Part V · Her Next Chapter

CHAPTER 19Dream Again

Goals · Creativity · Education · Travel · Growth

Some women stopped dreaming because dreaming started to feel like setting yourself up. So they got practical, and practical turned into small, and small turned into nothing on the calendar that belongs to them.

Start with a want you would not have to justify to anybody. Then make it a size you can actually start this month. Ambition is not always a business plan. Sometimes it is a class, a trip, a language, or a Saturday.

Keep these

  • “A dream with a date on it becomes a plan.”
  • “You are not too late. You are on your own schedule.”
  • “Start at a size you can keep.”

Practical steps

  • Write twenty-five wants without editing. Circle three.
  • Give one of them a date and a first step under an hour.
  • Tell one person, so it exists outside your head.
  • Save a small amount specifically for the dream, not the household.

Crown Work

Crown Work — Dream Again

Ten prompts, written for this chapter. Write by hand if you can — the slower pace tends to tell the truth faster.

  1. 01

    What I Realized

    What did you want before life got busy?

  2. 02

    What I Need to Release

    Whose expectations are you ready to stop budgeting for?

  3. 03

    What I Need to Protect

    What curiosity of yours needs protecting from practicality?

  4. 04

    What I Want

    What do you want badly enough to be a beginner at?

  5. 05

    What I Am Afraid Of

    What are you afraid wanting more says about you?

  6. 06

    What I Can Control

    Name three first steps that cost little or nothing.

  7. 07

    One Conversation I Need to Have

    Who do you need to tell about this out loud?

  8. 08

    One Boundary I Need to Set

    What will you stop doing to make room for it?

  9. 09

    One Thing I Will Do for Myself

    Spend thirty minutes this week on the dream, not the chores.

  10. 10

    My Crown Commitment

    Finish this: by this time next year I will have started…