Make Your Dreams Come True In 3 Easy Steps

Don’t die knowing you made the wrong choices in life.

The alarm would go off at 4:45 a.m., and I’d stagger out of bed on autopilot. I’d get to the train station, buy my newspaper and start the 90-minute commute into the office in London. In the morning, no one would talk on the train, and the ride always meant time to catch up on world news or prepare for the day ahead.

I’d pick up breakfast on my walk into the office and spend the next 11–12 hours at my desk. I was a banker working with large companies and dealing with numbers that rarely had fewer than nine digits. It was a pressurized job, and the stakes were high. One mistake could cost the bank millions, and one good deal could make millions in profit for the bank.

I won’t deny that I thrived on the excitement at times. Those were still the days of flying Business or First Class, wining and dining in the finest restaurants, and staying at 5-star hotels. I was doing deals that might get me mentioned in The Wall Street Journal or the Financial Times and rubbing noses with the CEOs of some of the world’s largest companies.

But every time I came to the Spanish Mediterranean coast, I entered another world. A place where time stood still amidst the olive and lemon groves, the air smelled of salt, and the sun warmed your skin. Life was simple. I wanted to stay there forever and not go back to the hustle and bustle of my job in London.

So we did it. I gave up my job and moved to Spain with my husband. We bought a restaurant which we ran for many years. Was it easy? No! Did things always go smoothly? Definitely, not! But we made it happen, and I’ve never looked back or had one ounce of regret. Eighteen years later, I’m still here, writing from my terrace and looking at the sea for inspiration.

I’m not advocating that you recklessly quit your job or that life will be perfect somewhere else. However, I meet so many people who have dreams but never realize them. And quite frankly, life is too short not to chase after your dreams!

In her book, The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, palliative nurse Bronnie Ware writes about her findings during the many years she spent with patients near the end of life. The following is what she found to be the #1 regret of the dying:

“I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”

“This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made. Health brings a freedom very few realise until they no longer have it

I didn’t have the hindsight of Bronnie’s findings when I followed my dreams, but these words make me even more grateful that I did.

What are the three steps to enable you to live the life of your dreams?

1. Don’t dismiss your dreams as unrealistic.

You can easily dismiss your greatest desires as pipe dreams or something that’s not even worth contemplating. When I wanted to move to Spain, I had circumstances that made it quite hard: I had family and close friends in the UK, I had a good job, my husband owned a small company, we had a huge mortgage, we had never run a restaurant before, nor did we speak Spanish. I could have given you a long list of reasons why that dream could never happen or would be very difficult to achieve at the very least.

I’m a big believer in, “Whatever you dream, you can achieve.” Think about it. Visualize it. Imagine what it would be like if you were already living your dream. Commit to making it happen.

Von Goethe said, “At the moment of commitment, the entire universe conspires to assist you.”

2. Take action and commit to your dream.

One of my favorite quotes of all time comes from William Hutchison Murray:

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too.

All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favour all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings, and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.

Whatever you can do or dream you can begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.”

Take any action, but do something. I find it remarkable how taking action sets the ball in motion. Once you’ve got forward momentum, that momentum only seems to speed matters up.

My husband and I flew to Spain and went to the village where we already knew we wanted to live. We spoke to the owner of our favorite local restaurant and, much to our surprise, found that he was interested in selling. We explained that we’d love to buy it, but would first have to sell our house in the UK. He said that if we put down a deposit, he would be willing to give us one year to complete the sale. We didn’t want to lose the opportunity to buy this unique restaurant, so we decided to pay the deposit. One year was certainly enough time to figure it all out and sell our house.

On that very same weekend, we decided to look for a villa as well. We wanted to be near the restaurant and away from the hustle and bustle of the beach. There weren’t many properties for sale in that location. As luck would have it, there was one property on the market within walking distance of the restaurant, but it would need a lot of renovation. We put a deposit down on that villa as well before the weekend was over.

We could hardly believe that we’d bought both a house and a restaurant in Spain in a matter of days. We had no idea how we were going to make it all work.

3. There are no obstacles you can’t overcome.

I’m lucky to be somewhat optimistic by nature, but I honestly believe that there’s no obstacle that you can’t overcome. It doesn’t always go the way you would have initially liked, but if you’re willing to have an open mind and compromise, there’s nothing that can stop you. I don’t even view them as “obstacles” but “challenges.”

And so began a long list of challenges for us. We couldn’t sell our UK house fast enough to meet the purchase deadlines we’d negotiated in Spain. Luckily we were able to renegotiate with both the sellers of the Spanish villa and the restaurant. We’d hoped to live mortgage-free in Spain, but we had to keep reducing our house price for a quick sale, so we needed a mortgage after all. And when I quit my job, they wouldn’t let me go. The bank suggested I continue to work from Spain, which I did for a while.

Takeaways and conclusion Remember the top regret of the dying, and don’t die with your dreams still inside you. Nothing is unachievable! Believe in your dreams, take action to gain momentum, and view every obstacle as a challenge you can overcome.

I’m now living on the Mediterranean coast of Spain in a white-washed Spanish village. After running a successful restaurant for six years, we decided to lease it and move on. I became a consultant, coach, and corporate trainer based in Spain but traveling worldwide for my clients.

In 2019, I traveled 157,751 miles during 238 days, making 47 trips and visiting 70 cities in 13 countries. (I have these statistics from my TripIt app.) After spending more nights in hotels than I did at home, my current dream is to pivot my business to 100% online. I want to spend more time with my family and move to the Spanish countryside where I’ll have more space and land for my “boys” — Labradors Bojangles and Branston. The pandemic has helped give my business an online boost, and I’m now working to fulfill the rest of my dream.