(Today is a post from one of the new voices on the site, Casey Lewis!)

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A few months back I noticed a post on Facebook for a new conference that was happening in June.

This new event was being put on by the Tulsa 5 Club and was called Launch Out. The idea was quite unique and unlike any conference you’ve ever seen before. At this 2 day conference, the attendees were also some of the speakers.

Basically, it was an event that provided you the platform to Launch Out toward your dream. Re-gardless of what that dream is, regardless of how many times you’ve spoken on stage before, this conference was allowing you the opportunity to tell the world that you were ready. A few weeks later I got a direct message from the conference organizer asking me to be the closing speaker.

I’ve been sharing ideas and stories from a stage for several years. I’ve been “Launched Out” and working as an entrepreneur, writer, speaker, and coach for quite some time. I’m nowhere near professional, but if the goal of the event was to give people who have never spoken a chance to speak, I didn’t necessarily fit that category.

So why did I spend money on a rental car? Why did I wake up at 3am to drive to Tulsa, OK? Why did I stay up for 30 hours straight to make the long drive back to Dallas? Why did I pay a registration fee to a conference where I was already scheduled as a keynote speaker?

Because there was an open stage.

Because there was an audience that needed to hear a message that I needed to share.

Because sometimes in order to be invited to speak on the main-stage at a major national con-ference it requires investing some time and money into speaking at an unknown event in Tulsa.

Maybe you don’t want to speak professionally and are thinking this idea doesn’t apply to you. Perhaps your dream is to be a published author. Or maybe you want to be a teacher. Or a musician. Or some other version of something awesome. How then does this idea translate to your dream? When there’s an opportunity out there for you to do something that you are uniquely equipped to do, take that opportunity.

If it costs a little money, invest. If it takes some extra time, look for room in your schedule. If you have to stay awake for 30 hours straight, make that sacrifice. You could use the practice and the world can use your dream. Dreaming isn’t easy. Opportunities don’t come along every day. So when you’re invited to do your version of awesome, do it.

Question:
What’s an opportunity you need to take now to grow your dream?

(For more great ideas from Casey Lewis, check out his blog and follow him on Twitter!)