big dream of traveling the globe… but right now… there's a flippin' pandemic… so it's not physically possible… or maybe you're in college and the funds just aren't there quite yet… or… you've got little kids and you're navigating a full house… so the thought of global travels lights you up… but then almost starts to feel soul crushing… because it might be a while. Well… what if you gave yourself permission to run some experiments… To run some drills. To have some fun with it. What if you gave yourself permission to take 15 minutes a few times a week… to plan a dream trip. To ask, "If I had the time… where would I go?" Or… "How have people like me taken a trip like this?" And do some research. Heck… we've even talked to people about this very thing on DREAM THINK DO. People like Dan Grec… who got the idea to drive from Alaska to Argentina in a Jeep. He didn't have the money or the vacation time when he got hit with the idea… but over 3 years… he just gave himself permission to do the research on how he MIGHT do it. And then gave himself permission to take mini-trips… to see if he even liked taking short road trips… to be sure he'd actually want to do a marathon trip like that. But as he kept experimenting… he kept falling deeper and deeper into more loooooooove with the dream. AND he kept finding more doors opening to make it possible. And the dream… the one that seemed IMPOSSIBLE when he started… became a reality. He drove from Alaska to Argentina… and then he drove AROUND Africa… and he continues on… and adventure travel and photography is now his day job. Just because he was willing to ask these two questions. https://mitchmatthews.com/262/ Another example… might be… that you don't LOVE your current job… and one of your big dreams is to find a job… or a career that you LOVE. BUT you're not even sure what THAT dream career might be. Well… maybe you can ask yourself… "What might be some small but significant steps towards figuring this out?" https://mitchmatthews.com/195 I'll give you an example of this type of approach. In episode 195, I talked with Shawn Askinosie who had been a successful criminal defense lawyer… but he'd fallen out of love with it. So he started to give himself room to experiment with other types of types of work. As he did… he allowed himself to take night classes, watch TED talks, invite people he was curious about to coffee to hear more about what they did… and as he did that… he discovered an unknown passion for chocolate. This journey eventually inspired him to start a bean-to-bar chocolate factory and he's never looked back. And NOW… Askinosie Chocolate is a small batch, award-winning chocolate factory located in Springfield, Missouri. They source 100% of their cocoa beans directly from farmers across the globe… and Shawn is active in helping to create sustainable farming in each area he partners with. NOT ONLY THAT… but Askinosie Chocolate was recently named one of the 25 Best Small Companies in America by Forbes and Shawn himself was named by "O magazine," and Oprah Winfrey as one of the 15 guys who is literally saving the world. How cool is that? But he found that passion… because he was willing to give himself permission to DREAM… to start small… to experiment… and to learn as he went. His dream was to find his DREAM CAREER. But he didn't know what that was. So he asked a better question for THAT season. "What might be some small but significant steps towards figuring this out?" So… if you've been wrestling with the question: Which Dream should I go after right now?" Some questions to ask yourself can be: "Of all the dreams and goals you could go after… which might be a good one in THIS season of your life?" If the dream seems TOO big to pursue right now, you can ask: "What might be a way to take some small but significant step towards one of my bigger dreams?" And hey… if your dream feels pretty BROAD… like how Shawn wanted to find his next dream career, but he wasn't sure what that might even be, you can ask: "What might be some small but significant steps towards figuring this out?" And then… it's all about giving yourself permission to START. Keep taking those small but significant steps forward… and more clarity… will come. Not to mention some amazing experiences too! It's like Abraham Maslow once said, "In any given moment we have two options: To step FORWARD INTO GROWTH or to step back into SAFETY." And hey… I don't know about you… but I find the best moments in life tend to come when we're growing. Amen? Amen. Let's do this! I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!: Let me know. Join the conversation at mitchmatthews.com/316. You'll be able to grab the questions we talked about… you can check out the episodes and interviews I mentioned… plus you can grab the DREAM TOGETHER app too… if you haven't. Plus, leave a comment and let me know about one of those small but significant steps you're going to take this week. I can't wait to hear from you! Also, know that we're going after topics like… "How do you ask for help on your dream?" and "how to make space for your dreams" in this DREAM TOGETHER series. So be watching for those… and heck… leave a comment on subjects YOU would like me to go after! Until then… do me a favor. Please leave a review for the podcast wherever you're listening to it… and please share it with a friend. Because those are the ways we can work together to help the world to dream bigger… think better and do more of what we were all created to do! Let's do this! Talk soon my friend! EPISODE MINUTE BY MINUTE: 0:02 What to expect today 2:32 Download the Dream Together app 5:31 What dream should you focus on? 7:01 The underlying problem to today's topic 8:23 Breaking up with perfectionism 10:20 What is the dream that makes sense for this season? 14:38 Getting clarity on what your dream is 17:48 How can you start today? 18:13 How to get more resources

We're talking with Jamie Kern Lima! Jamie is the founder of IT Cosmetics. She and her husband Paulo started IT in their living room in 2008. Through a long road of overcoming the tough knocks and naysayers… they were able to build it into the #1 luxury makeup brand in the United States! Not only that but they were able to sell IT to L'Oréal for over a billion dollars… and… as they did… Jamie became the first female CEO in L'Oréal's 100+ year history. It's an incredible story… that Jamie chronicles in her brand new book, " "Believe It - How to go from underestimated to unstoppable!" We talk about the journey… but more importantly… we dig into the backstory of how she got clear on this dream… how she found ways to dump the doubt… and defy the naysayers… to do it her own way. It's an inspiring and very raw conversation. Plus... Jamie tells us a heartfelt story she doesn't typically share about the specific and surprising "nudge" she got the first day she set foot in her brand new office! It shocked her… but also set her up for this next exciting chapter in her life. I loved this convo and I think you will too! RESOURCES: Jamie Kern Lima's Website: https://jamiekernlima.com Jamie's book: Believe IT!: https://www.believeit.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JamieKernLimaPage Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamiekernlima THE "DREAM TOGETHER" APP IS HERE! That's right! Our DREAM TOGETHER App is here! The "Dream Together" app is designed to help you clarify your goals as well as connect with like-minded individuals so you can "dream together" to make those dreams (big or small) a reality! So… HERE ARE THE STEPS: STEP 1: Download the app. Find "Dream Together" for your Apple Device: HERE Find "Dream Together" for your Android Device: HERE STEP 2: Sign up and enter the group code: dreamthinkdo STEP 3: Be inspired by the dreams that are already there. Then… follow and encourage a dream or two! STEP 4: Post at least one of your own dreams… and then invite friends to join you so you can DREAM TOGETHER! Let's do this! MORE ABOUT THIS EPISODE: Jamie Kern Lima didn't grow up sitting at the "cool kids table." She was dismissed because she didn't look like what people told her she needed to look like. But… she'll be the first to tell you that it was tough and felt like a "set back" at the time… but later she realized all of that was a "set up" for an amazing future. That's because when she and her husband Paulo started IT Cosmetics… they did it in a way that industry experts said would NEVER work. As a result, she was shut out. She was turned down. She was told "NO more times than she could count. But they stayed with it. And as they did… they featured REAL women of REAL beauty in the REAL world. She pushed through and went from the underestimated… dismissed underdog… to become an unstoppable force for good that she is today. MINUTE BY MINUTE: 0:02 What to expect today 2:31 Get to know Jaime 5:40 How Jaimes journey started 10:15 When Jaime's business turned into a mission 12:24 The secret sauce to business 15:40 Finding courage to take the next step 19:08 The honest feedback that changed everything for Jaime 24:08 Lighting round questions from YOU! 24:34 What Jaime had to unlearn to achieve success 28:19 How Jaime stays true to herself 34:54 Mitch's biggest takeaways I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: What did you think of Jamie's story? Have you read the book? Are you enjoying it? What was a stand out story for you? Drop a comment below… and let me know. I'd love to hear from you!

If we're going to achieve our 1 million dreams goal for the year… we need some help. And for me… one of the biggest places I go for help… is prayer. Over the years, prayer has brought me a sense of peace in tough times… it's brought me clarity when I felt scattered… it's brought me hope when I felt like I was down for the count… AND it's brought me encouragement when I needed it. And that's what I want for you too! So that is what we're talking about in today's episode. If prayer is your jam… awesome. Or… if you're curious about prayer… hang with me. I think this will help. BUT… if prayer is NOT your jam… or… worse yet… you've felt a little beat up… or judged… when it comes to the subject of Spirituality… or prayer… I'd really invite you to stay with me in this convo. Trust me. I'm not trying to convince you that way of thinking is right… I just want to offer some stories, some strategies AND… specifically… I want to pray FOR you. See how you feel and then we'll go from there. My hope is you're going to be encouraged to keep moving forward as you go after your dreams and do more of what you were created to do! You with me? I hope so. Let's do this. RESOURCES: We've talked a little about prayer before on DREAM THINK DO. If you want to dig deeper on the subject… here are a few episodes: "Surprised By Prayer" with Melissa Johnson-Matthews: www.mitchmatthews.com/207 The "We Agree to Pray" Project with Mitch Matthews: www.mitchmatthews.com/293 "We Agree to Pray" BONUS Episode with Hope Generation's Ben Courson: www.mitchmatthews.com/285 "We Agree to Pray" BONUS Episode with Human Rights Advocate, Ashleigh Chapman: www.mitchmatthews.com/287 "We Agree to Pray" BONUS Episode with "TLC's: Say YES to the Dress'" Lori Allen: www.mitchmatthews.com/289 "We Agree to Pray" Bonus Episode with Bestselling Author, Brant Menswar: www.mitchmatthews.com/291 "We Agree To Pray" Bonus Episode with Illusionist, Harris III: www.mtichmatthews.com/293 Mitch's 6-Miracle Day Post: Click here THE "DREAM TOGETHER" APP IS HERE! That's right! Our DREAM TOGETHER App is here! The "Dream Together" app is designed to help you clarify your goals as well as connect with like-minded individuals so you can "dream together" to make those dreams (big or small) a reality! So… HERE ARE THE STEPS: STEP 1: Download the app. Find "Dream Together" for your Apple Device: HERE Find "Dream Together" for your Android Device: HERE STEP 2: Sign up and enter the group code: dreamthinkdo STEP 3: Be inspired by the dreams that are already there. Then… follow and encourage a dream or two! STEP 4: Post at least one of your own dreams… and then invite friends to join you so you can DREAM TOGETHER! Let's do this! MORE ABOUT THIS EPISODE: I'm excited about this episode. In it… I want to show you a way where I get encouraged… where I get help… where I get bolstered… on those days where I'm excited and charged up… AND on those days where I'm sad… or tired… or feeling overwhelmed. So this episode is extra special for me… because I'm going to get to tell some stories… and THEN… I'm going to get to pray for YOU… yes YOU. And I believe… that even though we're not in the same room as I'm recording this… and as you're listening to this… I believe that something amazing can happen… when we pray together. So that's it. This is not a debate. This is sure not me trying to prove myself right. This is just me… wanting to encourage you… in a way that I get encouraged. To put some more tools in your tool box. If this is new to you… I invite you to be open to it. If prayer is NOT new to you… I'd still invite you to be open to it… because it might sound a bit different than you're used to… or I might point to a different version of the Bible than you're used to.. But hang with me and see how you feel. See what resonates with you. Now… if that's STILL not your thing… no harm… no foul. I'd just invite you to jump to one of our other 313 episodes of Dream Think Do… and as you do that… know you're loved and I'm sooooooooo glad that you're here. BUT… if you're still with me… I think we're going to have some fun. And again… the game plan is to: get you a few stories share a favorite scripture I'm going to pray FOR you Then… offer you a short prayer that you can pray yourself… if you want to. Sound good? Cool… Let's go for it! QUOTES ON THE SUBJECT: I like how Bono talks about his spiritual journey… "For me… it is probably more accurate to say, "I was really lost, I'm a little less so at the moment… And then a little less and a little less again. That to me is the spiritual life… it has slowly rebuilt me... It has taken years though and it is not over yet." - Bono BY the WAY… as I was doing my research for this episode I also found this quote: "Dream up the kind of world you would want to live in. THEN… dream out loud." - Bono ----- "Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made a burden." - Corrie Ten Boom - Dutch Watchmaker, Along with her family - helped many Jewish families survive the Holocaust ______________________ "I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life." - Abraham Lincoln ______________________ "Prayer is talking with God. God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart." - Josh McDowell "BIBLICAL CREDIBILITY:" We're going to dive into some specific scripture. There are TWO THINGS I'd love for you to hear: God LOVES us… God LOVES you. He wants you to live an AMAZING life (adventure). Ephesians 3:14 - 21 - New Living Translation: 14 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. 20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. The word we dig into is: perissos: "Exceedingly Abundantly Beyond…" Here's what it looks like in the Greek: click here Here's me getting my tattoo of the word (also… looking away so I don't pass out because of the needle!) click here A PRAYER FOR YOU!!!! This is a prayer you can use… and/or adapt for yourself: Lord… Thank you for loving me. Thank you that I don't have to understand how that works to know it can be true. Help me to walk with you and walk in your love today. Help me to LOVE others well today. Help me to experience more of the life you want for me and help me spread that around too. Help me to know that achievement is good but it has nothing to do with my worth… in your eyes. You are amazing Lord. You say I am priceless… that I am carefully and wonderfully made. Help me to remember that today… and help me to remind others of that they are too. Help me to DO… BE… and Experience ALL you have for me today. Help me to partner with you… to be loved by you… and to love my neighbor well… whomever that neighbor may be today. Thanks! Amen. I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: Okay… I hope you dig this. If you do… let me know. Drop a comment below. If you have questions OR an "amen," let me know. And hey… if you don't dig it… let me know too. I want to hear from YOU! And hey… no matter what… join us on our DREAM TOGETHER app (details in the RESOURCES section above). We've got Dream Think Doers marching towards our million dreams goal and I want you there. The info is above or at: www.DreamTogether.co. Cool? Cool. Please share this episode with a friend who might need it… and when you do… tag me! I'd love to thank you personally. And know that I've got some awesome interviews coming your way… so stay tuned for those. But in the meantime… keep bringing your awesome!

We're talking with Jonathan Pitts who's a bestselling author, speaker and he's an executive pastor at The Church of the City in Franklin, Tennessee. He's also the proud dad and a big dream advocate for his 4 amazing daughters. Jonathan has pursued a number of big dreams… and has encouraged his family to dream big too. In fact, his oldest daughter had a major role in the movie "War Room" at the age of 10! But Jonathan will be the first to tell you that life can bring major challenges and tough setbacks too. In fact, Jonathan was married to his beautiful bride Wynter… who was a successful author and magazine publisher. And just as they were putting the finishing touches on their book on marriage… Wynter passed away unexpectedly… leaving him a widower and the father of four grieving daughters. As you can imagine… this totally rocked his world and the future and the big dreams Jonathan and Wynter had planned together completely dissolved. So he… along with his daughters had to decide how they were going to live life and move forward. And it's been a tough… beautiful… messy… and wonderfully inspiring journey since. Now… Jonathan has written a new book that offers us a real... intimate… raw... and ultimately hope-filled look at grief… and how to live life to its fullest after tragedy. It's called, My Wynter Season: Seeing God's Faithfulness in the Shadow of Grief. We're going to talk about it… and what it takes to continue to dream… and encourage others to do the same on the other side of grief. Let's do this! RESOURCES: Jonathan's newest book: My Wynter Season: Seeing God's Faithfulness in the Shadow of Grief. Jonathan and his wife, Wynter, co-wrote Emptied: Experiencing the Fullness of a Poured-Out Marriage and She is Yours: Trusting God as You Raise the Girl He Gave You. Jonathan now serves as president of the ministry he and Wynter founded together, For Girls Like You––a nonprofit organization featuring a magazine and resources for girls that grew out of Wynter's desire to empower and equip their own girls and to provide parents with the resources and support needed to raise strong women. Jonathan's Instagram: www.instagram.com/pittsjr26 THE "DREAM TOGETHER" APP IS HERE! That's right! Our DREAM TOGETHER App is here! The "Dream Together" app is designed to help you clarify your goals as well as connect with like-minded individuals so you can "dream together" to make those dreams (big or small) a reality! So… HERE ARE THE STEPS: STEP 1: Download the app. Find "Dream Together" for your Apple Device: HERE Find "Dream Together" for your Android Device: HERE STEP 2: Sign up and enter the group code: dreamthinkdo STEP 3: Be inspired by the dreams that are already there. Then… follow and encourage a dream or two! STEP 4: Post at least one of your own dreams… and then invite friends to join you so you can DREAM TOGETHER! Let's do this! MORE ABOUT THIS EPISODE: As you probably know… this year we're going after launching 1 million dreams this year! It's been amazing to see your response and your support. LOVE that so many of you are on board with this mission. At the same time… we need to acknowledge that in the midst of a global pandemic where many people are hurting from the loss of family members, it's important to speak to the "tough stuff" too. That's exactly why we're talking with Jonathan Pitts… because his unique perspectives can bring comfort and encouragement based on his own first-hand experience with unfathomable loss. In his book, "My Wynter Season," Jonathan takes his readers on the emotional journey from "love at first sight" to complete blindsided loss in the midst of a season of losing family members (in a period of two years the Pitts family lost 6 family members including Wynter), to finding the beauty in seeing Wynter's continued impact on the world. During our conversation… we talk about the importance of finding hope amidst the hardest days and the deepest grief. Plus, we dig into ways to dream and/or dream again… after experiencing loss. I think you're going to love this conversation. I sure did! DREAM THINK DO MINUTE BY MINUTE: 0:02 What to expect today 2:08 Download the Dream Together App 3:12 Meet Jonathan 5:05 Conversation starts 5:59 When Jonathan and his wife started dreaming 8:45 The best thing about dreamers 11:24 When Jonathan and his wife started building the company together 15:35 When everything changed for Jonathan 19:20 How Jonathan and his family started to move forward 23:22 Jonathans advice for anyone learning how to dream again 30:05 Who Jonathan's new book is for 31:36 Mitch's final thoughts I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Powerful stuff. What did YOU think? I want to hear from YOU! Leave a comment below and let me know what stuck out to you! And hey… please share this episode with someone who might need it! Thanks.

Our guest is Sheri Salata. She's a writer, producer and podcaster. Her current adventures are an evolution of her twenty+ year career with Oprah Winfrey. Over that time she served as executive producer on The Oprah Winfrey Show as well as co-president of Harpo Studios and The Oprah Winfrey Network. But after years of telling other people's makeover stories and featuring so many inspiring journeys... Sheri decided to "produce" her own life transformation. Out of that… she wrote her bestselling book, "The Beautiful NO - and other tales of trial, transcendence and transformation" which beautifully and authentically chronicles her journey to find LOVE for life in new ways! So… we're talking about ALL of THAT! RESOURCES: Sheri's Website: sherisalata.com Sheri's Podcast: thepillarlife.com/sheri-nancy-show Sheri's Book: The Beautiful No Check out Sheri in the Documentary: "25: Oprah Behind the Scenes:" Click here THE "DREAM TOGETHER" APP IS HERE! That's right! Our DREAM TOGETHER App is here! The "Dream Together" app is designed to help you clarify your goals as well as connect with like-minded individuals so you can "dream together" to make those dreams (big or small) a reality! So… HERE ARE THE STEPS: STEP 1: Download the app. Find "Dream Together" for your Apple Device: HERE Find "Dream Together" for your Android Device: HERE STEP 2: Sign up and enter the group code: dreamthinkdo STEP 3: Be inspired by the dreams that are already there. Then… follow and encourage a dream or two! STEP 4: Post at least one of your own dreams… and then invite friends to join you so you can DREAM TOGETHER! Let's do this! MORE ABOUT THIS EPISODE: When Sheri decided to write her book, "The Beautiful NO - and other tales of trial, transcendence and transformation," she knew it meant digging into her past successes and setbacks, excavating the lessons she learned, and boldly reimagining her future. Some might say it's equal parts "cautionary tale," mixed in with some stand up comedy,solid life strategies AND a really loud "Middle-of-Your-Life Rebel Yell!" It's a powerful and fun example of someone giving themself permission to choose to dream bigger, to think differently and to do even more of what they were put on the planet to do! And to lay some things down and boldly enter into a new season on her own terms! That's why I'm so excited to get to this conversation! LISTENER LIGHTNING ROUND QUESTIONS! Stephanie asked: She's held some impressive positions… how does she stay creative at all levels and what word(s) of advice does she have for staying creative? Tracey asked: (She can't wait to hear the episode btw...) I'd ask what does Sheri think is one the most important things to dream… think… or do for a woman who is reinventing herself in the middle-of-life? Mona asked: What was one of her most important Ah-ha moments as a leader? Helen asked: Her work with Oprah was so demanding. What's one key for motivating staff in really busy times? EPISODE MINUTE-BY-MINUTE: Welcome to 312! 0:15 What to expect today 3:20 Download the Dream Together app 4:28 Get to know Sheri 7:35 A look into Sheri's book 13:16 The downside to quick success 15:28 How Sheri started to take control of her life 19:06 Use your past success can give you the confidence to dream bigger 22:20 The healthy fear that should drive every dreamer 26:16 How to bust out and stay out of any rut 28:39 Listener lighting round! 37:29 What's on the horizon for Sheri 40:00 Wisdom of the week to anyone who needs help dreaming 41:26 Mitch's biggest takeaways I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Wow. What a conversation. What did YOU think? I want to hear from YOU! Leave a comment below and let me know. One of the things that really stood out to me was Sheri's willingness to reinvent herself. To go from a "typist" and a manager of a 7-Eleven to running one of the most successful media brands of all time… to then giving herself permission to do it again in THIS season. Yup… I loved that. It's such a good reminder that it's never too late! Yeah… that was one thing that stood out to me. How about YOU? Comment below and let me know. And hey… please share this episode with someone who might need it!

Okay… it's time to DREAM TOGETHER! This is a REALLY special episode. That's right. We're marching towards our big audacious goal of launching 1 million dreams in 2021! And in THIS episode… we're launching our new app called, "Dream Together," which is going to help us all to connect and help each other to pursue and achieve our dreams and goals this year! Now… it's DREAM THINK DO… so we're also going to talk about the power and the importance of not going after dreams alone. That's right. We're going to share some fun stories and offer some powerful strategies to help YOU (whether you use the Dream Together app or not) to get clear and achieve more of your dreams and goals in 2021! You in? I hope so. Let's get to this! RESOURCES: THE "DREAM TOGETHER" APP IS HERE! That's right! The beta version of our DREAM TOGETHER App is finally here! The "Dream Together" app is designed to help you clarify your goals as well as connect with like-minded individuals so you can "dream together" to make those dreams (big or small) a reality! We're working hard to grow this in a way that attracts people from around the world who really want to encourage each other and work together to make dreams happen. So... everyone needs a group code to join! HERE'S SOME GOOD NEWS: Since you're a DREAM THINK DO listener… you can join with the code: dreamthinkdo. So… HERE ARE THE STEPS: STEP 1: Download the app. Find "Dream Together" for your Apple Device: HERE Find "Dream Together" for your Android Device: HERE STEP 2: Sign up and enter the group code: dreamthinkdo STEP 3: Be inspired by the dreams that are already there. Then… follow and encourage a dream or two! STEP 4: Post at least one of your own dreams… and then invite friends to join you so you can DREAM TOGETHER! MORE ABOUT THE EPISODE: As a DREAM THINK DO-ER… you know that we can't go after dreams and goals alone. There's a VERY good chance… you're going to need some help along the way. But asking for help… doesn't mean you're weak! It can actually allow others to shine! I talk about this in-depth in the episode but here are a few of my favorite quotes on this subject. "You can do what I can not do. I can do what you can not do. Together we can do geat things!" - Mother Theresa Charlie Mackesy's book, "The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse." It's true. Asking for help doesn't mean you're weak. It means you are brave! It means you're brave enough to acknowledge we're not supposed to do this alone! I tell some stories during the episode. Here are a few pics but you'll have to listen to get the FULL story on each! DREAMING ABOUT WRITING A BOOK AT 9? LET'S DO IT! Meet Mia. She wanted to write a book (at 9 years old) but she wasn't sure. She was scared. She was nervous. But she was willing to "Dream Together." And when she did… a group of fellow dreamers (and her mom Karena) encouraged her to do it. So… she did! And got it done in one year! Plus… be sure to listen in to the episode to hear what Mia and her mom did next! DREAMING ABOUT JUMPING OUT OF A PLANE? LET'S DO IT TOGETHER! Then there's THIS motley crew of dreamers who all decided they wanted to skydive… BUT they also realized they probably wouldn't do it if they didn't do it TOGETHER! Did they ALL do it? Well… you'll have to listen to the episode to hear how it went. DREAMING ABOUT HELPING KIDS IN AFRICA: And then there's Mandy. When she originally posted her dream of helping kids in Africa… it felt a little bit like saying she wanted to visit the moon! She didn't have a plan, the time or the money… but she was willing to put it out there! As she did, Mandy received some help from some unexpected sources and it changed her world! Plus, it changed the lives of the people who were willing to DREAM TOGETHER with her too! By the way… it's been a few years since Mandy's first trip to Africa. But you'll have to listen to the episode for a VERY special update to THIS dream! Trust me… it's absolute proof that you just never know where a dream might lead you. PERMISSION TO DREAM TOGETHER: Then… there's these two. They didn't know each other before coming to a BIG Dream Gathering we held at the University of Reno. BUT because they were willing to share they're dreams and be bold about where they needed help… they found each other! As they did… they realized they had "complimentary dreams." One wanted to be more intentional about her fitness and overall health and the other wanted to experiment with wellness coaching. The best thing is that as they started to help each other out… they also got to have some fun and become friends in the process! Again, you just never know where YOUR dream journey may take you… especially when you're willing to DREAM TOGETHER! Those are some of the stories of what can happen when you dream together. What might happen as YOU start to give yourself permission to set some goals and start in some small but significant way? Let's find out! But again… don't do it alone! Let's DREAM TOGETHER! AGAIN… HERE ARE THE STEPS FOR DOWNLOADING THE DREAM TOGETHER APP: STEP 1: Download the app. Find "Dream Together" for your Apple Device: HERE Find "Dream Together" for your Android Device: HERE STEP 2: Sign up and enter the group code: dreamthinkdo STEP 3: Be inspired by some of the dreams that are already there. Then… follow and encourage a dream or two! STEP 4: Post at least one dream and invite some friends to join you! I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: How about it? Do you agree that it's important to not go after dreams alone? Why do YOU think it's important? What are some ways you invite people into your dream journey? More importantly… how do you encourage others to dream? I want to hear from you and hear YOUR stories! Comment below and let me know. Plus… let me know your thoughts on going after this crazy goal of helping to launch 1 million dreams this year? What do you think? Are you in? Do you think we're crazy? Who's someone that YOU are inviting to join us? Leave a comment and let me know. I can't wait to hear from YOU! #letsdothis Episode Minute By Minute: 0:21 Welcome to 311! 0:52 Drum roll please… The app is here! 2:00 Progress not protection 3:16 Let's talk about our big goal 5:51 The story of David and Goliath and how it applies to every dreamer 10:33 What if we did dream together this year? 13:02 One of Mitch's favorite Big Dream gathering stories 16:39 You never know what dreams people will share 19:18 When one of the first Big Dream Gathering dreams came true 25:41 There is always a ripple effect to every dream 26:31 Make sure you are asking for help along the way 31:42 Experimenting with your dreams 33:24 Be open and be curious 37:29 A deep dive into our app

Amberly Lago is our guest. Amberly is a mindset coach and fitness expert. Her story and her thoughts on resilience and transformation have been featured in her successful TEDx talk… the Today Show and in publications like Shape, Heath and Keynote Speakers Magazine. Her bestselling book is called "True Grit and Grace" and she's got a wildly popular podcast by the same name. Now… you might hear phrases like "True Grit and Grace," and resilience… and wonder what's made her an expert on these subjects. Well… at the age of 38… Amberly was totally living the life she wanted… but a near-death motorcycle accident changed all of that. After 3 months in the hospital and 34 surgeries… she found ways to not only persevere but thrive! And… by the way… she loves teaching and helping others do the same. Since we're going after launching 1 million dreams this year… no matter what the year throws at us… I wanted to have Amberly on to talk about ways to pursue dreams… and live your best life… no matter what! RESOURCES: Amberly's Website: www.amberlylago.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/amberlylagomotivation Facebook: www.facebook.com/AmberlyLagoSpeaker Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/amberlylago Twitter: twitter.com/amberlylago Youtube: www.youtube.com/c/AmberlyLagoMotivation RELATED PREVIOUS DREAM THINK DO EPISODES: We're talking about our BIG… AUDACIOUS… Dream of working together to launch 1 Million dreams… this year! Here are two episodes to help: PERMISSION TO DREAM: Here's an episode to help you to get clear on some of your own dreams. Plus, it will help you to give yourself permission to dream (again): mitchmatthews.com/309 THE YEAR TO LAUNCH 1 MILLION DREAMS: This is the episode where I kick off the idea and invite YOU to be a part of it! A million dreams… in one year? It's only possible if we do it together! You in? I hope so. mitchmatthews.com/306 We mentioned our mutual friend, Laura Gassner Otting during the interview, so I wanted to point you to my amazing interview with her as well. It's called, "Carve Your Own Path - How to Ignore the Naysayers and Create a Life You Love!" mitchmatthews.com/laura-gassner-otting MORE ABOUT AMBERLY: Through her book, coaching methods, and workshops Amberly Lago has curated unique tools to teach others how to tap into their superpower of resilience and persevere through any of life's challenges. She offers hope and solutions for anyone (like her) living in chronic pain to live life to the fullest. Amberly has most recently been featured on NBC's The Today Show, The Doctors, Hallmark, Good Morning Lalaland, contributed to magazines such as Shape, Fit Pregnancy, Health, and Disability Magazine and made the cover of Keynote Speakers Magazine. EPISODE MINUTE BY MINUTE: 0:02 Welcome to 310! 1:50 Meet Amberly 4:05 Conversation starts 4:50 When everything changed for Amberly 7:40 When depression set in 10:54 Acknowledging the facts while remaining hopeful 14:22 How prayer has played a role in Amberly's journey 18:51 The life-changing power of gratitude 23:17 How to dream in any situation 27:58 Wisdom nugget of the week 31:16 Mitch's biggest takeaways 32:58 What to expect on the next I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Wow. What a conversation. What did YOU think? I want to hear from YOU! Leave a comment below and let me know. I have to say that I loved Amberly's story and her wisdom… but one of the things that really stood out to me (and I didn't know the story at all) was of her recent trip to the hospital with her daughter Ruby. As you heard, they'd both been struck by a car while they were on their scooters. Now, I can tell you… based on the situation… it would have been easy to be scared… or frustrated… or worried… or mad. BUT Amberly and Ruby chose to be grateful and that changed things. It changed things for them and it created a ripple effect around them too. So simple… but such an important reminder that we can find things to be grateful for in any situation… if we're willing to look for them. And when we do… it helps to change our outlook and it starts to have a positive impact on you, your surroundings and the circumstances. So good! Yeah… that was one thing that stood out to me. How about YOU? Comment and let me know. Oh, and are you IN for the 1 million dreams? You don't have to know what the dreams are (BIG or small) that you want to go after. It just starts with saying, "YES!" I'm in on the journey. We'll figure it out as we go. Because… I can tell you right now… the only way this is going to work is if we go after it together! And I can't wait to DREAM TOGETHER with you!!! More on that next week, but for now… just comment and say, "I'm IN!" #letsdothis

In this deep dive, you and I dig into stories and strategies to help you to start to dream (again). Let's face it. We know a LOT of you are really excited about our goal of launching 1 Million Dreams this year… but if we're honest… a lot of our dreams have gotten beat up in 2020. All sorts of curve balls have been thrown. Set backs. Valleys. Tough stuff. So, if we're going to be real… we have to acknowledge that it might be a little "tender" to give yourself permission to dream. Well… if you're a long-time DREAM THINK DOer… you know there are countless stories of real people doing amazing things against incredibly challenging circumstances… BUT they had to give themselves permission to dream first. So, that's what we're going after in this really important episode! Let's get to it! RESOURCES: J.T. Fox's Story: During the episode, Mitch tells the story of meeting J.T. at Chicago O'Hare. They were both heading to the same leadership conference in New York, so they started to talk about J.T.'s dream job. It seemed impossible, but he gave himself permission to dream and… well… you'll have to listen to hear the rest of the story! Listen to Mitch's interview with J.T. Fox: www.mitchmatthews.com/041 John Howard's Story: During the episode, Mitch references John Howard's story of pedaling a bike and hitting 152 mph! If you want to see footage from the actual event… check it out here: www.mitchmatthews.com/309 Mitch's Book: IGNITE Mitch mentioned his book, "IGNITE: 3 Simple Steps for re-sparking Your Buried Dreams and Building a Plan That Finally Works." It's something he created with Visual Author and Photographer, Jocelyn Wallace. It's a reading experience that will help you to get clear on your dreams, but a simple but powerful plan and then take action! Click here to find out more and grab a copy. SPECIFIC HOMEWORK: STEP 1: Listen to the episode to get some stories and strategies to help in this process. Let's pour some gas on that fire! STEP 2: Ask yourself some questions: What are some things I'd love to try? What are some things I'd love to experience? What are some things I'd love to do in the next year? What are (at least) 10 things I'd do… if I won $100 million in the lottery? STEP 3: Create a list of (at least) 10 dreams (big or small) you'd love to accomplish. STEP 4: Get ready to DREAM TOGETHER! Invite a friend to join you on this journey! (Or get a group of friends to join you!) Have them listen to the episode. Then connect and talk about a few dreams (big or small) you want to go after this year. NOTE: Our app (the beta version will be available in early February) will help you to work together on this. So get ready by coming up with your list of possible dreams and goals to pursue. #letsdothis EPISODE MINUTE-BY-MINUTE: 0:02 Welcome to episode 309 0:31 What today is all about 1:16 Recap of our 2021 goal 2:03 Unexpected feedback 6:09 Why Mitch host his podcast 8:08 Where dreaming starts 14:47 Don't move on from dreaming too quickly 16:48 Don't let overthinking kill your dreams 18:37 The bicycle story 31:40 What do you want to try? 33:16 Write down 10 dreams 38:11 Do the homework! WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! We want to hear from YOU! What's one of the dreams (big or small) you're putting on your list? How did you go about it? Did you grab a lottery ticket or did you do something else to get the ideas flowing? Click comments and let us know. We can't wait to hear from YOU! ONE FINAL THOUGHT: Albert Einstein once said, "Never give up on what you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than one with all the facts." Whew! That's powerful. Now… that's not to say we shouldn't THINK and put together an awesome plan to get those big dreams done. BUT like Mitch said in this episode, it's important to give yourself room to DREAM first. Then, once we have some of those dreams (big or small) clarified… then we can begin to THINK and plan. So… who's in for some DREAMING? Let's do this!

We're talking with Laura Sanchez-Greenberg. She's the founder of Verde Associates… a performance acceleration firm focusing on transforming individuals and the companies they lead. She's incredible and a true expert on grit and perseverance. And… as you listen, you'll hear some simple but powerful strategies to beat that feeling of "meh" that can creep in. You know. Covid's causing a lot of our days to be the same. Plus, now that a lot of us are facing cold temps… so we're feeling more limited on the stuff we can do. So yeah… we need some real-world strategies to beat the crap out of the "meh." THAT is what we're talking about and I think you're going to love it! Let's get to this! RESOURCES: Dr. Fredrickson's Positivity Self-Test: Here's where you can Track your Positivity on Dr. Fredrickson's website and some of her interventions to increase positivity resonance. Go to "tools" on the website menu and click on "positivity self-test" - it will give you your positivity ratio for the day and also track it across time. It's got some neat features which is that it will let you map too. Positive Image, Positive Action: The Affirmative Basis of Organizing: Laura mentions a study by David L. Cooperrider from Case Western Reserve University. Download the study here. The "Implications for management" around positivity starts on pg 14, but a really good read overall. Enjoy! "We are sometime truly going to see our life as positive, not negative, as made up of continuous willing, not of constraints and prohibition." – Mary Parker Follett. TRAVIS ENSLEY: Manage Time & Live Intentionally Laura and I got connected through my good friend and DTD guest, Travis Ensley. So, I wanted you to have access to his episode too!: www.mitchmatthews.com/182 Laura is a true "PRACTITIONER SCHOLAR." She holds an MBA from the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business... a certificate in Change Management from Harvard Business School, and has studied Group Dynamics and Organizational Design from Georgetown University, and Negotiation and Mediation at the University of Chicago. Plus, Laura is currently pursuing her PhD in Values Based Leadership. Specifically... her research focuses on strategies and traits of teams that have experienced accelerated growth and maintained excellent cultural, people, and financial success. And… as you guys know… at DREAM THINK DO… we're always encouraging experimenting and stretching yourself… and Laura is a big believer in this too! So much so that in addition to the academics… Laura has trained in improv, culinary arts, and she's certified in over 25 different types of assessments. Yeah… she's wicked smaaaat and pure awesome. So let's get to the conversation. EPISODE MINUTE BY MINUTE: 0:02 Welcome to episode 308 1:32 The Dream Think Do App is coming! 3:46 Get to know Laura 5:52 Conversion starts 5:57 How Laura became passionate about the topic of positivity 7:44 Practical tools for being positive 12:58 Small things that lead to big impact 15:26 You have to start slow 16:32 Novelette vs. new 21:17 Practical ways to beat the "meh" 25:01 Lauras encouragement to you today 25:58 Mitch's biggest takeaways LET'S HEAR FROM YOU! I want to hear from you. What's something that stood out to you? What's something you're going to try as the result? Comment below and let me know. Can't wait to hear about YOUR experiments.