If you’ve known me for more than 10 minutes, you know that movies are a BIG part of my life. (I DID grow up in a silent movie theater, after all!) And of all the memorable movie moments I’ve seen, one keeps coming back to mind lately: the talk successful film star Norman Maine gives fledgling songbird Esther Blodgett in the 1954 version of “A Star Is Born.”
Norman’s heard Esther sing, and she’s good. (Heck, she’s played by Judy Garland, so you KNOW she’s good!) So he goes to Esther’s tiny apartment to learn more about this talent he’s stumbled upon. And he asks her to tell him her dream of success as a signer. For a moment, Esther waxes on about how a talent scout would find her at a show and let her make a record, which would become number one on the hit parade and played on jukeboxes across America… and she would be made. And then, in Esther’s words, “end of dream!” Norman tells her that there’s only one thing wrong with that, to which Esther says “I know, it won’t happen.” Norman counters with the words that change her life:
No, it might happen very easily… only the dream isn’t big enough.
Now, you’ll have to watch the rest of the film to find out what happens next… but for our purposes, let’s stay with that idea:
The dream isn’t big enough.
For YEARS, this snippet of a scene has rattled around in my head. To the point where I talk about having “Esther Blodget Moments.” Those moments in my life where I realize that I am capable of so much more than I give myself credit for. Which is what Norman is facilitating for Esther here.
You see, we already dream big by default. Regardless of their actual size, our dreams are big to us because of our understanding of what we can do. They’re big, because they are beyond our reach. They are beyond what we think we can accomplish, and that’s fine. That’s the idea.
Esther’s problem – which I can relate to – is that she had a big dream… but she had no idea that her dream could be bigger. That SHE could be bigger.
By dreaming big, she had a dream that ends. Sure, she could have a hit song that played on all the jukeboxes and topped the charts. But is that all that Esther was meant to do with her life?
Is that all that we’re meant to do?
Do our “big” dreams unintentionally keep us smaller than we are meant to be?
Dreaming big, in a way, limits our growth. It limits our ability to see what it truly possible for ourselves. We think the big dream is a stretch, and it’s all we are capable of achieving… because it seems so big to us.
The “big” dream is a ship to be burned. In Esther’s case, she’s supposed to join the band and head to San Francisco for a tour the next morning. Norman urges her to quit, to leave the band, to not go to San Francisco and take a chance at pursuing that bigger dream instead. Panicked and confused, Esther protests at his suggestion :
“A chance?! Do you realize I’d be giving up everything I’ve ever worked for?”
Norman enthusiastically responds:
“That’s right! But it’s served it’s purpose!”
When a ship has served its purpose, it’s ready to be burned.
We are bigger than we think. We are capable of so much more than we give ourselves credit for. And our big dreams eventually become tiny in comparison to what we are capable of bringing forth in this world.
So, I invite you to stop dreaming big. Just stop doing it.
Instead, challenge yourself to dream bigger. Assume that you can accomplish that big dream, and go for what lies beyond. After all, as Norman says to Esther:
You’re better than that. You’re better than you know. Don’t settle for the little dream… go on to the big one!
Got a bigger dream? Share it here in the comments below!
I cannot wait to see what you draw forth,
Really well stated. It brought me back down to earth to realize that we are, or can be, in the midst of our dream(s) now, if we are alert. Sometimes we need to readjust, to start over. I like Richard Bolles’ simple definition of our mission: (1) walk in relationship with our Maker, the Giver of our Dreams and Mission; (2) make the world around us a better place on a regular basis ( whether that’s a smile and a meal to a street person, listening to a cranky child/partner/boss with that little e_tra spot of patience…), and (3) using our unique passions and talents in those places that most need them. We grow, we reach plateaus, and sometimes, feel afraid of going onward into the fuller “us”. At nearly 52, I am re-tooling my life to seek to get into something more creative than I have done before. Even getting into that shall someday change and need to evolve. It DOES take courage ( we have a saying in our church, “Faith is spelled R-I-S-K” ), yet the alternative, living a “safe” and long-smouldering, comfortable pre-death “death” via “ease” isn’t pleasant looking back. Today for e_ample, I had to “burn” my previous workout routine. It helped me lose my ice-cream belly and tone up, and helped me to become more alert . I have to start from scratch however, with this new, grueling routine ( I collapsed during one segment ( my ego got the most damage ;)) ..but I have the longer-term goal(s) in front of me. I want to resume my martial art when I have more revenue and time in the near-future ,and then progress to teach it, especially to youth. Yet, I am here, today, with THESE moments to live, these people around me to care for, and be cared for, even in the midst of frustration, and flops. In the midst of it all, there are grand moments of caring, epiphanies, sunrises ( it’s fun to get up before the birds some mornings )…lots to be grateful for now.
Philip, I just love when you comment on my blog posts…just had to say that! :^)
With a very full heart,
Jeannel
p.s. it’s ALWAYS our egos that get the most damage, huh! ;^)
What a great reminder, Jeannel, to never stop dreaming…and yet don’t let those dreams hold you back from even greater greatness. Enjoyed your post!
Thanks, Joy! I love what you said: don’t let your dreams hold you back from even greater greatness! A to the Men, my friend! ;^)
Hmm.. Then i should exchange my current dream that is becoming known for sketchnoting and GR and releasing book about it, and instead exchange it for bigger dream?
If yes, then I immediately started dreaming of myself as BIG as Polish equivalent of David Sibbet and instead of having one person company having few pp working with me like The Grove is alovely bunch of ppl. Is this BIG enough?
It might be because suddenly the project of writing/drawing my own book seems pale in comparison to the big dream and that in turn makes it feel easy to go through. The book suddenly ceased to be end of the line that makes me fear the void after.
Hmm interesting technique. Thanks Jeannel! 😀
Glad to help, Piotr! ;^D
Sounds like a great plan!
My current phone voicemail says, “Remember, you are greater than you ever imagined.” It’s part of my calling to bring that forth in this lifetime to my community. But I often forget it myself. That even my biggest dreams, ambitions, and ideas aren’t nearly at the edges of my possibility. Thanks for the clip and the post!
You’re welcome, Seth! Thank YOU for the thoughtful comment! :^)