It happens to the best of us. As children we develop dreams. Dreams of what we want to do, who we want to be…dreams that come from deep within us, dreams that are made of our passions and our convictions. These dreams are there for a purpose, they are meant to guide us. But then we grow up.

Maybe our dream job doesn’t pay enough to pay the rent, so we give up the dream. Maybe our dream of who we want to be requires more time and energy than we can give. Things get in the way – work, bills, responsibilities, life. So we learn to settle. At first we are only putting off a year that dream to go back to school, to write that book, to travel the world. One year suddenly turns into many years until it is less painful to forget and let go of the dream then it is to go after it. By the time we realize it, it’s too late. Or so we think.

“It’s never too late to be what you might have been,” says author BJ Gallagher. “I was a single mom. It is easy for motherhood to take you off your career track or away from your dream.” Gallagher says that many mothers feel that they love their children and want to have a family and in order to do so, they give up their dreams. “The message in my book, It’s Never Too Late To Be What You Might Have Been, resonates with women of all ages. There is a voice in us that says “Oh, it’s too late for you … you’ll never _____. The voice just gets a little louder as you get older.”

Jacqui Neurauter, a personal and professional life coach, teaches “What’s Next in Your Life,” a class at Harper College in Palatine, IL, that helps people realize their dreams. “We work in steps,” says Neurauter. “The first is to do a life review.” Neurauter says this step is like an archeological dig. You have to go real deep into the past to recover you lost dreams. You have to ask yourself, what dreams did I have in the past? What did I excel in? What do I value and care about in life? The answers to these questions come together like a formula. They create a blueprint of who you are and should become the compass that helps you make decisions and guides you in the next phase of your life.

In his book, The Dream Manager, author/speaker Matthew Kelly suggests that you find somewhere quiet away from distractions and make a list of your dreams. Don’t give up until you have listed 100 desires and see if you can do it in one sitting. No dream is too large or too small to list. Over the course of the next week or so review the list and add or delete anything you want. Try to hit areas such as Physical, Emotional, Intellectual, Spiritual, Psychological, Material, Professional, Financial, Creative, Adventure, Legacy, and Character. You will see many times that the dreams overlap.

The next step is to identify the dreams that are most important to you and the steps you will need to take to get there. Make smaller goals that can act as a foundation. Decide what kind of support you will need to accomplish these goals. What obstacles stand in your way? Most obstacles are self-imposed. Ask yourself questions. Do you need to go back to school, do you need to network?

Making one’s dreams come true requires endurance. The bigger the dream, the more endurance you will need. Stay away from the naysayers and surround yourself with people who inspire and encourage. Everyone experiences times of self-doubt. You need to be around people who believe in you even when you don’t.

Kelly suggests that you get a “dream manager” to help keep you on track and accountable. You can hire a professional or you can pull together with other people in search of their dreams. Meet once a week to discuss dreams, goals, and action steps. Encourage each other and hold each other accountable.

And if your dream is one of those one in a million deals, like you want to be a rock star or astronaut, don’t let that stop you. Sometimes you find you can live your dream even if it doesn’t exactly resemble what you originally envisioned. The key to succeeding is identifying what it is about your dream that you are really after and go after that rather than the fantasy. No matter how big the dream is, sometimes you only need to realize a little bit of it to find happiness.

Gallagher says that when she was younger, her dream was to travel and write for National Geographic. That didn’t happen. She never wrote for National Geographic. While some people might say Gallagher missed her mark, she is not one of them. “I travel a lot, and I write articles about animals. When I looked at my life I discovered that I was living my dream, that I had what I wanted all along - I was just the last person to realize it.”

For more information on “What’s Next in Your Life” or to contact Jacqui Neurauter, visit .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or call 847-359-6391.

For more information on It’s Never Too Late To be What You Might Have Been, or for more books by BJ Gallagher, visit www.womenneed2know.com.

For more information on The Dream Manager program, visit www.floydconsulting.com or visit www.thedreammanager.com.