And away we go...March 2010 One Dream a Day Project has Begun!

When I first conceived of "One Dream a Month," I thought about conquering my fears, which is a good thing to do, but is not what this project is about. One Dream a Month is dedicated to honoring our dreams, those that we've been able to achieve and those who have been hanging around keeping us company who are waiting to be given a bit of life. For the next 10 months I'll be bringing some long held dreams, some small, some big and some in-between, out of the closet with a daily practice of action. One action a day, or more, depending on the day. But always one.

And as the song goes, "Let's start at the very beginning..."

March 1, 2010: I've got three yellow legal pads surrounding my computer and I'm flipping pages with notes scribbled down on them from the past year or so, or how long the first spark of my March "One Dream a Month" project, which is a kid-oriented, technology-based business venture. I feel like a kid in a candy shop. Even just reading over the notes, which I'm about half-way through, is giving me goosebumps, just like the original idea did.

An idea is a funny thing. An idea that becomes a life dream enters into another realm. It's there at the kitchen table while I drink my coffee. It's there in the car as I drop the kids off to school and on to work. It's there when I wake up and when I go to sleep.

And until tonight, it's presence was both exciting and overwhelming. Exciting because I came up with it and understood it's potential. Overwhelming because it's a big idea, a huge dream that will take lots of energy, organization, support and money. I have the energy, despite working more than full time and raising a family. I have the organizational skills as far as getting down the idea and plans go. I have the support of my family and a few confidantes. The money? Will have to get really creative with this one, but there is time to figure it out and I've got some support people to help me navigate those scary waters.

I'm not ready to disclose the details of the business venture, mostly because I'm still trying to decipher my own writing and need to slow down in order to protect my interest and investment. But what I am willing to do through this month is to daily share my process of taking this dream and turning it into action. The goal? To be 31 days further along than when I started, to have learned more about the dream and to make a decision whether it is worthy of giving more time and space.

What I can share about this month's One Dream a Month project? Here are a few loose details about it:

• Kid and education-based
• Utilizes old and new forms of communication and media
• Engages cultural, educational, business and technology entities
• Sustainable
• FUN

I'm calling this first stage of transcribing my notes, Creative Concept Plan. In it I'm defining the following:

• Business elements
• Business type structure
• Desired partners and consultants
• Broadly defined audiences  
• Product breakdown

Tomorrow, I'll be continuing down this path until all the yellow pads have been gone through and my notes are all transcribed into a workable outline. After that, I'll be working on the mission and the vision, and then onto market segmentation. This is the framework I've created for myself and I'm sure that there will be lots of surprises that unfold over the next few weeks. 

Do I want this idea, this dream turned into action, to hit it big? Of course, and that's where my brain usually goes. Leap from idea to accolades, but skipping the many little steps that must be taken in order for a dream turned into action to succeed, or fail. That's what I'm signing up for with One Dream a Month, the reason why I've started this project. 

Our dreams are ours, whether they are realized or stay below the surface of our lives. It's up to us to pull them up from the surface. Up to us.