When Your Heart Has a Hundred Dreams and Only Two Hands

Have you ever felt like your heart is overflowing with dreams—big dreams, bold dreams, quietly beautiful dreams—but you’re not sure where to begin prioritizing dreams in the middle of real family life? If so, you’re not alone. In our latest podcast episode, “So Many Dreams, So Little Time — A Parent’s Guide to Choosing Which Goals Matter Most Right Now”, Greg and I talk about what it actually looks like to hold many dreams while raising a family, and how to choose which ones to pursue right now without losing your peace or your purpose. It’s the same philosophy we share in How We Raised 7 Well-Adjusted Kids — Without Yelling, Tantrums, Punishments, or Power Struggles… because a dream-filled life isn’t something you chase after you raise your kids—it’s something you build in real time, together.

How to Move Toward Your Dreams When You Don’t Know Where to Start

There was a woman who wrote to us not long ago saying she had a “crap ton” of dreams—her words, not mine—and she wanted to know how to choose which one to start with. 

I loved that phrase because it felt so honest. 

Most of us are walking around with ideas and longings and possibilities swirling in our heads. Not just one dream—but many.

A better marriage.
More travel.
A location-independent life.
Rental properties.
A dream house.
A stronger relationship with your kids.
A million-dollar goal.
A meaningful contribution.

And then we look at our actual life—meals to cook, teenagers to shuttle, toddlers to potty train, laundry that multiplies overnight—and wonder, How on earth am I supposed to do any of this?

What I shared on the episode, and what I want to share here, is that it’s absolutely possible. But not because you hustle harder or squeeze more hours into the day. 

It’s possible because you learn how to align your dreams with your values—and you learn how to begin.

Even if the beginning feels messy.
Even if you have no idea where the path leads.
Even if your first step is taken in the dark.

The Power of Writing Down What You Want

One of the things Greg and I did early in our marriage—long before we had seven kids, long before we traveled the world, long before we built location-independent work—was to write everything down.

Everything we wanted.
Everything that tugged at us.
Everything that whispered, “Maybe… someday.”

We wrote lists of 100 dreams.
Bucket lists.
Life lists.
“Before we turn 50” lists.

Not because we expected to cross off every single thing.
But because writing creates clarity.

Sometimes I look back at those old lists and smile. Some dreams were seeds that grew quickly. Others took decades. Some we realized didn’t really matter to us after all. But getting them out of our heads and onto paper made them real enough to work with.

There is something powerful—almost sacred—about saying, “This is what I want,” even if you don’t know how you’ll get there.

The Reality of Conflicting Dreams

One thing we’ve learned—and we talked about this honestly on the episode—is that not all dreams can live side by side.

Some dreams compete with each other.

Like wanting your child to become a world-class athlete…
and wanting a life filled with global family travel.

We’ve had parents tell us they want their kids to do team sports and also want to spend months abroad together. And we’ve gently said what we’ve lived: those two dreams don’t usually fit in the same season.

The team doesn’t stop practice because your family wants to adventure.

And when our kids were young, we chose the travel life. Which meant saying no to club teams, endless weekend tournaments, and the lifestyle that goes with it. Not because sports are bad—but because our bigger dream required a different path.

This is part of prioritizing dreams: being honest about which dreams actually fit together… and which ones need to wait or fall away.

The Six Areas We Never Sacrifice

There were many dreams Greg and I were willing to sacrifice or delay. But there were six we weren’t:

• mental
• emotional
• spiritual
• social
• physical
• financial

These became the “wheel” of our life. And we knew from experience that if even one spoke breaks, the wheel collapses.

So even when we were chasing big, bold dreams—travel, business, fitness goals, writing books, building programs—we refused to sacrifice these six. We always tried to upgrade them.

This meant our business grew slower.
Our travels looked different from what most people imagine.
Our dreams took time.

But our marriage stayed strong.
Our kids stayed connected.
And our health—physical, emotional, spiritual—became the foundation that made everything else possible.

You don’t have to sacrifice what matters most to make your dreams real.
But you do have to be clear about what you refuse to sacrifice.

Interests as Breadcrumbs

One of my favorite ideas we shared in the podcast is that your interests—your genuine, persistent interests—are guideposts toward your potential.

Years ago in Guatemala, we were broke with five little kids, living in a rental house with no plan for what was next. And suddenly, out of nowhere, Greg became obsessed with homesteading and permaculture. He watched videos, read books, sketched out ideas.

I rolled my eyes more than once.

We didn’t have money.
We didn’t have land.
We barely had Wi-Fi.
And suddenly we had sheep… before we had a fence.

At the time it felt chaotic, unnecessary, even inconvenient.

But that strange period of interest led to:

• buying our first property in Guatemala
• learning skills we still use today
• creating a space that eventually became an investment
• discovering a dream we didn’t even know we had

Interests are rarely random.
They’re breadcrumbs.

Even when they don’t make sense yet.

Cluttered Runway, Cluttered Life

One of the most honest things we shared in this episode is that most people can’t take off—not because their dreams are impossible, but because their runway is covered in clutter.

You can’t pursue a dream when:

• your habits are chaotic
• your sleep is wrecked
• your health is declining
• your temper is flaring
• your home is messy and stressful
• your mind is noisy
• your relationships are strained

Before you pursue the dream, you often have to clear the life that’s in the way of it.

That’s why we tell parents:
Start by cleaning up your habits.
Get your body into a healthier rhythm.
Organize your morning routine.
Cut back on the noise.
Strengthen your spirit.
Simplify your life.

Dreams can’t grow in chaos.
But they flourish in clarity.

You Don’t Have To See Everything. Just the First Step.

Greg shared this on the episode, and I’ve lived it enough times to feel it deeply: you don’t have to see the whole path to begin.

In fact, you won’t.

Most people want a map.
What they get is a nudge.

A whisper.
A tug.
A tiny piece of the next step.

And stepping into the unknown feels terrifying—until you’ve taken one or two brave steps. Then suddenly the path opens. The light shifts. You see what you couldn’t see before.

This has happened to us over and over:

• deciding to travel with our kids without knowing how it would work
• starting a business without knowing the whole plan
• moving abroad with no idea what would unfold
• buying properties without knowing why yet
• growing into dreams that once felt impossible

If I could give you one encouragement, it would be this:

Choose one dream—the one that calls to you, the one that aligns with who you want to become—and take the next tiny step toward it.

You don’t need the whole staircase.
You just need the courage to step into the dark…
because the light doesn’t move until you do.