“Dream big and you may never wake up.”

I quickly wanted to share a profoundly hilarious moment in my new favorite TV show ‘Ted Lasso’. As someone who played semi-pro soccer (the show is about a fictional professional soccer team) and tries to have an overly optimistic mindset, the show really gets me. Not to spoil anything… But the show recently introduced a new character named Zava, a spiritually enlightened, world renowned phenom who had a quote worthy of it’s own podcast episode:

“Dream big and you may never wake up.”

While the delivery and timing of it was so out of context that it made me laugh out loud, at the same time it was deeply insightful. The quote plays on the two types of dreams, in our sleep and our desires and aspirations, but connects them in a way I’d never seen before.

It’s all about allowing ourselves to dream big. This means that we are giving ourselves permission to think without limitation, without restriction, and most importantly without the requirement of practicality. This allows us to imagine possibilities for our lives that are viscerally fulfilling and genuinely inspiring. The only way you’ll ever be able to achieve your dream life is to have the vision for it in mind and the courage to pursue it.

Now let's talk about the dreams in our sleep. We talk about how peaceful and comfortable they can be, how they defy what we know to be true about the world and give us an outlet to experience moments where anything is possible. It’s an opportunity for us to live in our limitless imagination.

That’s the connection, and that’s what this quote means. What if the limitless thinking that is you tapping into your deepest desires and aspirations, became your forever experience? That’s what’s possible when you give your imagination the permission to run-free and you commit yourself to doing what’s necessary to make it a reality.

“Dream big and you may never wake up.”

Allowing ourselves to believe that we’re capable of our dreams is our first step to obtaining it. Yet many people don’t pursue what they want most because they feel like it’s so impossible that they don’t bother trying. This leads to a life of tolerating what’s good enough rather than becoming disappointed when you fall short.

But that’s no way to live, not you, not us!