John Stanko

I am in Detroit, having flown all night from Seattle.  My final stop today is Washington DC where our family is gathering to celebrate my mother-in-law's 80th birthday.  Happy birthday, mother!  As I have written before, I can sleep on a plane.  I was asleep shortly after we boarded last night and I woke up on our final approach to Detroit. 

I have had many plane rides, but I remembered one in particular as I just browsed an airport bookstore that was open early (it's 5 am here).  I saw a new book by Tom Morris entitled If Harry Potter Ran General Motors.  I had the privilege of meeting Tom once on a plane ride about 10 years ago.  I had been upgraded to first class and started talking to the man next to me.  I asked him what he did and he told me he gave speeches based on a book he had written. 

He gave me his card and it gave me his name, Tom Morris, and the name of his book:  If Aristotle Ran General Motors.  I thought it was a joke, but it wasn't.  He had written a business book about his passion, philosophy.  As I listened to him talk, I thought to myself, "That's what I want to do.  I want to write, travel and speak."  At the time I was on a church staff, but today, I do what Tom Morris was doing when I met him, namely, doing what I love.

Yesterday, I wrote asking you what your elegant dream was.  Ten years ago, my elegant dream was to be like Tom Morris.  Just today, I spent some more time in my journal outlining my latest elegant dream and what it would take to accomplish it.  It is elegant, believe me, which means in part that it will cost a lot of money.  But it's a dream and if I knew how I would accomplish it, it wouldn't be a dream.  When I met Morris, I had no idea how I would do what he was doing.  Today I am doing it.  So in another ten years, I should have my latest elegant dream down pat.

Don't shortcircuit the dream process in your life.  What do you want to do?  Then start by seeing yourself doing it.  Then start looking for the answers that are already all around you.  The solutions don't come until you start the dreaming process.  Don't wake up from your elegant dream but rather allow it to take firm hold in your heart and mind.  After that, it is just a matter of time before your elegant dream becomes an elegant reality. 

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