What is your dream?

Sing in front of a million people? Land on the NYT Best-Selling list? Have a triple digit salary? Take your kids to Disney or Europe? Did you make a New Years resolution to lose fifteen pounds? Are you saving money for a diamond for someone you love? What about the dreams that have come true for you: what are some things that once were a dream that you’ve made into your reality? Did you marry the person you dreamed about? Did you take that trip? Earn that promotion? When you achieved that dream, when your dream came true, what did it feel like — did you have the urge to share it with others?

My biggest dream is to be there for my daughters, to create memories for them that they won’t forget and that, one day, will help them know exactly how much I love them. I want to be present in their lives. Beyond that, I want to be a source of hope for others: through writing and through advocacy. I want to inspire others to see the hurting around them and to inspire the idea that change is possible, that no kind word, no kind action, is too small to make a difference in someone’s life. I really believe that. Someone once held a door open for me and changed my life. A homeless man smiled at me and refused to tell others his name; he changed my life and he had nothing. You don’t have to change the world… because impacting one person’s life is changing the world.

I’ve worked harder to get the word out about offering the workshop virtually than I have at promoting any one of my books; my Facebook friends are probably going, “NOT ANOTHER post!?” — the Storytimers, the ones who regularly follow this blog, are probably slapping their foreheads and thinking of unfollowing due to the number of posts yapping about this workshop. But–see…. it’s a dream. I care about this workshop because I believe it has the potential to impact someone (and just one is worth it). I’m excited about it because I’ve put a lot of work into turning a successful in-person workshop into a successful virtual one because virtual has the potential of reaching more people. It’s not about selling books: in fact, I’ll give you one just for coming. It’s about daring to look beyond the surface of the people around you, daring to put your heart out there.

Have you ever played the trust game? Where you turn and fall blindly, hoping that the person behind you will catch you? The workshop is a trust game for me. I strive hard to believe in the kindness and the goodness of people, to believe that we can act as each other’s cheerleaders. And so….I’ve put together this workshop and now I’m falling, waiting for the kindness of people to catch me by showing up.

The FIRST ever virtual BE THE HOPE workshop is Monday night! Taking place at 6:30pm EST, it is the hope of a dream. You can help bring that dream to fruition — and all you have to do is show up. By showing up, it’s a reminder that we’re more alike than different, that kindness is still stronger than evil and that HOPE matters.

I was fielding some questions, so there is now an FAQ page that you can learn more specifics and find answers to some of the questions I’ve been getting. And then…. Let’s talk. It’s an opportunity to interact in real time with readers of the blog, with readers of the books, with perfect strangers. It’s a chance to share our stories with others because I’ll make sure it’s a safe space to do so. It’s a moment to believe that what we have is enough to spark a change. Dreams are not fairy tales—they are goals. And you achieve them one step at a time.