Chase Your Dreams They Are All You've Got! - By Nicole Shanks

When I was a little girl my dad would tell me “all you have to do is put your mind to it”. I would just keep thinking to myself how much I wish he would stop saying that. Then there was my mom always reminding me “whatever you do, do it because you love it”. After many years of hearing that same speech I was sitting with my dad as an adult and he said “you’re only as big as your dreams, if you don’t dream what are you living for”.  I never forgot those words from that day. I have always been a dreamer, a bird on the wings of fate. You can promise I took the next thing that was sat in front of me that sounded awesome.

The problem was I was chasing the wrong dream. No matter what job or interest I pursued I was always searching for the next best thing. With each job I made more money and better benefits but most of the time I was just looking for ways to get more days off to be me. I would take off work and sneak away to yoga classes all over to find a happy place to be. Finally after many years of searching I found a teacher training that worked with my busy schedule. I signed up and began the process. I had never been so involved in something. It was like I saw yoga everywhere I went. The more I learned the more I wanted to share.
As my interest grew in the yoga world, so did my dreams. Only this time I wasn’t in some huge hurry to achieve it all at once. I wanted to experience each step and work toward the big picture. With each passing day I was focused and ready for each challenge as it came. One day the light bulb came on and I realized I had been “putting my mind to it” all this time. It was like what my dad had been saying made since. I just never had anything I wanted to focus on. I found that thing I Love to do!

Every person I would talk to about my dream would look at me in surprise and say you want to quit your job and do what!? Even the day I gave my two week notice my boss said “well in a couple months, if you can’t put food on the table. Give me a call.” I just said thanks and smiled when I shook her hand. I’m not going to say chasing your dreams is easy or that every moment is a fairy tale, but it sure beats running away from them.

Nicole Shanks 
Surya Luna Studio Owner | Certified Yoga Teacher 200RYT | Swansea, IL
info@suryalunastudio.com |  www.suryalunastudio.com 
Click here to learn more about Nicole