This past weekend we dropped by to support one of our good friends for the soft launch of their new Hydration Franchise located in a booming neighborhood on the south side of Atlanta. She’s been working on launching this business baby for the past year. We spoke a few days ago at her daughter’s birthday party and she was gearing up for the launch. You could tell she was what my friend terms, nervcited. It’s a mixture of both nervous and excitement.

I mean imagine, you’ve been working on birthing something into the world for almost a year, putting your blood, sweat equity, and tears into making a dream become a reality (actually, I don’t have to imagine, that’s what I’ve been doing as we’ve built ManagerEQ!). And now, here our friend’s dream was, about to take place in the real world. We weren’t going to miss the chance to be there for support. Besides, like Isa Rae says, I’m rooting for everybody Black, so we had extra incentive to support our sister in love.

So, you can imagine my enthusiasm when I walked in and saw it all coming together. The room was full of customers and the foot traffic was strong. But most importantly, we saw our smiling friend greeting customers and owning the room. But then, something unexpected happened. While I was there supporting someone else’s dream, it sparked an opportunity for one of my own.

As we stood outside in front of the store our friend began to point out all the other business establishments on the block. Each of them were Black owned businesses that are thriving, a wine shop, a clothing retailer, restaurants. I casually mentioned that it’s been one of our family’s dreams to open up a bookstore. We had seriously explored it about a year ago but it didn’t pan out. So we put that idea on the shelf. No for no, but not forever. Their eyes widened. Obviously they knew something I didn’t know.

Oh my goodness. That’s exactly what we need here.

Notice what happens when you share your dreams with other dreamers… they get invested in helping you bring it to pass.

Just then, Mrs. Debra, a retired college professor and also owner of the bakeshop next door grabbed my hand and insisted on showing me something. We started walking down the sidewalk. It had just started raining, but only lightly. That didn’t seem to deter her. Apparently the lease just ended on a corner location at the end of the block and she wanted us to see it. It used to be a plant shop so it has tons of natural light and many of the plants still remain in the not fully yet vacant location.

As soon as we walked up to the windows I could already see the vision. Weekly writers workshops, spoken word and music on weekends and in the evenings. A place for students at the local high school to hang out and read all the banned books. I could see my daughters working there on the weekends, with one of the girls working a few doors down at Mrs. Debra’s bakery (she’s passionate about baking).

Suddenly I was full of ideas and possibilities of what could be. Mrs. Debra, not to be deterred insisted that we follow up with the leasing manager. Of course, she already had a contractor she would recommend for us. I found myself texting a few pictures to friends and wondering out loud… what if?

Here’s the thing: I’m already working on birthing at least one dream (though there’s no rule against having multiple dreams!). Maybe it is improbable that we can birth this one anytime soon. But the ideas are flowing, and it’s making me open to all kinds of possibilities. If anything, this weekend was a reminder of what happens when I give myself permission to dream. It was also a reminder to surround myself with people pursuing their dreams. This is why we participate in hope, because ultimately it’s contagious.

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