I have one favorite recurring dream.

I can't tell you how happy it makes me when I dream it.

Once or twice a year I dream of a house.

I can't explain how, but somehow I know it's my house. In my first dreams years ago the house was normal-sized like my childhood home. It was full of love, curiosity and possibility.

And then it grew.

Three years ago I dreamed the house had a secret passageway that led to a beautiful library. Books lined the walls and ladders rolled along the shelves. The house had grown into something beautiful and magical.

I took the dream to mean that I should build this library. So that's what I've been doing.

In that time together with amazing people the Optimist Center has come into being.

This week I dreamed about the house again, though I didn't recognize it at first.

The Castle

I stood in a simple and warm room. A fireplace crackled to my left and comfortable chairs filled the room. As I walked into the connecting room I noticed the doorway and walls were stone. I was in a castle.

The next room was much larger and was also filled with people from our Optimist Center. They were talking, laughing and warming up by the fireplace.

I could feel that this place was the same home as in my previous dreams, it had grown and become more solid. It was stone now where it had been wooden before. And it had never been more warm and comfortable. And I could feel the size of the building and the new number of rooms was bigger than ever.

I woke up too soon. I didn't have time to explore the castle like I wanted. But that was by design.

My dream wanted me to feel the excitement and adventure of this new place. It wanted me to know the warmth and solidness of it. And then it ended too soon to challenge me to wake up and explore it here and now.

What we are doing at the Optimist Center feels like my life's work. It is community and inspiration, learning and leading, great people and great possibility.

Our first talk on Happiness launches this week and I'm recording it for our online community.

We are beginning to explore the rooms together and what is being built feels like magic.

2017

Three Years Earlier: The Library

Three Years Later: The Home