Lisa Hammond - Dream Big: Finding the Courage to Follow Your Dreams and Laugh at Your Nightmares

praise for Lisa Hammond and Dream Big

Lisa Hammond tells the truth about the challenges of being a female CEO with integrity and heart in this conversational and enticing book. Her candor and authenticity are compelling. I stayed up all night to finish this story of Lisa's adventures, relentless courage, and passion for inspiring and nurturing her customers! This book is a winner.

GAIL MCMEEKIN, LICSW, author of The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women and The Power of Positive Choices

Lisa Hammond pays homage to the sacred messiness of surrendering to her dream, trusting beginner's mind, and balancing life, love, and sanity in the midst of it all. Lisa shares with us the gifts and challenges of dreaming BIG. Along the way, our own dreams, and our courage, awaken!

PATRICIA LYNN REILLY, author of Imagine a Woman in Love with Herself and I Promise Myself

First published in 2004 by Conari Press,
an imprint of Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC
with offices at:
500 Third Street, Suite 230
San Francisco, CA 94107
www.redwheelweiser.com

Copyright 2004 Lisa Hammond

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC. Reviewers may quote brief passages.

ISBN-10: 1-57324-955-6
ISBN-13: 978-1-57324-955-3

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Hammond, Lisa.

Finding the courage to follow your dreams and laugh at your nightmares / Lisa Hammond.

p. cm.

ISBN 1-57324-955-6

1. WomenPsychology. 2. WomenConduct of life. 3. Self-actualization (Psychology) I. Title.

HQ1206.H236 2004

305.4dc22

2003024110

Book design by Maxine Ressler

Printed in Canada

TCP

10 9 8 7 6 5

I dedicate this book to Jeff, Harlie, and Bridger.

Without their love and support my own dream would have been a lot smaller.

TO MY MUSE AND INCREDIBLE HUSBAND, JEFF, FOR his steadfast support of all of my dreams. For holding down the fort while I followed my passion. For driving me hundreds of miles, so I could spend time in the seclusion of a hotel to unleash my creative juices. For knowing when I needed to be alone and when I needed him there. I will be eternally grateful for his willingness to sustain me in every way.

To my children, who always believe their mom can do anything she puts her mind to. For understanding that the creative process can be chaotic and sleep deprivation can make you cranky. For reminding me what matters and what doesn't. For teaching me far more than I will ever teach you.

To my sisters, who responded to countless emails and spent hours on the phone with me as sounding boards throughout the process of writing this book.

To the wonderful women of Conari Press for their talent and vision. For giving me the nudge I needed to take yet another step outside of my comfort zone and write this book. For their continual support and guidance. For knowing that when women follow their dreams and share their stories, magic can happen!

And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

ANAIS NIN

E VER SINCE I STARTED FEMAIL CREATIONS BACK in 1996, I have been asked almost daily why I did it. Sometimes I answer, a moment of insanity because, knowing what I know now, I realize I must have been insane to think I could start a catalog company from the ground up. Sometimes I say I did it because I wanted to shop at a catalog just like this one, and when it didn't arrive in my mailbox, I decided to start it myself. Although both of those answers are based in fact, they don't really get to the heart of the matter. The truest answer is that I started Femail Creations because I wanted to make a difference.

I wanted to create a company that would empower and inspire women. I wanted to celebrate the creative souls of women. I wanted to encourage young girls to dream bigger dreams. I wanted to support and sustain other women in business.

Femail Creations began as a seed, a dream to spend my days doing meaningful work. It took many years for that seed to take root. I think we all long for meaningful work, a job we can't wait to get to in the morning, a career that fulfills us, or volunteer work that matters. Some of you may know what that work is but are still feeling afraid to take the risks and do it. Others are still searching to discover what your dreams are. And, for some of you, even daring to have a dream doesn't seem possible yet. I wrote this book for all of you.

If you go to business school, or even just take a course or read a book, you always hear that you have to start with a business plan. Well, that may be the way for some people, but I have spoken with hundreds of women who started their own businesses, and many did no such thing! They may eventually end up creating a formal business plan, but that isn't really how the business began. The business actually began as a seed, a dream, a hope, a yearning, often years before the launch of the business.

They started businesses because they were passionate about something. They were passionate about creating a way to work from home, or making something they enjoyed, or providing a service they saw a need for.

There are plenty of books about how to write a business plan. But for many women that's not the place to start. Women come to me for advice or inspiration all the time, and they want to know how I did it. Not how I wrote a business plan, but how I discovered what my passion was. How did I dream up Femail Creations? How did I dare to dream that it was even possible to do it? And how did I make it happen? That's what this book is all about.

At first, I had no idea what kind of business I wanted to start. I just knew I wanted it to be meaningful to me and empowering to other women. For more than a decade, I kept a what-do-I-want-to-be-when-I-grow-up journal, filling it with ideas about just what meaningful work would look like to me. I always kept my blank book handy and filled book after book with newspaper clippings, pictures, scribbled thoughts, and any ideas I came up with for businesses I might want to start. I say if it calls to you, clip it! Sometimes you won't even be sure why an article or image resonates with you, but that doesn't matter; just trust that it does or it will someday and save it in a special place.

If you don't yet know what your dream looks like, keep a blank book handy at all times and just jot down or paste in clips of anything and everything that inspiresyou.

I vividly recall one afternoon when I stood on my patio feeling like I was about to burst and not even really knowing why. On the outside, my life looked perfect. I had an incredible husband, two children I adored, a beautiful home, and caring friends and family. I didn't understand my feelings of discontent, and it didn't exactly help that all the people in my life thought I had everything a gal could want. What could possibly be missing?