What is Your Wheelchair? What is Your Impossible Dream?
Meet Zach. Zach has cerebal palsy, “the sexiest of the palsys”, he says. Yes, Zach has a great sense of humor. But he is serious about something: he wants to win Oprah’s My Own Show contest. Zach wants to make a travel show for people who never thought they could travel. He wants to inspire people of all kinds to go on an adventure.
Join Zach as he globe-trots to some of the most notoriously inaccessible locations and embraces the spontaneous nature of world travel! No matter what the obstacle, he’ll face every bump in the road with a smile. You can come too if you you have an adventurous spirit. -From Zach’s Oprah Entry
I like this guy. (And if you do too, you can vote for him to win his own show here). But helping him win his own show on Oprah is not why I’m writing this post.
I like Zach not only because he can make me laugh. I like Zach because he dreams big despite his life circumstance.
“When life gives you a wheelchair, make lemonade.” Zach jokes that this is the advice his mom has always given him. You can tell by watching his YouTube video though that he is more than half-serious.
He got me thinking: What is my wheelchair? What is the thing that I use as a crux to hold me back from dreaming my impossible dreams?
I have to do some more thinking on this. Maybe you want to too?
Start here. Fill in the blank:
When life gives you _________________, make lemonade.
Here are some things I could say:
When life gives you single motherhood, make lemonade.
When life gives you anxiety and depression, make lemonade.
When life gives you Kentucky, make lemonade. (I’m half-kidding, only half 
).
One thing about dreaming impossible dreams is that it is freaky.
Why? Because you are most likely setting yourself up for failure. “Impossible” may very well be impossible for a reason.
But…I’m not saying that to be a downer, or to kill your/my dream. I’m saying that because I don’t thing that failure is a bad thing. Yes, it’s scary, but it is also a set-up for future greatness.
Shoot for the moon. If you don’t make it, at least you will land among the stars.
This quote is something I’ve had memorized since the 8th grade. (Mostly because it didn’t make sense to me: Scientifically speaking the stars are much farther away from our planet than the moon, right? So what is going on here? My best guess is that whoever wrote the quote was a lover of language, and not of science. “Shoot for the stars. If you don’t make it, at least you will land on the moon” does not flow as well. But I digress…)
The meaning of this quote is that it’s okay to dream big, it’s good to dream big; you can’t go wrong dreaming big. You may not make your target, but because of where you are aiming, you will land somewhere worthwhile– and maybe even somewhere better than what you were originally shooting for.
Will Zach win Oprah’s contest? I don’t know. I hope so! But at the end of the day, I don’t think it matters.
I know I’m not the only one his audition has moved and inspired. I think his video will open up doors for him that he hasn’t even imagined yet.
What about you? Where could you dream bigger in your life?
My husband and I have just started dreaming bigger for our life and there is a tangible new energy in the house. Since Sunday we have woken up with a brand new hope and joy for what is to come. We also jumped right into taking the necessary steps in order bring our ‘big dream’ ideas to reality.
(My big dream involves writing and photographing for Conde Naste Traveler Magazine, and traveling the world with my family, living abroad for several months at a time. My husband’s big dream is still nestled tight, close to his heart, so he has asked me not to share it yet).
Of course, it will be a long road between here and there for us, and we will have to deal with our own “wheelchairs” along the way, but just heading in the direction of ‘an impossible dream’ feels amazing.
Here is what I believe: No matter where we end up, no matter where Zach ends up, no matter where you end up, I don’t think any of us will be disappointed, because the journey we have chosen is compelling.
If you fear that in 5, 10, or 20 years you will look back on your life with disappointment, please do something to change the course you are on today. If you need an extra dose of motivation on the subject of not letting your circumstances define who you are or what you can become, here are two amazing articles to read:
How to Stop Telling Your Sad, Sad Stories
On Dying, Mothers, and Fighting for Your Ideas
(Open these up in a new tab and read right now if you have the time. Or, bookmark, and save for later. They are well-worth returning to).
What do you think? What is your impossible dream? And, will you be doing work to get over your own “wheelchairs”?
P.S. If you want a chance, like Zach, to win your own show on Oprah, here is how you enter.
