Elevate

At home, on my refrigerator, I have a magnet with a quote that reads, “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” I bought this magnet decades ago at an art fair. I thought, “How cute, this is so true,” but recently, while sitting at my kitchen table and glancing at that magnet, it hit me as to how powerful that statement is.

To have a future, you must dream. When those dreams come true, you must dream more, dream bigger and elevate your vision. It’s easy to believe that our dreams are not beautiful or have the ability to bring beauty into the world. This is so far from the truth. Your dreams are beautiful, and you must believe this with every fiber of your being.

When I created Herd Strategies ten years ago, I had a dream. I wanted to create a communication resource for our Black and brown communities. There were many people who told me not to do this. They said I would pigeon-hole myself and be known as the “Black PR firm,” but I knew it was something our community needed; I knew it was something I needed to do. I also knew that to make this dream a reality, I would have to elevate myself to ensure that my company had a seat at the table (or we could scout out a chair and create our own place) and that our service and commitment would rival our colleagues.

I’m proud to say that when I focused my thinking and didn’t let those who disagreed with my dream dissuade me, I could see our position in the community elevate. I also felt myself rise to the occasion, and now Herd Strategies is often tapped to work on projects, and with people we only dreamed about – talk about believing in the power.

I encourage us all to take the rest of this year to aim high. Elevate your heart, mind, and soul. Believe in the power of your dreams… they are so powerful. You’ve got this.