One of my foundational messages is the importance of goal setting. I stand for the power of taking your wants and making them possible. I sincerely believe in the amazing worth and capabilities of humans. And I am inspired by those who take on the craziest, awe inspiring challenges. 

I love to set my own goals. And these start with a dream.  

I don’t remember my youthful innocent dreaming—the times of wanting to be a princess or owning a unicorn. My first memory of dreaming was being an actress or writer. Then a mom and a teacher. I have manifested a few of these over my life so far, a couple more easier for me to execute than the other. I am beyond thankful for my husband for being a constant pillar of support and love for me to actualize not only my goals, but my dreams. I know that I could have done it on my own, but it has been that much better to develop our loving partnership alongside my individual growth. (And I am really happy to have done the baby making with him 😉

As we get older our dreaming often starts to be framed within our current capabilities. It becomes a bit tainted, the boundaries defined by society or our own perceived limitations. When I ask my friends, family, or athletes what they dream about they usually start within these parameters. No more magic, fairy dust, or even celebrity status. Instead of dreams they feel more comfortable with goals they are 99% sure they can complete. 

I stifled my own dream of writing (or any career aspirations) for a long time. In the years of raising my young kids I struggled to find the energy for creativity. I barely even had the time to read a full (adult) book without falling asleep. I poured myself into being a good mom, committed to raising my kids to be good adults. I funneled my extra personal energy into my race goals and my part time gig teaching cycling and group exercise—eventually owning the gym and becoming a coach. I have zero regrets on taking any of the steps on my path. 

But as my kids got older and less dependent I began to think further than the near future. I started to dream again. I let my the small flame of need to make a bigger impact professionally and personally grow into a fire I could no longer ignore. I vulnerably opened up to some close friends who (continue to) lovingly supported me chasing my dreams. I began to write. I let myself dream of not only what I can do within the scope of my current position and platform, but way further into the realm of anything is possible

This kind of dreaming can be scary. When you realize you live with the ability to choose. Opening up yourself to this kind of thinking forces you to fully examine your current life. I dug through it all with the willingness to make big changes if sincerely wanted. I examined my desire to be in my marriage, my line of work, geographical location, and in my friendships. The only thing that remained non negotiable to me was to continue to be a loving, present mom. But, I did have to be open to redefining what that looked like after many years of almost constant involvement. 

I have to admit, I stared at my screen for a long time when attempting to write this next sentence. Tears came to my eyes. I have no idea how to tell you the impact that opening myself to to be the most authentic, present, real version of myself has had on my wellbeing. I am not always happy. Life hasn’t given me a free pass and things could change at any moment, whether in my control or not. 

But I am me. A dreamer. 

At this time I truly love what I do and whom I do it with. I desire time off for breaks from responsibility, for adventure, and to escape from the WI winter rather than needing time away from work. I enjoy professionally impacting my local community through my coaching business, teaching Zoom cycling to longtime friends, and co-owning our amazing team. And I also love that I have cultivated a further reach through remote coaching, working with Feisty Triathlon, on my social media platforms, and through my writing. I love my husband, my kids, and my friends. 

I recently had the opportunity to travel to Victoria Canada to meet the majority of the Feisty Media team in person. The mission of the Feisty brand is to shift the culture for women in sport and when I saw them speak at a conference in Colorado in 2019 I knew it was where I belonged. After leaving the conference I allowed myself to dream about how I could learn closely from the women of this company while benefitting the company and the cause with my own skills. I then vulnerably pursued them, starting with following all things feisty on social media and then writing articles and offering to participate in their virtual conferences.

And in my recent visit I was blessed to show up as the head coach and lead educator (since April of this year) for their triathlon brand. I traveled and stayed with women from all of the USA and Canada that I had only interacted over the last several months on Zoom calls. I had dreamed of adding friendships with women who share my passion for this cause. I also enjoyed interacting with my MB Coaching athletes, making my next Zoom cycling playlist, and sending my finished book manuscript to the publisher in the downtime on planes and in hotel rooms. 

So, when asked “what makes me feisty” in our all team meeting on that Friday in Canada I was honestly able to respond with “I am living my dream.” 

Dream. It may feel like a luxury. You may not have the financial capability right now to actualize them yet. Maybe you weren’t born my same privilege. But you can still take the time and energy to close your eyes and look ahead with an innocent and vulnerable heart. It starts there. 

Cheers,

MB