Childhood lessons from New York on how to live a life that dreams are made of.

What did you want to be when you grew up? I guarantee you had a long wish list. An Astronaut? An Olympic Champion? A Ninja Turtle?

The truth is, we were all born natural dreamers. Our imaginations spanned infinite possibility.

As kids, we lived in a world of make-believe. We dressed up. We role-played. Our dreams were unfiltered and our thoughts untainted. Our lives a blank canvas for creating anything we put our hearts and minds to.

So at what point do we stop dreaming? And why?

Of course, I’m generalizing here. There are people all around who are living out their dreams and more. From the Oprah’s and Branson’s of the world, to every mother and father who wished to be a parent; from entrepreneurs to doctors, singers and writers.

But maybe, you were a little more like me.

Maybe you never truly checked in with yourself and asked the hard question: what exactly are my dreams?

As a kid, I worked my way through the options most little girls do. There was the obligatory Ballerina. The Nurse (until someone pointed out I can’t stand the sight of blood). The School Teacher. And, after a trip to the fire station, the Fireman (if you know me, you’d know this wouldn’t exactly be playing to my strengths. Pun intended!).

So what happened between then and the time I bought my ticket for the corporate career train, I’m not entirely sure.

I guess I would have outgrown my dress-up costumes, they would have been boxed and packed away, and perhaps I closed the lid on the notion of dreaming at the same time.

Now this is not as dramatic or gloomy as it may sound! My work continues to bring me incredible experiences, personal growth and life-long friendships. Every step along the journey has been critical in getting me to where I am today.

It’s just that I somehow ignored other dreams and passions that were lurking beneath the surface of my life. Those added little sparks within us that make us feel alive.

It turns out writing is one of them, I only realized that recently. And, as you know by now, New York another.

Thinking about what magnetized me to this city, the irony isn’t lost on me that I nearly gave up on my dream to live in a city so aptly called “the concrete jungle where dreams are made of”. Which brings me to my question:

What can we learn from New York to inspire us all to live a life that dreams are made of?

As I continue to immerse myself in her magic; as I walk the streets, ride the subway and talk to people in cafés, bars, cabs and everywhere in-between, I’ve come to a conclusion that seems too simple to be profound.

New York is one giant adult playground!

Beneath her fast-paced and tenacious exterior, New York retains a childlike wonder. Those same innate qualities that, as kids, made our childhood playground the breeding ground for our dreams.

For starters, people dress up.

Instead of packing away their dress-up costumes when they outgrow them, it seems New Yorkers just buy a bigger size! Seriously, I see things on the street that would be reserved for Halloween night in most other cities. People be who they want to be. It’s fun, it’s colorful, it’s vibrant. Mostly, it’s refreshing.

Nobody cares.

Ever seen a kid mock another kid for arriving on the playground in a green tutu and mismatching socks? I didn’t think so. And New York is no different. You can walk around the streets doing, wearing and saying anything without feeling judged. Or even noticed for that matter. Nobody cares what other people think, and those other people aren’t thinking about those who don’t care what they think in the first place! (Yup, it took me a while to get my head around this sentence too.)

Everybody talks.

Just like kids who daydream aloud, New Yorkers love to talk about what they’re creating: a play, a business, a movie, a podcast, a community. They are not shy to strike up a conversation and share their dreams, and I’m learning to do the same. It’s how I got my first job interview here. I was in a café in Soho googling companies in my industry, when I overheard a guy tell his lunch buddy he’d recently hired a brand agency. I took a sip of some New York chutzpah, leaned over, and asked him the name. It made for a great opening line when I emailed the agency and, within 2 hours, I had my first interview lined up!

Everything feels possible.

Perhaps it’s because people love to share and connect; perhaps it’s because this city has a confident swagger; perhaps it’s the sheer energy this relatively small island needs in order to sustain all the wide-eyed hopefuls who flock here from around the world. Whatever it is, New York has a childlike sense of possibility that is infectious. I’ll come back to this in another post because learning to dig deep and believe in possibility, is what got me here in the first place.

So what can New York teach us? Maybe if we dressed up more and cared less; played more and judged less; spoke up more and doubted less, we’d retain our childhood wonder and keep the lid open on those dreams that were inside us all along.

Before you start thinking that dreaming requires a drastic change like moving across the world, it really doesn’t. Our desires can be big passions or side hobbies and, sometimes, they only need to be nurtured in small doses to keep those sparks alive.

So I dare you. Climb up into the attic of your dreams, open your treasure chest, have a look around. And if anything grabs your attention, pick it up and dust it off. You never know where it may lead.

As for me, so many people tell me “I’m living the dream”. In many ways I am. But in many ways, New York is my playground and I’m just getting started.