July 7, 2025 • 37 mins
In this inaugural episode of our new Unfolded series, we delve into the transformative power of personal dreams. Drawing from Chapter 1 of the two-time national best-selling book Unfolded: Lessons in Transformation from an Origami Crane by Dr. Linda and Brian Schubring, we dive into what it means to name your dream—and why that’s often the first step toward discovering your identity, purpose, and potential.
🧠 What You'll Learn:
- Why naming your dream is essential to personal transformation
- How your dreams reveal and reshape your identity
- What science says about long-term vision and mental well-being
- How to let go of old dreams to make space for new ones
- Questions to help you reflect on your own dream journey
💬 Quotes from the Episode:
“To accept an invitation to dream is a step to unfold the greatest potential within you.”
“If Owl’s map could talk, it would tell of a life well lived and many lessons learned.”
🔗 Resources & References:
- Unfolded: Lessons in Transformation from an Origami Crane
- Research on vision and well-being
- More about the Leadership Vision Podcast
📝 Reflection Question:
What dream do you need to name—or reimagine—right now?
📲 Subscribe & Share:
If you enjoyed this episode, consider subscribing, leaving a review, and sharing it with someone who needs a little nudge to dream again.
🎉 Unfolded is a National Bestseller!
#1 in Business & #5 Overall on USA Today
#17 on Publisher’s Weekly Nonfiction
📘 Grab your copy + get the FREE Reflection Guide!
-
Read the full blog post here!
CONTACT US
- email: connect@leadershipvisionconsulting.com
- Leadership Vision Online
ABOUT
The Leadership Vision Podcast is a weekly show sharing our expertise in discovering, practicing, and implementing a Strengths-based approach to people, teams, and culture. Contact us to talk to us about helping your team understand the power of Strengths.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
My wish for people is that they would start to become
familiar with how you dream,how you dream uniquely, what
kind of things inspire you,who's around you that gets your
attention, what kind of thingsignite some of your thinking or
your feeling, and what inspiresyou to act.
(00:20):
Maybe then, after a little bitof time or processing with
another person, you'll have asense of what your dreams truly
are, and then I would say go forit 25 years, so that leaders
are mentally engaged andemotionally healthy.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
To learn more about us and what we do, you can click
the link in the show notes orvisit us on the web at
leadershipvisionconsultingcom.
Hello everyone, my name isNathan Friberg, and today's
episode kicks off a brand newseries exploring the core themes
of Unfolded Lessons inTransformation from an Origami
Crane, the two-time nationalbestseller, by Dr Linda and
Brian Shubring.
In each episode of this series,we'll dive into one chapter and
(01:10):
unpack the deeper meaning behindit, and we're starting here
with chapter one and the conceptof dreams, specifically, the
power of individual or personaldreams.
In this conversation, we talkabout how dreams give us focus,
fuel our identity and sparktransformation.
You'll hear stories aboutchildhood wonder, the role of
imagination and what it lookslike to pursue dreams that may
(01:31):
never fully come true, but theystill shape who we become.
We also touch on scientificresearch that shows how having a
vivid, future-oriented visionis directly tied to greater
motivation, improved mentalhealth and a stronger sense of
purpose.
Now, whether you're dreamingbig or simply trying to
reconnect with what onceinspired you, this episode will
(01:52):
offer encouragement, insight andmaybe even a challenge to dream
again.
So let's get into it, brian andLinda, I'm curious, as we start
this podcast today, why youdecided to start Unfolded with a
chapter about dreams.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
One of the reasons why I wanted to start the book
anchored in this idea of someonehaving a dream is because I
believe that all human beingsdream.
We dream of many small things.
We dream of big things, wedream of intermediate things,
but we all dream.
We dream of different places tolive.
We dream of different types ofvacations to go on, we dream
(02:30):
about jobs.
When we were kids, we dreamedof who our classmates might be.
I used to dream of turkey gravy,mashed potatoes for lunch on
Fridays.
We had these really nice dreams.
We all have them and it'ssomething that humans have in
common, no matter what youbelieve, where you live, how you
were raised or what you desireor dream to even be as a person.
(02:52):
We all share dreams and when Ithought more about it, I
realized that dreams ofteninspire us and they focus us.
Dreams put us in a place wheresometimes, things become more
clear, where we are willing toask for help and, most
importantly, I believe thatdreams point us to our greatest
possibility and unfold ourgreatest potential a dream is
(03:27):
ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
How do you know when a dream is realistic?
How do you know when a dream ismaybe too small?
I mean that there's.
You know, I had a dream that Iwas gonna be a professional
baseball player and I onlyplayed seventh grade baseball
and that didn't work out, goCubs, go Cubs.
As kids, you have all thesecrazy dreams.
Like you know, oc wanted to bea paper plane.
That is ridiculous, because ofcourse you can't become a paper
(03:52):
plane, of course you can'tchange your shape.
Metaphor.
Of course you can't, you knowwhatever.
So how do you, when you thinkabout these, these wild and
crazy dreams that some of ushave, how do you know when
that's when you should go afterit, I guess, or how do you know
when you should just be likethat's a fun thing to dream
about, to think about to youknow what I mean.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Yes, yes.
Sometimes I think that aschildren, we only dream as far
as we can see.
So maybe there's things thatcatch our attention, that we pay
attention to and like oh, Iwant to do that.
I remember getting afirefighter fighter hat for some
birthday.
I'm like that's what I want tobe.
(04:33):
I had no idea that that wouldprobably not be.
Your hair smell like smoke notbe the best fit for me in my
lungs, however.
However, it's when we'reexposed to other things that
allow us to dream beyond, in ourcase, the playground.
So it was because our origamicrane had seen beyond the
(04:59):
cottonwood trees that shenoticed the plane and she
noticed the feathered birds andthere was something different
that well, if I'm seeing that,maybe I can be that, maybe I can
do that.
And every once in a while Ithink we don't even know what we
expose children to thatactually opens them up or gives
(05:22):
them a chance to dream.
Or the bring your kid to workday, or the having guests come
to schools and talk to children.
It begins to say like oh,banking isn't just this.
You can play any role out ofwho you are.
It's not just necessarilycollecting money.
(05:42):
There's marketing and there'sevents and there's a a big
stadium downtown it's funny yousay bring your kid to work.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Because one of my twins went to work with my wife
yesterday.
It wasn't bring your kid to workday, it's like a 14 hour day
she was in all these very bigmeetings where she met very
important people with threeletters after their name and she
came home she's like I'm gonnawork, work for Nike someday.
Here's all the reasons why.
And she's like our most timidchild probably.
(06:11):
I mean you talk about unlockingit, I mean she's nine, so
unlocking a dream, but just thatidea of seeing something in a
different way, I think is superpowerful and meaningful.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
And that's why I think dreams are important for
us to unlock the imaginativepossibility of who we really are
.
Because in our story, the dreamwas sparked by something that
was seen a little bit beyond thenormal scope of vision.
And the first place that OC wentfor help was to the people that
(06:43):
were around her and the peoplethat were around her in the
specific place where she foundherself.
And I really believe, especiallyas we grow older well, even as
we're younger we tend to look tothe people in places, the
people around us and the placesthat we're in to help us in the
fulfilling of our dream.
And that's why I feel that somepeople have to release their
(07:05):
dreams, maybe quickly andpainfully, because the resources
that they have within theirenvironment will not fuel the
dreaming that they are connectedto into that, because there are
(07:26):
certain people that, because oftheir socioeconomic environment
, they have a great limitationon fulfilling their dreams
unless they make a greatsacrifice to leave to pursue
their dreams, and there areothers that simply give up.
The converse is also true,where you have children and
young adults who are growing upin environments that are rich
with resources and opportunities, that often in those resources
(07:49):
and opportunities and peopleoften serve as an accelerant to
their dreaming.
We're not faulting one for theother.
We're just highlighting therealities that actually exist
around, how it is that wereceive our dreams, how we
pursue our dreams and when wegive up one dream for another.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
There's people that have asked me Linda, did you
dream of having your ownbusiness?
I was like I didn't even knowthat existed really.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
I know I grew up around educators.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
I grew up around hometown people.
I grew up on educators.
I grew up around hometownpeople.
I grew up on a country road.
There was not this sense of I'mgoing to go out and be
entrepreneurial.
I didn't even know necessarilywhat that meant.
And even right now I thinkthere's a generation coming
after us that they can't evendream about what they're going
(08:43):
to do, because it has not yetunfolded.
Yet History has not unfolded ina way that will pave the course
for a better future or thekinds of work that we will or
won't be doing.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
And in this conversation around dreams, I
think it is essential and veryimportant for people to not
disregard or discredit thedreams that they have.
I feel that the invitation isto really embrace the dream
wholeheartedly as an individualand to look at your context who
(09:16):
are the people that are aroundme that can help me on my
journey toward the dream, andwhat does this place that I'm in
have to offer to help?
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Yeah, Well, and I would say, oftentimes, I think
that the dreamers among us don'teven realize that they're
dreamers.
They're just seeing some shinythings going for it, leaning
into new places, trying newthings, carving paths.
It's just what they do.
Sometimes, when you compareyourself to those people, you're
(09:48):
like well, I don't have anydreams or I don't know how to
disrupt a whole organizationlike that, or maybe I'm just
trying to, you know, take careof my little corner of the
universe here, and I thinkthat's why starting the
conversation about dreams andgetting people to talk about
them comes at dreams from adifferent angle than what we
(10:10):
usually do, and that is someonecome and help me interpret the
dreams.
That's not what we need at thispoint an imagination of people
talking out loud about theirdreams, or why we're having
these dreams, or why our brainsare trying to process all this
information and experiences andemotions that we're having in
(10:34):
our sleeping hours and in ourwaking hours.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
I think it's so fun to listen to people talk about
their dreams because you can seethe excitement build right away
.
There's just something abouthow it is that they're showing
up that presents a sense of joyor play to, how it is that
they're talking about theirdream, and I really try to
encourage people to beginpracticing the journey of what
(11:00):
it means to even go in or livein the direction of the dream.
That, to me, is something Ithink is really important
because I know for myself likewhen I have a dream that's
really compelling, I startthinking about like the
performance side of that dreamreally quickly, like what's it
like in its perfected state, andoftentimes a dream just
(11:22):
inspires us to move to somewherenew.
There may never come theperformance side of it, but the
practice of how it is that webegin to journey towards our
dreams, yep, sometimes thedreaming or the anticipation of
something is more exciting andfulfilling and full of wonder
(11:52):
than the actual achieving of thedream Totally.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
And I think we miss the gift of anticipation because
we want things immediate.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
And.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
I think, yeah, I think, if we're stirring a
conversation around, what doesit mean to dream, and not just
that one dream that we're goingto be held to, and I thought you
were dreaming that and Ithought we were all rowing in
that direction, but rather, whatare you seeing now?
Where are you leaning?
What kind of behaviors have youenacted or are practicing in
(12:23):
order to get you to a different?
Speaker 2 (12:25):
place.
So what I'm thinking about iswhy do people give up on their
dreams?
Is that where?
A next logical step?
Because when I think about.
You know my own life.
I don't know that I've, likeintentionally given up on a
dream.
I've put it off, or I'vethought I don't have the right
(12:47):
context, or this isn't the righttime, or gosh, this is going to
be really hard, this is goingto take time away for this other
thing.
In your experience, why dopeople give up on dreams or
relegate them to the back burnerthat they just sort of are
slowly simmering for decades?
Speaker 3 (13:04):
I think there are some dreams that are meant to be
let go Totally.
They're not the dreams that weever are going to fulfill,
because I believe that some ofthe dreams, even that I
encourage people to dream, arethe ones that just serve as a
distraction right now, and thatthey are dreams that are not
(13:25):
meant to come true.
They are a dream that justhelps you get through.
We were working with a clientand not to belabor the context,
but the context just has a lotof stress, like a lot of places,
and one of the things that wechallenged the team to do was to
dream beyond the challenge.
That's it.
Just dream beyond a possibility,beyond the challenge.
(13:47):
Dream about you actingdifferently on the other side of
the challenge, just to get themto lift up their spirits, their
attitudes.
Just something.
And just that one moment, Ithink, gave a levity to the
crowd they were speaking to,because it was a dream that may
never come true, but just ithelped you get through that
(14:08):
moment.
It just breaks your mind out ofthat intense focus on
difficulty or challenge orseeming impossibility.
A dream can just help you getthrough something.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Brian, what that makes me think about.
I forget exactly what you said,but some dreams are just there
to get us through, some dreamsare meant to give up on.
I did a little research inpreparation and I'm just going
to read this because I don'thave it memorized Scientific
research supports the power ofpersonal dreams and long-term
vision in shaping identity andlife direction.
Studies show and I'll includelink in the show notes so you
(14:38):
don't think I'm making this upStudies show that when
individuals form a vividpersonal dream, like OC did in
Unfolded, they experiencegreater motivation, goal-setting
behavior and resilience.
These future-oriented dreamshelp align our values with our
identity and foster a deepersense of purpose and legacy.
And the part that reallyconnects here with what we're
(15:00):
just talking about is having ameaningful dream or life aim has
been likened to increasedwell-being, better stress
management and even a longerlife.
So the research says thathaving this big dream because I
always, you know, I want a bigdream so that I can make more
money, so that I can be my ownboss, so that I can blah, blah,
blah which is all probably truebut like, just, if you have a
(15:23):
dream, something bigger,something you're aiming for, it
just helps you, motivates you,has this just day, your day to
day, is better.
Talk a little bit about that,like how, what message do you
want out of that to give leaders?
How does that connect with whatwe're talking about?
How does that connect to thebook?
Speaker 1 (15:40):
I have found in my career that there are times when
there's just no space to dream.
The threat of the immediate,the urgent, the life or death
feel, even if you're not workingin the ER, how work feels
sometimes.
I think that kills dreams and Ithink about the people that are
(16:04):
like get away and do what is it?
The life map?
No, no, no.
The vision board, vision boards?
Okay, right, it allows you, itallows you.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
No, that's real, that's real.
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
But it takes a purposeful practice.
It's almost like you have toschedule it or think about it
and begin to dream.
Some of the silly things holdboth tensions, meaning how do we
practice the abundance or thewonder of what life might look
(16:48):
like if we were at this point orat that point, or if I was
fueling my body in a way thatallowed me to achieve these
goals, or we were able to travelto this location?
And I think, as you get older,it's almost like those dreams
get squashed.
Yeah, I think about ourdaughter, who came to us with a
(17:09):
PowerPoint presentation aboutwhy we should go to Bora Bora,
and several other tropicallocations.
Recently she did this Well, no,I feel like she does it almost
every year.
But I was like your dreams areexpensive to me, but yet, but
yet there's something thathappens generatively to me when
(17:32):
I really listen to the heart ofher dreams.
In her just saying the dreamsout loud, there is a
demonstration of broaderthinking, of a global
perspective, that I don't wantto just say like no, you know,
we can't afford that.
I want to say where does someof those dreams come from?
(17:54):
And with the resources that wedo have, what could we do?
Speaker 3 (17:59):
Because I think what dreams really do is they call
into question our surroundingsoh, say more, tell me everything
keep going, keep going whatlinda said earlier is completely
true.
If we are in an environmentwhich is not permitting us to
(18:22):
dream or to think about newpossibilities even just
creativity because aren't dreamsjust simply an expression of
our creativity the inability forthat dreaming or creativity to
happen in a context should callinto question if we're in the
right context, because sometimesa dream may often invite us to
ask.
Because sometimes a dream mayoften invite us to ask am I
(18:46):
surrounded by people that arenot only inspiring me to dream
but will help me dream?
And the converse is also true.
How am I helping others intheir dream and in their
imagination?
Because, like what Linda'ssaying about this, vacation is,
oftentimes Camila will have thisamazing idea about a vacation
and what is really behind thatis just her creativity and
(19:09):
innovation to make reallymeaningful experiences.
Then, when you invite thatexpression of who she is into a
vacation, she can plan days anditineraries and places to go
that make the experiencemagnificent, because she's
dreaming into the moment.
With the resources that areavailable.
It's like you reshape theenvironment just a little bit.
(19:31):
You can still fulfill yourdreams.
It may not look exactly likeyou started, but it still is a
fulfillment of a dream.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
So when I listen then to Brian and our daughter kind
of go back and forth arounddreams, it makes me feel like I
have no dreams.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
I don't.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
I don't think that big or that like I'm almost
dreaming more in a moment, orI'm waiting for a dream to bump
into me, or I want to help makeother people make their dreams
come true, and then that startsto unlock some, some dreaming in
me.
I remember sitting this isprobably a decade now ago.
We were sitting with a clientthat we don't, we didn't know
(20:09):
really well, and they weresaying well, how does it work?
You know, you two marriedpeople to each other.
Like how does that all work?
And we were said some nicethings and Brian said nice
things.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
And brian said and she kills my dreams.
I was like what?
No?
I said, you're a dream killer,yeah, and so?
Speaker 1 (20:26):
everything got tense yeah I'm like this is gonna be a
tense ride home.
It's gonna be a tenseconversation later, um, but what
he said he's like yeah, shewon't let me get a jet, and she
won't let me get a yacht, andshe won't like seriously won't
let you.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Was that that was on the table?
Speaker 3 (20:42):
she just got.
She blocked it completely,Totally.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Not even like.
Well, what kind of jet Nexttime?
Brian wants to get a Gulfstream.
You just say yes.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
Heck.
No is what I'd say.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
I want realistic.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
Or I want to yeah, exactly, but it's almost a
different framework.
So for me it's like I was yourdream come true.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Yeah, right.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
Yeah.
So dreams can have a relationalbent, they can have a material
bent, they can have a way thatyou express yourself in the
world.
It taps into purpose, it tapsinto meaning.
Yeah, I think it's a reach forthe sacred, I think it's a reach
for a way to not just be stuckon this earth doing the same
(21:28):
thing, day after day.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
Spoiler alert if you haven't read the book.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
So, speaking about, what Linda just said about the
transcendent.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
I really believe that dreams play a key role in a
human being's need to experiencethe transcendent on a daily
basis.
Absolutely, because the dream isa way of elevating us outside
of our current circumstance tobegin to get in touch with.
Why am I here again?
Oc's journey isn't a journey tobecoming a paper plane.
(21:58):
It's a journey about herunderstanding, her identity,
which transcends not only thefriends in the playground, but
the playground, the cottonwoodtrees.
It transcends the sky.
It's above all that because thediscovery of our identity is in
itself a transcendentexperience, because we're
tapping into something thatcannot be contained in the
(22:21):
current shape we're in.
My identity cannot be containedin the body that I'm in.
My identity is expressedthrough relationships, through
place, through activities,through community, through the
work that I do, and that is atranscendent reach.
Why are rituals so importantfor human beings?
(22:42):
It's because a ritual transcendus beyond the current into
something more meaningful.
And in this process of the book, a dream begins the experience
and the journey towardssomething more meaningful, and
that's the true discovery of ourauthentic self true discovery
of our authentic self.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
I think where I'm stuck or where I, what I just
keep thinking about is you know,we were joking about the jet.
That's a very external joking.
We weren't about the jet.
I'm sorry, Brian.
The idea of purchasing a jetcame up and and a lot of times.
I think that when we thinkabout dreams or talk about
dreams, they manifest or there'sa picture in our mind of a
(23:27):
financial success of some kind.
For a lot of people.
I think that's what, or I'lljust for myself, I think that's
what's connected to there's alevel of success, there's a
level of prestige, there's alevel of accomplishment, there's
a dream house, a dream this, adream that.
But what I think we're talkingabout is how does our dream
become a contentment withourselves, our identity?
Speaker 1 (23:50):
Because I don't think it's contentment.
I think it's an acceptance thatwhen we realize that we are
built for more, made for more,and maybe we're in the wrong
container, maybe we are in thewrong place or among the wrong
people that aren't helping usdream or lean into greater
(24:10):
versions of who we are and we'renot having those kind of
conversations, I think that'sthe fearful part for me.
It's not where dreams come true.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
Right.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
And you can go to the happiest place on earth and you
can enjoy it and you think thatyou've arrived.
But I guarantee you mostchildren get more excited about
anticipating going and thewonder of meeting some of the
characters in the happiest placeon earth.
And then I think we carry thosememories and then we build on
on those memories and we dreambeyond them and we encourage our
imagination.
And so for me it's I want to bearound other dreamers, and even
(24:52):
in our story the othercharacters have dreams too.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
I mean, that's the.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
I wrote it that way, Like I have a dream too.
I don't look like you and Idon't want the same things.
I don't necessarily want to fly, but I have dreams too, and
it's being able to accept andnot label.
These are good dreams and baddreams, but it's what are
life-giving dreams and whichones are maybe soul-sucking?
Speaker 3 (25:16):
Key to the story is when OC expresses her dreams.
Her dream engages theparticipation of all the people
in her playground and the dreamtransforms the use of the
playground.
And that's how I think dreamscan be completely catalytic,
(25:36):
because a dream inspires alldifferent types of people.
A dream asks for differentthings from the environment that
we're in, and we tend to be alittle bit more creative with
what it is that we're doing andopen to change as we're pursuing
our dream.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
Yeah, it's yeah, I mean where do you get stuck?
Speaker 1 (26:02):
where do you get stuck?
Speaker 2 (26:03):
well, I brian texted.
That was just linda's commentcontent with our container and
he wrote frightening, and thenhe wrote ug, and I think that's
where I do get content with that, because container can be your
dream your dream can be itscontainer and the place where it
can be container and thenarrative that we had our dream
(26:25):
stolen from us.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
So just even hearing people that that still go back
to certain places with hearts ofregret, or I wish this didn't
happen or, and then this persontook my dream.
So I don't think it's just thecontentment, it's the acceptance
and the making something goodas a result, or being able to
(26:49):
dream again or just make peacethat that dream didn't come true
.
And that doesn't define who youare.
Speaker 3 (26:59):
And thank the dream for being there, who you are,
and thank the dream for beingthere, because I think about the
life I've lived with Linda andin our first year of marriage
there were dreams that wereimmediately extinguished when
she was diagnosed with cancer.
You don't judge the dream.
You'd thank the dream for beingbirthed in the space between us
(27:20):
.
But then there's something elsethere, because the interruption
of a dream isn't a judgment thatit was a bad dream.
It's making space for somethingnew.
Now, of course, it was painfuland that, like dreaming a new,
involved a great dark period.
For me, dreaming a new was, youknow, a year and a half of
trying to get Linda healthyagain.
But space, sometimes dreamsdon't come true, because you're
(27:45):
making space for another dreamthat's going to pull you through
.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
And just because you're helping someone else
doesn't mean that you have toput your dreams on hold.
Speaker 3 (27:52):
Oof.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
Yes, well, because I think there's times when parents
will say like I'm putting allof my dreams on hold just to
help my children.
And once again we want tointerrupt some of the thinking
of that and help people zoom outa bit and get a sense of is
that really the narrative youwant to live?
Speaker 2 (28:11):
Well, and maybe you can interrupt some of my
thinking, or because we're.
I don't know if this is stuckis the right word, but it's.
It seems like you'reencouraging people to chase
their dreams, to follow theirdreams, to have their dreams.
You know, whatever it is and Ican think of a lot of people who
are stuck.
You know there's many narratives, but it's one is like I'm the
sole provider for my family.
(28:31):
I don't like my job, or it'snot my dream.
I would like to do somethingelse, but I cannot find the
space to go back to school.
To, you know, take a go out ona limb to open this business.
I cannot find the space to goback to school, to go out on a
limb to open this business.
I cannot do that.
My family is depending on me.
Vice versa, you've got theparent who's like I have to be
(28:51):
here for my kids right now, fora variety of reasons, I can't go
back to school.
I can't take a risk, I can't.
Yada, yada, yada.
That'll come later.
And there's 15 million otherstories that you know fit
somewhere in between those twothings, or whatever.
And so to have a dream, tothink about the place that
you're at, to be content withour container or not, like
(29:13):
that's where I'm wrestling, orwondering what message we leave
people to say how do you chase adream?
How do you have a dream?
How do you think about a dreamwhen you're not 23, right out of
college, when the world is notyour oyster?
The world is much more down to,perhaps just the buffet shrimp
at Red Lobster, if that's stilla thing, but it's still, you
(29:34):
know, it's not bad.
Saying if oysters are like thepinnacle of seafood.
Speaker 3 (29:39):
Doesn't Red Lobster make their shrimp like on
premises Anyway?
Speaker 2 (29:44):
don't let that distract you.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
Does that make sense, linda?
Give me one second to get mythought back.
So so in Brian and my marriagewe've had everything and nothing
and everything in between.
Like we've had a lot we've hadnothing right.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
The best of times is the worst of times.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
Kind of, kind of.
And I think there's times whereI've been able to look at my
life and think, wow, when I hadtime, I didn't have money.
And then, when we had, money Ididn't have time and then I just
well, okay then, just, you know, keep setting your alarm and
(30:24):
waking up again the next day.
And and I think part of it isan interruption of, where can
you find some of these momentsof mindfulness, these moments of
cultivating goodness, of notfeeding your mind with negative
narratives and inflammatoryresponses, but trying to ground
back to goodness and ground backto the life-giving nature of
dreams?
(30:45):
Brian.
Speaker 3 (30:46):
I also want to remind people that most of us have the
capacity to carry many dreamsat the same time.
One of the things people oftenget confused on is that all
dreams can come true now.
I believe that there are somedreams that are given to us that
are designed to be put in thebackpack that we're carrying and
(31:07):
they're going to be fulfilledlater.
They may not be the right sizeright now.
They're going to be somethingdifferent later on, and I
believe that people often thinkthat they have to choose, and I
would invite people to think canI carry both?
Because I think that both ofthose dreams can be true.
I think that because I lived itfor myself and I've seen it in
(31:27):
many people.
One of my dreams was for ourdaughter to get through high
school and into college and Ifelt that my commitment to her
was to pick her up from schoolfrom every day, take her to a
playground, take her to a coffeeshop, which meant I had to be
done working by three o'clockMost days.
That happened in my decisionwas my dream was to raise my
(31:50):
daughter in a specific way whereI'm present, and the dream of
growing and expanding thecompany and all the different
ways that they could.
We're going to wait until ourdaughter was 18 years old.
Both dreams were true.
Both of those dreams requiredsacrifice and there was a back
burner and all these differentthings I thought about.
But for me, I carried both ofthose dreams and several others
(32:15):
and waited for the right time toplant that dream in the place
where I was so that new dreamcould grow.
Speaker 1 (32:22):
And Brian raised a daughter who, with big dreams,
big heart, big care, and, Ithink, to watch her in her 20s
now and the people that shesurrounds herself with, we
couldn't be prouder.
We could not be prouder, and Iknow that we can trace that back
to Brian's investment in her.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
That's cool.
As we're wrapping up here, I'mwondering if there is a synopsis
, a message, a final thoughtwhat do you really want readers
to take away from this, thispodcast, this book, whatever?
Just around the idea of dreams,Like is there a nugget, a
soundbite?
(33:03):
I'll edit this, maybe to use onsocial media later, but what's?
What's a an encapsulation ofall of this, and I'd kind of
like each of you to maybe saysomething, if you have that.
Speaker 3 (33:16):
What I want to say, nathan, is I would really invite
people to at first embrace thedreams or dreaming.
Now, just learn to embrace themand allow the dream to embrace
you back.
And what I mean by that is whenwe allow the dream to embrace
us back, we tend to feel thereality of the dream in a new
(33:38):
way and really believe that thatdream was meant for us, like
any meaningful embrace that weshare in our lives.
We can feel the love and theinspiration in that embrace.
That's really what I feel thepurpose of a dream is is to love
us and to inspire us to be moreof who we are.
Wow.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
That's that?
No, that's beautiful.
Speaker 3 (34:04):
Really.
Speaker 1 (34:11):
Yes, because I'm sitting here thinking with the
both of you.
I feel like when the three of ussit down and chat and we
wrestle with some of these ideasor how to put the right words
on around them, or all the jokesthat ensue that are sometimes
not appropriate for podcastlisteners.
So I'm sitting here thinking,wow, maybe this is kind of what
(34:36):
it feels like to live a dream,doing things that I love, with
people that I deeply care about,who are not not letting me
settle, who are not keeping medown, um, but going to some cool
places together that we've yetto really dream or encounter.
And, and I think it's gettingfamiliar.
(34:57):
My advice or my wish for peopleis that they would start to
become familiar with how youdream, how you dream uniquely,
what kind of things inspire you,who's around you that gets your
attention, gets your attention,what kind of things ignite some
(35:22):
of your thinking or yourfeeling and what inspires you to
act.
And maybe then, maybe then,after a little bit of time or
processing with another person,you'll have a sense of what your
dreams truly are, and then Iwould say go for it.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
Love it.
Well, Brian, Linda, thank youvery much.
I always appreciate theconversation and thinking into
this.
Next week We'll call LindaMatches the book.
I know I like it.
Speaker 3 (35:42):
I like it.
She's wearing the colors of thebook.
Speaker 2 (35:43):
It's so good.
Next week, I believe, or in thenext episode, we're going to be
talking about dreams in more ofa communal context, be that
corporate or family or not,whatever it is, just like the
dreams.
How do all of our individualdreams contribute to a big dream
?
Contribute whatever it is?
So, listeners, stay tuned forthat.
(36:04):
Thank you for listening to theLeadership Vision Podcast, our
show helping you build apositive team culture.
If you have not yet picked upyour copy of Unfolded Lessons in
Transformation from an OrigamiCrane, you can click the link in
the show notes or get yourswherever good books sell
two-time national bestsellers.
You can also visit us on theweb at
leadershipvisionconsultingcomfor a whole bunch of other
(36:26):
resources.
My name is Nathan Friberg, I'mLinda Shubring and I'm Brian
Shubring.
And on behalf of our entire teamthanks for listening.
My wish for people is that they would start to become
familiar with how you dream,how you dream uniquely, what
kind of things inspire you,who's around you that gets your
attention, what kind of thingsignite some of your thinking or
your feeling, and what inspiresyou to act.
(00:20):
Maybe then, after a little bitof time or processing with
another person, you'll have asense of what your dreams truly
are, and then I would say go forit 25 years, so that leaders
are mentally engaged andemotionally healthy.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
To learn more about us and what we do, you can click
the link in the show notes orvisit us on the web at
leadershipvisionconsultingcom.
Hello everyone, my name isNathan Friberg, and today's
episode kicks off a brand newseries exploring the core themes
of Unfolded Lessons inTransformation from an Origami
Crane, the two-time nationalbestseller, by Dr Linda and
Brian Shubring.
In each episode of this series,we'll dive into one chapter and
(01:10):
unpack the deeper meaning behindit, and we're starting here
with chapter one and the conceptof dreams, specifically, the
power of individual or personaldreams.
In this conversation, we talkabout how dreams give us focus,
fuel our identity and sparktransformation.
You'll hear stories aboutchildhood wonder, the role of
imagination and what it lookslike to pursue dreams that may
(01:31):
never fully come true, but theystill shape who we become.
We also touch on scientificresearch that shows how having a
vivid, future-oriented visionis directly tied to greater
motivation, improved mentalhealth and a stronger sense of
purpose.
Now, whether you're dreamingbig or simply trying to
reconnect with what onceinspired you, this episode will
(01:52):
offer encouragement, insight andmaybe even a challenge to dream
again.
So let's get into it, brian andLinda, I'm curious, as we start
this podcast today, why youdecided to start Unfolded with a
chapter about dreams.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
One of the reasons why I wanted to start the book
anchored in this idea of someonehaving a dream is because I
believe that all human beingsdream.
We dream of many small things.
We dream of big things, wedream of intermediate things,
but we all dream.
We dream of different places tolive.
We dream of different types ofvacations to go on, we dream
(02:30):
about jobs.
When we were kids, we dreamedof who our classmates might be.
I used to dream of turkey gravy,mashed potatoes for lunch on
Fridays.
We had these really nice dreams.
We all have them and it'ssomething that humans have in
common, no matter what youbelieve, where you live, how you
were raised or what you desireor dream to even be as a person.
(02:52):
We all share dreams and when Ithought more about it, I
realized that dreams ofteninspire us and they focus us.
Dreams put us in a place wheresometimes, things become more
clear, where we are willing toask for help and, most
importantly, I believe thatdreams point us to our greatest
possibility and unfold ourgreatest potential a dream is
(03:27):
ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
How do you know when a dream is realistic?
How do you know when a dream ismaybe too small?
I mean that there's.
You know, I had a dream that Iwas gonna be a professional
baseball player and I onlyplayed seventh grade baseball
and that didn't work out, goCubs, go Cubs.
As kids, you have all thesecrazy dreams.
Like you know, oc wanted to bea paper plane.
That is ridiculous, because ofcourse you can't become a paper
(03:52):
plane, of course you can'tchange your shape.
Metaphor.
Of course you can't, you knowwhatever.
So how do you, when you thinkabout these, these wild and
crazy dreams that some of ushave, how do you know when
that's when you should go afterit, I guess, or how do you know
when you should just be likethat's a fun thing to dream
about, to think about to youknow what I mean.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Yes, yes.
Sometimes I think that aschildren, we only dream as far
as we can see.
So maybe there's things thatcatch our attention, that we pay
attention to and like oh, Iwant to do that.
I remember getting afirefighter fighter hat for some
birthday.
I'm like that's what I want tobe.
(04:33):
I had no idea that that wouldprobably not be.
Your hair smell like smoke notbe the best fit for me in my
lungs, however.
However, it's when we'reexposed to other things that
allow us to dream beyond, in ourcase, the playground.
So it was because our origamicrane had seen beyond the
(04:59):
cottonwood trees that shenoticed the plane and she
noticed the feathered birds andthere was something different
that well, if I'm seeing that,maybe I can be that, maybe I can
do that.
And every once in a while Ithink we don't even know what we
expose children to thatactually opens them up or gives
(05:22):
them a chance to dream.
Or the bring your kid to workday, or the having guests come
to schools and talk to children.
It begins to say like oh,banking isn't just this.
You can play any role out ofwho you are.
It's not just necessarilycollecting money.
(05:42):
There's marketing and there'sevents and there's a a big
stadium downtown it's funny yousay bring your kid to work.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Because one of my twins went to work with my wife
yesterday.
It wasn't bring your kid to workday, it's like a 14 hour day
she was in all these very bigmeetings where she met very
important people with threeletters after their name and she
came home she's like I'm gonnawork, work for Nike someday.
Here's all the reasons why.
And she's like our most timidchild probably.
(06:11):
I mean you talk about unlockingit, I mean she's nine, so
unlocking a dream, but just thatidea of seeing something in a
different way, I think is superpowerful and meaningful.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
And that's why I think dreams are important for
us to unlock the imaginativepossibility of who we really are
.
Because in our story, the dreamwas sparked by something that
was seen a little bit beyond thenormal scope of vision.
And the first place that OC wentfor help was to the people that
(06:43):
were around her and the peoplethat were around her in the
specific place where she foundherself.
And I really believe, especiallyas we grow older well, even as
we're younger we tend to look tothe people in places, the
people around us and the placesthat we're in to help us in the
fulfilling of our dream.
And that's why I feel that somepeople have to release their
(07:05):
dreams, maybe quickly andpainfully, because the resources
that they have within theirenvironment will not fuel the
dreaming that they are connectedto into that, because there are
(07:26):
certain people that, because oftheir socioeconomic environment
, they have a great limitationon fulfilling their dreams
unless they make a greatsacrifice to leave to pursue
their dreams, and there areothers that simply give up.
The converse is also true,where you have children and
young adults who are growing upin environments that are rich
with resources and opportunities, that often in those resources
(07:49):
and opportunities and peopleoften serve as an accelerant to
their dreaming.
We're not faulting one for theother.
We're just highlighting therealities that actually exist
around, how it is that wereceive our dreams, how we
pursue our dreams and when wegive up one dream for another.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
There's people that have asked me Linda, did you
dream of having your ownbusiness?
I was like I didn't even knowthat existed really.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
I know I grew up around educators.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
I grew up around hometown people.
I grew up on educators.
I grew up around hometownpeople.
I grew up on a country road.
There was not this sense of I'mgoing to go out and be
entrepreneurial.
I didn't even know necessarilywhat that meant.
And even right now I thinkthere's a generation coming
after us that they can't evendream about what they're going
(08:43):
to do, because it has not yetunfolded.
Yet History has not unfolded ina way that will pave the course
for a better future or thekinds of work that we will or
won't be doing.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
And in this conversation around dreams, I
think it is essential and veryimportant for people to not
disregard or discredit thedreams that they have.
I feel that the invitation isto really embrace the dream
wholeheartedly as an individualand to look at your context who
(09:16):
are the people that are aroundme that can help me on my
journey toward the dream, andwhat does this place that I'm in
have to offer to help?
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Yeah, Well, and I would say, oftentimes, I think
that the dreamers among us don'teven realize that they're
dreamers.
They're just seeing some shinythings going for it, leaning
into new places, trying newthings, carving paths.
It's just what they do.
Sometimes, when you compareyourself to those people, you're
(09:48):
like well, I don't have anydreams or I don't know how to
disrupt a whole organizationlike that, or maybe I'm just
trying to, you know, take careof my little corner of the
universe here, and I thinkthat's why starting the
conversation about dreams andgetting people to talk about
them comes at dreams from adifferent angle than what we
(10:10):
usually do, and that is someonecome and help me interpret the
dreams.
That's not what we need at thispoint an imagination of people
talking out loud about theirdreams, or why we're having
these dreams, or why our brainsare trying to process all this
information and experiences andemotions that we're having in
(10:34):
our sleeping hours and in ourwaking hours.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
I think it's so fun to listen to people talk about
their dreams because you can seethe excitement build right away
.
There's just something abouthow it is that they're showing
up that presents a sense of joyor play to, how it is that
they're talking about theirdream, and I really try to
encourage people to beginpracticing the journey of what
(11:00):
it means to even go in or livein the direction of the dream.
That, to me, is something Ithink is really important
because I know for myself likewhen I have a dream that's
really compelling, I startthinking about like the
performance side of that dreamreally quickly, like what's it
like in its perfected state, andoftentimes a dream just
(11:22):
inspires us to move to somewherenew.
There may never come theperformance side of it, but the
practice of how it is that webegin to journey towards our
dreams, yep, sometimes thedreaming or the anticipation of
something is more exciting andfulfilling and full of wonder
(11:52):
than the actual achieving of thedream Totally.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
And I think we miss the gift of anticipation because
we want things immediate.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
And.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
I think, yeah, I think, if we're stirring a
conversation around, what doesit mean to dream, and not just
that one dream that we're goingto be held to, and I thought you
were dreaming that and Ithought we were all rowing in
that direction, but rather, whatare you seeing now?
Where are you leaning?
What kind of behaviors have youenacted or are practicing in
(12:23):
order to get you to a different?
Speaker 2 (12:25):
place.
So what I'm thinking about iswhy do people give up on their
dreams?
Is that where?
A next logical step?
Because when I think about.
You know my own life.
I don't know that I've, likeintentionally given up on a
dream.
I've put it off, or I'vethought I don't have the right
(12:47):
context, or this isn't the righttime, or gosh, this is going to
be really hard, this is goingto take time away for this other
thing.
In your experience, why dopeople give up on dreams or
relegate them to the back burnerthat they just sort of are
slowly simmering for decades?
Speaker 3 (13:04):
I think there are some dreams that are meant to be
let go Totally.
They're not the dreams that weever are going to fulfill,
because I believe that some ofthe dreams, even that I
encourage people to dream, arethe ones that just serve as a
distraction right now, and thatthey are dreams that are not
(13:25):
meant to come true.
They are a dream that justhelps you get through.
We were working with a clientand not to belabor the context,
but the context just has a lotof stress, like a lot of places,
and one of the things that wechallenged the team to do was to
dream beyond the challenge.
That's it.
Just dream beyond a possibility,beyond the challenge.
(13:47):
Dream about you actingdifferently on the other side of
the challenge, just to get themto lift up their spirits, their
attitudes.
Just something.
And just that one moment, Ithink, gave a levity to the
crowd they were speaking to,because it was a dream that may
never come true, but just ithelped you get through that
(14:08):
moment.
It just breaks your mind out ofthat intense focus on
difficulty or challenge orseeming impossibility.
A dream can just help you getthrough something.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Brian, what that makes me think about.
I forget exactly what you said,but some dreams are just there
to get us through, some dreamsare meant to give up on.
I did a little research inpreparation and I'm just going
to read this because I don'thave it memorized Scientific
research supports the power ofpersonal dreams and long-term
vision in shaping identity andlife direction.
Studies show and I'll includelink in the show notes so you
(14:38):
don't think I'm making this upStudies show that when
individuals form a vividpersonal dream, like OC did in
Unfolded, they experiencegreater motivation, goal-setting
behavior and resilience.
These future-oriented dreamshelp align our values with our
identity and foster a deepersense of purpose and legacy.
And the part that reallyconnects here with what we're
(15:00):
just talking about is having ameaningful dream or life aim has
been likened to increasedwell-being, better stress
management and even a longerlife.
So the research says thathaving this big dream because I
always, you know, I want a bigdream so that I can make more
money, so that I can be my ownboss, so that I can blah, blah,
blah which is all probably truebut like, just, if you have a
(15:23):
dream, something bigger,something you're aiming for, it
just helps you, motivates you,has this just day, your day to
day, is better.
Talk a little bit about that,like how, what message do you
want out of that to give leaders?
How does that connect with whatwe're talking about?
How does that connect to thebook?
Speaker 1 (15:40):
I have found in my career that there are times when
there's just no space to dream.
The threat of the immediate,the urgent, the life or death
feel, even if you're not workingin the ER, how work feels
sometimes.
I think that kills dreams and Ithink about the people that are
(16:04):
like get away and do what is it?
The life map?
No, no, no.
The vision board, vision boards?
Okay, right, it allows you, itallows you.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
No, that's real, that's real.
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
But it takes a purposeful practice.
It's almost like you have toschedule it or think about it
and begin to dream.
Some of the silly things holdboth tensions, meaning how do we
practice the abundance or thewonder of what life might look
(16:48):
like if we were at this point orat that point, or if I was
fueling my body in a way thatallowed me to achieve these
goals, or we were able to travelto this location?
And I think, as you get older,it's almost like those dreams
get squashed.
Yeah, I think about ourdaughter, who came to us with a
(17:09):
PowerPoint presentation aboutwhy we should go to Bora Bora,
and several other tropicallocations.
Recently she did this Well, no,I feel like she does it almost
every year.
But I was like your dreams areexpensive to me, but yet, but
yet there's something thathappens generatively to me when
(17:32):
I really listen to the heart ofher dreams.
In her just saying the dreamsout loud, there is a
demonstration of broaderthinking, of a global
perspective, that I don't wantto just say like no, you know,
we can't afford that.
I want to say where does someof those dreams come from?
(17:54):
And with the resources that wedo have, what could we do?
Speaker 3 (17:59):
Because I think what dreams really do is they call
into question our surroundingsoh, say more, tell me everything
keep going, keep going whatlinda said earlier is completely
true.
If we are in an environmentwhich is not permitting us to
(18:22):
dream or to think about newpossibilities even just
creativity because aren't dreamsjust simply an expression of
our creativity the inability forthat dreaming or creativity to
happen in a context should callinto question if we're in the
right context, because sometimesa dream may often invite us to
ask.
Because sometimes a dream mayoften invite us to ask am I
(18:46):
surrounded by people that arenot only inspiring me to dream
but will help me dream?
And the converse is also true.
How am I helping others intheir dream and in their
imagination?
Because, like what Linda'ssaying about this, vacation is,
oftentimes Camila will have thisamazing idea about a vacation
and what is really behind thatis just her creativity and
(19:09):
innovation to make reallymeaningful experiences.
Then, when you invite thatexpression of who she is into a
vacation, she can plan days anditineraries and places to go
that make the experiencemagnificent, because she's
dreaming into the moment.
With the resources that areavailable.
It's like you reshape theenvironment just a little bit.
(19:31):
You can still fulfill yourdreams.
It may not look exactly likeyou started, but it still is a
fulfillment of a dream.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
So when I listen then to Brian and our daughter kind
of go back and forth arounddreams, it makes me feel like I
have no dreams.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
I don't.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
I don't think that big or that like I'm almost
dreaming more in a moment, orI'm waiting for a dream to bump
into me, or I want to help makeother people make their dreams
come true, and then that startsto unlock some, some dreaming in
me.
I remember sitting this isprobably a decade now ago.
We were sitting with a clientthat we don't, we didn't know
(20:09):
really well, and they weresaying well, how does it work?
You know, you two marriedpeople to each other.
Like how does that all work?
And we were said some nicethings and Brian said nice
things.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
And brian said and she kills my dreams.
I was like what?
No?
I said, you're a dream killer,yeah, and so?
Speaker 1 (20:26):
everything got tense yeah I'm like this is gonna be a
tense ride home.
It's gonna be a tenseconversation later, um, but what
he said he's like yeah, shewon't let me get a jet, and she
won't let me get a yacht, andshe won't like seriously won't
let you.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Was that that was on the table?
Speaker 3 (20:42):
she just got.
She blocked it completely,Totally.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Not even like.
Well, what kind of jet Nexttime?
Brian wants to get a Gulfstream.
You just say yes.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
Heck.
No is what I'd say.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
I want realistic.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
Or I want to yeah, exactly, but it's almost a
different framework.
So for me it's like I was yourdream come true.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Yeah, right.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
Yeah.
So dreams can have a relationalbent, they can have a material
bent, they can have a way thatyou express yourself in the
world.
It taps into purpose, it tapsinto meaning.
Yeah, I think it's a reach forthe sacred, I think it's a reach
for a way to not just be stuckon this earth doing the same
(21:28):
thing, day after day.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
Spoiler alert if you haven't read the book.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
So, speaking about, what Linda just said about the
transcendent.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
I really believe that dreams play a key role in a
human being's need to experiencethe transcendent on a daily
basis.
Absolutely, because the dream isa way of elevating us outside
of our current circumstance tobegin to get in touch with.
Why am I here again?
Oc's journey isn't a journey tobecoming a paper plane.
(21:58):
It's a journey about herunderstanding, her identity,
which transcends not only thefriends in the playground, but
the playground, the cottonwoodtrees.
It transcends the sky.
It's above all that because thediscovery of our identity is in
itself a transcendentexperience, because we're
tapping into something thatcannot be contained in the
(22:21):
current shape we're in.
My identity cannot be containedin the body that I'm in.
My identity is expressedthrough relationships, through
place, through activities,through community, through the
work that I do, and that is atranscendent reach.
Why are rituals so importantfor human beings?
(22:42):
It's because a ritual transcendus beyond the current into
something more meaningful.
And in this process of the book, a dream begins the experience
and the journey towardssomething more meaningful, and
that's the true discovery of ourauthentic self true discovery
of our authentic self.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
I think where I'm stuck or where I, what I just
keep thinking about is you know,we were joking about the jet.
That's a very external joking.
We weren't about the jet.
I'm sorry, Brian.
The idea of purchasing a jetcame up and and a lot of times.
I think that when we thinkabout dreams or talk about
dreams, they manifest or there'sa picture in our mind of a
(23:27):
financial success of some kind.
For a lot of people.
I think that's what, or I'lljust for myself, I think that's
what's connected to there's alevel of success, there's a
level of prestige, there's alevel of accomplishment, there's
a dream house, a dream this, adream that.
But what I think we're talkingabout is how does our dream
become a contentment withourselves, our identity?
Speaker 1 (23:50):
Because I don't think it's contentment.
I think it's an acceptance thatwhen we realize that we are
built for more, made for more,and maybe we're in the wrong
container, maybe we are in thewrong place or among the wrong
people that aren't helping usdream or lean into greater
(24:10):
versions of who we are and we'renot having those kind of
conversations, I think that'sthe fearful part for me.
It's not where dreams come true.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
Right.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
And you can go to the happiest place on earth and you
can enjoy it and you think thatyou've arrived.
But I guarantee you mostchildren get more excited about
anticipating going and thewonder of meeting some of the
characters in the happiest placeon earth.
And then I think we carry thosememories and then we build on
on those memories and we dreambeyond them and we encourage our
imagination.
And so for me it's I want to bearound other dreamers, and even
(24:52):
in our story the othercharacters have dreams too.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
I mean, that's the.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
I wrote it that way, Like I have a dream too.
I don't look like you and Idon't want the same things.
I don't necessarily want to fly, but I have dreams too, and
it's being able to accept andnot label.
These are good dreams and baddreams, but it's what are
life-giving dreams and whichones are maybe soul-sucking?
Speaker 3 (25:16):
Key to the story is when OC expresses her dreams.
Her dream engages theparticipation of all the people
in her playground and the dreamtransforms the use of the
playground.
And that's how I think dreamscan be completely catalytic,
(25:36):
because a dream inspires alldifferent types of people.
A dream asks for differentthings from the environment that
we're in, and we tend to be alittle bit more creative with
what it is that we're doing andopen to change as we're pursuing
our dream.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
Yeah, it's yeah, I mean where do you get stuck?
Speaker 1 (26:02):
where do you get stuck?
Speaker 2 (26:03):
well, I brian texted.
That was just linda's commentcontent with our container and
he wrote frightening, and thenhe wrote ug, and I think that's
where I do get content with that, because container can be your
dream your dream can be itscontainer and the place where it
can be container and thenarrative that we had our dream
(26:25):
stolen from us.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
So just even hearing people that that still go back
to certain places with hearts ofregret, or I wish this didn't
happen or, and then this persontook my dream.
So I don't think it's just thecontentment, it's the acceptance
and the making something goodas a result, or being able to
(26:49):
dream again or just make peacethat that dream didn't come true
.
And that doesn't define who youare.
Speaker 3 (26:59):
And thank the dream for being there, who you are,
and thank the dream for beingthere, because I think about the
life I've lived with Linda andin our first year of marriage
there were dreams that wereimmediately extinguished when
she was diagnosed with cancer.
You don't judge the dream.
You'd thank the dream for beingbirthed in the space between us
(27:20):
.
But then there's something elsethere, because the interruption
of a dream isn't a judgment thatit was a bad dream.
It's making space for somethingnew.
Now, of course, it was painfuland that, like dreaming a new,
involved a great dark period.
For me, dreaming a new was, youknow, a year and a half of
trying to get Linda healthyagain.
But space, sometimes dreamsdon't come true, because you're
(27:45):
making space for another dreamthat's going to pull you through
.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
And just because you're helping someone else
doesn't mean that you have toput your dreams on hold.
Speaker 3 (27:52):
Oof.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
Yes, well, because I think there's times when parents
will say like I'm putting allof my dreams on hold just to
help my children.
And once again we want tointerrupt some of the thinking
of that and help people zoom outa bit and get a sense of is
that really the narrative youwant to live?
Speaker 2 (28:11):
Well, and maybe you can interrupt some of my
thinking, or because we're.
I don't know if this is stuckis the right word, but it's.
It seems like you'reencouraging people to chase
their dreams, to follow theirdreams, to have their dreams.
You know, whatever it is and Ican think of a lot of people who
are stuck.
You know there's many narratives, but it's one is like I'm the
sole provider for my family.
(28:31):
I don't like my job, or it'snot my dream.
I would like to do somethingelse, but I cannot find the
space to go back to school.
To, you know, take a go out ona limb to open this business.
I cannot find the space to goback to school, to go out on a
limb to open this business.
I cannot do that.
My family is depending on me.
Vice versa, you've got theparent who's like I have to be
(28:51):
here for my kids right now, fora variety of reasons, I can't go
back to school.
I can't take a risk, I can't.
Yada, yada, yada.
That'll come later.
And there's 15 million otherstories that you know fit
somewhere in between those twothings, or whatever.
And so to have a dream, tothink about the place that
you're at, to be content withour container or not, like
(29:13):
that's where I'm wrestling, orwondering what message we leave
people to say how do you chase adream?
How do you have a dream?
How do you think about a dreamwhen you're not 23, right out of
college, when the world is notyour oyster?
The world is much more down to,perhaps just the buffet shrimp
at Red Lobster, if that's stilla thing, but it's still, you
(29:34):
know, it's not bad.
Saying if oysters are like thepinnacle of seafood.
Speaker 3 (29:39):
Doesn't Red Lobster make their shrimp like on
premises Anyway?
Speaker 2 (29:44):
don't let that distract you.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
Does that make sense, linda?
Give me one second to get mythought back.
So so in Brian and my marriagewe've had everything and nothing
and everything in between.
Like we've had a lot we've hadnothing right.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
The best of times is the worst of times.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
Kind of, kind of.
And I think there's times whereI've been able to look at my
life and think, wow, when I hadtime, I didn't have money.
And then, when we had, money Ididn't have time and then I just
well, okay then, just, you know, keep setting your alarm and
(30:24):
waking up again the next day.
And and I think part of it isan interruption of, where can
you find some of these momentsof mindfulness, these moments of
cultivating goodness, of notfeeding your mind with negative
narratives and inflammatoryresponses, but trying to ground
back to goodness and ground backto the life-giving nature of
dreams?
(30:45):
Brian.
Speaker 3 (30:46):
I also want to remind people that most of us have the
capacity to carry many dreamsat the same time.
One of the things people oftenget confused on is that all
dreams can come true now.
I believe that there are somedreams that are given to us that
are designed to be put in thebackpack that we're carrying and
(31:07):
they're going to be fulfilledlater.
They may not be the right sizeright now.
They're going to be somethingdifferent later on, and I
believe that people often thinkthat they have to choose, and I
would invite people to think canI carry both?
Because I think that both ofthose dreams can be true.
I think that because I lived itfor myself and I've seen it in
(31:27):
many people.
One of my dreams was for ourdaughter to get through high
school and into college and Ifelt that my commitment to her
was to pick her up from schoolfrom every day, take her to a
playground, take her to a coffeeshop, which meant I had to be
done working by three o'clockMost days.
That happened in my decisionwas my dream was to raise my
(31:50):
daughter in a specific way whereI'm present, and the dream of
growing and expanding thecompany and all the different
ways that they could.
We're going to wait until ourdaughter was 18 years old.
Both dreams were true.
Both of those dreams requiredsacrifice and there was a back
burner and all these differentthings I thought about.
But for me, I carried both ofthose dreams and several others
(32:15):
and waited for the right time toplant that dream in the place
where I was so that new dreamcould grow.
Speaker 1 (32:22):
And Brian raised a daughter who, with big dreams,
big heart, big care, and, Ithink, to watch her in her 20s
now and the people that shesurrounds herself with, we
couldn't be prouder.
We could not be prouder, and Iknow that we can trace that back
to Brian's investment in her.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
That's cool.
As we're wrapping up here, I'mwondering if there is a synopsis
, a message, a final thoughtwhat do you really want readers
to take away from this, thispodcast, this book, whatever?
Just around the idea of dreams,Like is there a nugget, a
soundbite?
(33:03):
I'll edit this, maybe to use onsocial media later, but what's?
What's a an encapsulation ofall of this, and I'd kind of
like each of you to maybe saysomething, if you have that.
Speaker 3 (33:16):
What I want to say, nathan, is I would really invite
people to at first embrace thedreams or dreaming.
Now, just learn to embrace themand allow the dream to embrace
you back.
And what I mean by that is whenwe allow the dream to embrace
us back, we tend to feel thereality of the dream in a new
(33:38):
way and really believe that thatdream was meant for us, like
any meaningful embrace that weshare in our lives.
We can feel the love and theinspiration in that embrace.
That's really what I feel thepurpose of a dream is is to love
us and to inspire us to be moreof who we are.
Wow.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
That's that?
No, that's beautiful.
Speaker 3 (34:04):
Really.
Speaker 1 (34:11):
Yes, because I'm sitting here thinking with the
both of you.
I feel like when the three of ussit down and chat and we
wrestle with some of these ideasor how to put the right words
on around them, or all the jokesthat ensue that are sometimes
not appropriate for podcastlisteners.
So I'm sitting here thinking,wow, maybe this is kind of what
(34:36):
it feels like to live a dream,doing things that I love, with
people that I deeply care about,who are not not letting me
settle, who are not keeping medown, um, but going to some cool
places together that we've yetto really dream or encounter.
And, and I think it's gettingfamiliar.
(34:57):
My advice or my wish for peopleis that they would start to
become familiar with how youdream, how you dream uniquely,
what kind of things inspire you,who's around you that gets your
attention, gets your attention,what kind of things ignite some
(35:22):
of your thinking or yourfeeling and what inspires you to
act.
And maybe then, maybe then,after a little bit of time or
processing with another person,you'll have a sense of what your
dreams truly are, and then Iwould say go for it.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
Love it.
Well, Brian, Linda, thank youvery much.
I always appreciate theconversation and thinking into
this.
Next week We'll call LindaMatches the book.
I know I like it.
Speaker 3 (35:42):
I like it.
She's wearing the colors of thebook.
Speaker 2 (35:43):
It's so good.
Next week, I believe, or in thenext episode, we're going to be
talking about dreams in more ofa communal context, be that
corporate or family or not,whatever it is, just like the
dreams.
How do all of our individualdreams contribute to a big dream
?
Contribute whatever it is?
So, listeners, stay tuned forthat.
(36:04):
Thank you for listening to theLeadership Vision Podcast, our
show helping you build apositive team culture.
If you have not yet picked upyour copy of Unfolded Lessons in
Transformation from an OrigamiCrane, you can click the link in
the show notes or get yourswherever good books sell
two-time national bestsellers.
You can also visit us on theweb at
leadershipvisionconsultingcomfor a whole bunch of other
(36:26):
resources.
My name is Nathan Friberg, I'mLinda Shubring and I'm Brian
Shubring.
And on behalf of our entire teamthanks for listening.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.