To Dream The Impossible Dream

A production of Man of La Mancha. Photo: U.S. Army

Last month I talked about the classic musical, Man of La Mancha, based on the Cervantes story of Don Quixote. We discovered that the beloved character of Don Quixote is not only a masterful story teller, but he is able to involve his audience in the stories he weaves.

The ability to “sell” based on not just telling a story, but creating the story with one’s audience, is the key to success in travel retailing. However, the real secret to the compelling aspect of Don Quixote’s story comes from the most well-known song from the show, The Impossible Dream.

                To dream the impossible dream, to fight the unbeatable foe…

Every great journey, and every great business for that matter, starts with a dream.  The more impossible the dream, the more rewarding the result. In our industry some would consider making a good income as a travel agent an impossible dream! I can assure you it is not. But I can also assure you that those who are generating enviable income started with a dream that may have seemed unreachable when first envisioned.

Your dream for your business, like Don Quixote’s, must be expressed and shared—even at the risk of ridicule. John Maxwell, in his book Your Road Map to Success, says that your dream needs to paint a broad landscape so others can catch your vision.  Your dream should include:

                A Horizon – to show the incredible possibilities ahead.

                The Sun – to give warmth and hope.

                Mountains – to represent the challenges ahead.

                Birds – to inspire soaring like eagles.

                Flowers – to remind them to enjoy the journey.

                A Path – to offer direction and security.

                Yourself – to demonstrate your commitment to the dream.

                The People You Want in the Dream – to show them where they fit in and to communicate your belief in them.

Creating the vision for your business is just the beginning, as the dream needs to be fulfilled.  This is where a dream becomes, as the song says, a quest. The bridge from dream to reality is the quest and it includes planning, strategies, tactics and just plain hard work. Don Quixote uses the analogy of reaching an unreachable star. As the song says…

                This is my quest, to follow that star

                No matter how hopeless, no matter how far…

In your dream, what is the star that your quest is designed to reach? It needs to be a stretch or it is not worthy of a quest. So spend some time writing out the specific goals and steps you need to fulfill your personal quest.

So dream the impossible dream, and reach for the unreachable stars! Paint the picture of your dream because as the song says…

And the world will be better for this,
That one man, scorned and covered with scars,
Still strove, with his last ounce of courage,
To reach the unreachable stars!