Carol McLeod’s future is happening now. This joy-tender knew from the time she was in second grade that she was made to be an author . . . there was just one problem. She chose to have five beautiful children with the man of her dreams, the delights of her life, but it meant putting her writing dreams on the back burner.
According to Carol, Diane Sawyer once said, “In a woman’s life there are three things: career, marriage, and motherhood. And you can do two at once very well, but it’s hard to do all three at once very well.”
Carol decided that what was right for her during that season of life was to put her personal dream on hold and give her whole heart to marriage and motherhood. So while her dream of authoring simmered on the back burner, she tended and stirred her dream of marriage and motherhood on the front. She determined to raise world-changing children. But she did not let the flame go out from under her writing dream.
While tending her family dreams, Carol was still strategy-minded. She made it a point to learn about writing by reading books: classics, biographies, works by great theologians, even some books by authors she didn’t agree with. She learned how she wanted to approach her dream and how she did not. The diversity of a variety of styles filled her mind and kept her dream alive while she rocked babies and raised kids through school.
During her season of simmering, Carol also did something very unique—she interviewed people. She would pick their brains, pick their souls, and pick their hearts, to learn what was going on inside of them, helping her navigate her own life, but also fertilizing her dream with the insights she was gleaning.
Once, fascinated by a new news anchor, Carol began the tenacious act of pursuing a connection with her. Finally, she was able to schedule a meeting, and was surprised to find that the news anchor encouraged her, but that Carol was also able to encourage this woman who was on TV. They each learned from the other.
Carol, who calls herself an introvert with good social skills, shows us a courageous method any dream tender can learn from. She didn’t wait for a mentor to show up in her life, she was proactive in going out and finding people to learn from. She picked up the phone and made calls. She was intentional in matching her teachable spirit to those who are out there living their dreams successfully, so she could prepare herself for her future. And Carol’s future is happening now, as the author of ten books who keeps cranking out life-enhancing works, helping thousands of people to live enriched, higher quality, more joy-filled lives.
While she waited for her time, Carol also discovered that the wait was creating a better dream, that the simmering season was showing her the fullness of her true destiny. She learned the importance of waiting well. If you own your dream, waiting will only increase your determination, strengthen your skills, and enhance your opportunities.
Filling Needs:
- Are you waiting well? Are you making the most of the time while you are waiting for the opportunity to move full throttle into your dream tending potential?
- Who could you interview—who are the influencers you could learn from?
- Are you reading and learning everything you can about what you are most passionate about?
Carol knows the pit of depression, but she found the breakthrough as a result of her faith and her absorption of the Bible. Today, she is a force to be reckoned with, because she knows pain, but can share the power from what she’s learned—the perfect fodder for tending great dreams.
This episode’s Dream Planting Tips:
- Understand the season you’re in—don’t shovel snow when you should be planting flowers.
- Give yourself fully to the people, circumstances, and breaths you have available right now, understanding that every experience will enrich your dream tending efforts.
- Find faith and grip hope. There are countless statistics, studies, and anecdotes proving the power of belief in something or Someone greater than yourself to help make dreams come true.
- Remind yourself, you are a force to be reckoned with—made to live boldly and confidently.
- “Don’t waste your pain,” as Carol says. Let it be fertilizer to help you grow your dreams.
- Change someone else’s life in a positive way every single day. Whose life can you change today?
- Determine to tend your dream very well. If you are juggling too many things, then reduce as you can, until you are able to make dream tending your priority.
- No matter what season you are in, be strategy-minded. What small things can you plant today that will help your dreams grow and provide a harvest later?
- Make everyday an tendtalk interview opportunity. Look for people to learn from and then tenaciously pursue every successful tidbit you can.
- Grab the Tending Your Dreams’ free giveaways and discounts from every episode. Go to tendyourdreams.com/freebie14 for your gift, just for tuning in. Don’t forget our product discount—20% off on all autographed books. Enter the coupon code TYD20 to snatch your deal.
Discover more about Carol McLeod at justjoyministries.com, Facebook or Instagram. Host Anita Agers Brooks can be found on various social media platforms, and you can discover additional dream tending tips at tendyourdreams.com
