"When your heart is in your dreams, no request is too extreme." - Jiminy Cricket

We all have dreams, especially if we are artistically minded. Dreams connect us with our passion, with our heart. There is nothing more honest and pure than - to quote a fictional dreamer, Cinderella, "The Wish a Heart Makes ". Once we realize that we can grow up to be just about anything we set our minds to, we go about doing just that. It's a natural process, part of our life's path, and is something that should never be thwarted. So what was your dream as you were growing up? Even if your initial thoughts have little to do with what you find yourself doing at this moment in your life, it's time to celebrate more than a few important things.

We hear so often in our culture and society that to be an "enabler" is a terrible thing. In most cases, this is certainly true. But I want to give you a parallel definition of that word-a more positive and encouraging definition that's right up your alley, so to speak:

Enabler: a caring and understanding person who works hard each and every day to provide a platform for making kids wishes and dreams in the world of dance a reality.

Now how is that for a new take on a worn-out word? If you really think about it, isn't that the basis of what you do each day you're on the job? Any time you have a bad day please remember this: you have provided a foundation for kids to create lives and eventual careers that might be right in line with their own wishing and dreaming. How much better could your job in life be? If you talk about a mission statement for doing what you do, it really doesn't get much better than that!

So even if you didn't stay awake at night as a kid, wishing you had a creative place of business that trains, coaches and prepares kids for their future, then perhaps what you're doing now might be the next-best thing. Consider the possibility that we don't always get exactly what we want. Maybe we get something that we find is even better than what we imagined! Yes, yes, I know-some days, you don't even want to think about getting into the car and driving to your studio to face what you have to face. But promise me this: that you'll put aside all of that for a moment, and realize the incredible good you do and have done for so many people-ever since the moment you opened your studio to the general public. You truly have done an amazing thing-even if you occasionally forget that fact! Any time we can make it our life's purpose to help bring structure, form and leadership to those who need them, we are doing more than a good service for the world and those within it.

So do me a favor right here and right now. Feel the good you are doing for those in your particular world of dance, right here, right now. Feel it. Oh yes, there will always be situations to clear up, and staff needing instruction on what to do and how to make things better. We both know there will always be parents who need to understand more than they think, but I'm asking you to connect with what's behind all of that. It's this: you are providing a wonderful place and absolutely incredible opportunities for kids and staff to really grow. The study of dance has so many wonderful life lessons built right into it. We could write volumes of books on just that alone. Suffice it to say that the good you do far outweighs any bad that you could possibly think of right now-no matter what your mind wishes to tell you that may say otherwise. Feel the good you are doing. Connect back to the very reason why you decided to create a studio environment and business in the first place. Remember and use the good feelings and smiles these thoughts should bring you each day. Those days when you wish you didn't have to go to work are the very days when you need to remember these things the most. Smile, knowing the good you do for those drawn to work and study at your place of business. If it weren't for you, just think of the people who would be lost without the important service you take such great pains to create and offer-from your heart to the world. It takes will, determination and whole lot of sweat to learn the fine art and form of dance, and so it is with learning to run a studio. Remember, there's no day and time when you will have totally accomplished your goal. Running a studio is a journey, not a destination. Give yourself a chance to learn and grow as you walk down your personal and professional paths. Those two paths are really one in that what you learn in your professional life has everything to do with what and who you become in your personal life.

Sometimes, it is most important to go back to square one and re-connect with what brought you to this business. So far, on this journey that you and I have begun, my hope is that you'll recall the useful ideas you thought were forgotten. We're only human and sometimes, the initial good we felt about a project can get weighed down by present woes.

That said, not everything about the past is worth remembering, and can lose its worth if you try to recreate it. Why? Simply because it isn't here right now. The past is gone, and there's no bringing it back. But its good intentions can often fit and benefit the present. Being a studio owner is no easy feat. In fact, most people you know couldn't handle the many twists and turns that confront you on a daily basis. But at the end of the day, it should comfort you, knowing what you achieved. You took a dream and made it a reality. Your studio is a real, vibrant and living thing. It's like a kid you must constantly monitor and coach, and lovingly nurture into maturity.