We just completed the official book launch of Today’s Inspired Latina, Volume 4, a dream turned reality from a little Latina who never stops dreaming! As always it was a magical, surreal night, bringing the 27 authors together under one roof and watching them have their moment in the sun as they were introduced and took the stage to address their peers, fellow authors, family and friends. It’s always an amazing thing to see…but this year, the anticipation, joy and afterglow lasted so much longer.
This year, we had authors and friends in from all over the country (including New York, Texas and D.C.) and also from all over the world, including guests from Mexico and Belgium. For the authors who traveled far and wide, I had the delight of hosting them at my home for several days before and after the event. We enjoyed wonderful meals followed by impromptu dance parties, deep conversations and lively times together. We shared experiences, we laughed, and it was a wonderful time.
I had anticipated the joy, but I wanted to give those authors even more. I wanted to create a memory and make some magic for them. I also wanted to bring them into my world, and share the culmination of one of my dreams—to become a pilot.
Karen O’Donnell was one of the authors in Today’s Inspired Latina who was in town for the book launch and she is also a co-founder of Crazy Ventures, a company that takes entrepreneurs who are crazy good at business on amazing expeditions to get inspired, pursue their dreams and dare to venture towards a bigger, bolder, unexpected life. I thought maybe a flight in a sports plane, seeing the world from a different perspective and doing something (for some of the authors) for the first time might just qualify as a “crazy venture.” Karen was thrilled with the idea! We began planning the big surprise for the authors.
If you’ve ever seen a sport plane, you were probably impressed. Their gleaming white, doorless frames have a quiet beauty yet the power behind them takes you somewhere unimaginable! The day after the book launch, the aircraft were all there for us, waiting at the airport where I had learned to fly. I had rented out the entire fleet of airplanes secured pilots to fly the other three planes too.
As we drove up, I could feel the excitement building within me as the adventure of it all began to dawn on the authors. They were going on a crazy venture in a sport plane!
The aircraft beckoned us invitingly as we piled into them for a short flight to the airport in nearby Rochelle, Illinois. As we joined the sky and the earth below became smaller and smaller, those on this flight adventure would now take a little piece of my heart back home with them having enjoyed one of my favorite pleasures in life.
We arrived at the Flight Deck restaurant at the Rochelle airport, which is a true pilot’s destination for a good meal because it’s also attached to a skydiving center for great spectating!
The consensus? For some of the authors, this was something they had always wanted to do. For others, it was an amazing, unexpected adventure they would never forget. For others, it may have even planted a seed to become a pilot themselves, because often, dreams beget dreams. And to stay focused on those dreams, I recommend these five things which help me keep life magical.
- Intensify gratitude in the face of adversity. This is as hard to do as it sounds! When we are down we are angry, sad, frustrated. But it’s at those moments that we have to take stock in what we HAVE. We are given SOMETHING. How can we take that something to the next level and move beyond the challenge?
- Keep a gratitude journal. If you know me, you know that gratitude is one of my major values and my gratitude journal is never far from me. By committing your thankfulness to paper, you will be able to call it to mind when you need it most.
- Be happy because of what you are, not what you have. There will always be something else to chase whether it is a material possession, an experience, a relationship, etc. That’s ok. But if you are not happy with who you are, you will always be unhappy. Be happy with yourself first and then whether or not you catch those things that always seem just out of reach, you will remain happy.
- Commit to your dreams. My dream was to become a pilot and it took time, energy and resources to make it happen. Most dreams require sacrifice or they would be an everyday occurrence. The trick is to never give up until you see the physical manifestation of your dream. Yes, it will take time and resources as you make progress, but the only way to make that dream come true is to commit to it.
- Capture divine downloads. “Divine downloads” is the nickname I give to inspirations so strong that I feel they were placed in front of me and I just had to emotionally download them to make it happen. Usually my “divine downloads” are intensively creative and bring vast opportunity and happiness to the lives of others. When you feel a special urge to do something good, whether it’s as small as start a conversation with someone to starting a non-profit, consider that you may be responding to a higher power and don’t turn your back on the opportunity to do something great!
That day at the airport, I shared my dream with my fellow authors. I hope I succeeded in adding value to their lives that day and giving them a magical memory to take home. I encourage you to do the same in your own way, sharing your own dreams with others.
So how can you add a little magic to your next special meeting? Be creative, and let it start with your dreams. Dream for yourself, dream for others and do it like a 4-year-old because it’s the ones that we think can’t come true that will move us forward. And it’s those same dreams that help us bring magic to other people’s lives too.
Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz is the CEO of JJR Marketing (www.jjrmarketing.com) and Fig Factor Media LLC (www.todayslatina.com), founder of The Fig Factor Foundation (www.thefigfactor.org), author of eleven books (www.jackiecamacho.com), international speaker, and pilot. Jacqueline speaks to hundreds of audiences about marketing, servant leadership, finding your passion, and achieving success in business. She has addressed the United States Army, BP International, United Airlines, Allstate, and Farmers Insurance among other corporations to share her inspiration. If you or an organization you know needs as speaker, please get in touch with us at http://www.jackiecamacho.com/contact.