In 2015, I went to the Portland Sportsman’s Show, which is a funny statement because I have attended it every year since I was 15 years old, except for a couple of years ago when it got canceled because of COVID. There are hundreds of guides there, both hunting and fishing, with booths advertising their business. There was a booth advertising long-range fishing out of San Diego. The trips were anywhere from three days to twelve days long, and they had hours of videos playing in the booth of the fishing on these trips. The whole concept fascinated me, and I stood there and watched their videos for hours. Everybody with whom I had come to the Show was ready to head home, and I was still watching more videos. That night, I added a new goal to my list, “Go fishing on a ten-day fishing trip out of San Diego before the end of 2025.” It was a long-range fishing trip for ten days, so I thought I would make a long-range goal to be completed before ten years. A pastor friend read my goals recently, saw that one, and commented that he knew a guy who made that trip every other year. He gave me his phone number. I texted him, and we decided to have a cup of coffee and talk about fishing. He connected me with the Captain of the boat, and I am now signed up and scheduled to go fishing for tuna for ten days in 2025.

I have made a lot of long-range goals over the years. I try not to have more than six at any one time so I don’t lose motivation on any one of the goals. I have read this goal and others daily for years, but I was never sure how to take the first step. Actually, I knew how to take the first step, but there were so many things I didn’t know that I was intimidated to take the first step. Making this new friend who had done it eight times before, who knew exactly what to do, and said that I could tag along with him gave me the confidence to take the jump. So, I signed up on the dotted line and sent in my $500 registration fee; it is now official.

There is a lot of power in writing out our dreams for years in the future and reading them every day. Because of that constant reminder, we regularly do little things that gradually open doors for our dreams to happen.