#44 | Living Your Dreams With Mitch Matthews

For the past 19 years Mitch Matthews has dedicated his life to coaching people into success. This week he brought the knowledge usually reserved for his DREAM THINK DO podcast listeners and BIG Dream Gathering attendees to the CWK audience.

He shared wisdom on how to protect your dreams, the impact of the pandemic on our self awareness, and the danger in success. Entrepreneurs, global leaders, and business execs alike agree Mitch’s insight leaves lasting impact, today you’ll learn the same.

The Danger in Success (06:29)

When we get comfortable in a successful routine it can be hard to break away from what’s working to try something new. Mitch describes this as “the danger in success.”

His solution is to give yourself permission to dream again. “Don’t limit yourself on what you’re willing to try or do. Like Antonio Neves taught us ‘Stop living on autopilot and go after what you want!”

A Wave of Self Awareness (10:03)

As awful as the pandemic has been I must give it credit for jolting us awake and leading us to reevaluate our lives. Mitch agrees that this time has been the catalyst many of us needed to go from dreaming and thinking to actually doing.

“We’ve all experienced a wave of self awareness. People have realized life is a lot shorter than we expect. In our generation we’ve never had a catalytic moment all at the same time like this before.”

Set Backs and Set Ups (15:30)

Right before reaching the milestone of his 300th podcast episode, Mitch lost 90% of his audience due to a technical glitch. He says the set back was actually a set up that helped redefine his motives.

“That surreal moment made me cry but after that made me ask “why am I doing this?” It got me back to square one and I decided that if I only had ten people listening I’d still do it because it’s important to help people.

He added that our best opportunities are often hidden by challenges. When we push through we can experience things we haven’t dreamt of!

Rethinking The Word Dream (25:16)

The woes of life can make us lose our childlike faith and make “dreaming” feel impractical and childish.

Here’s Mitch’s advice on how to rethink the word ‘dream’ for your advantage:

1. Don’t ask ‘What are my dreams?’ Ask ‘What do I want to experience?’

2. Dream in categories. Having one big dream may seem unattainable. Instead, define your ideal experiences for the different areas of your life and work towards them. Also give yourself permission to pursue the dreams that have no category!

Baby Steps Vs Big Steps (28:05)

Getting a handle on your dreams and goals can be daunting. Luckily, Mitch has an easy approach to tackling the task.

First, identify the big steps or milestones you hope to reach on the journey.

Second, ask ‘what are the small yet significant steps I can take next?’

“Some of the first goals we reach are just to get us out of the dock and into open water. When we continue forward, we get to see the even more significant work we were meant to do that we would’ve never seen had we not taken that first step.”

Don’t Think Too Soon (35:17)

If you’re human, you’ve experienced being excited about a dream and then getting shut down by the internal ‘yes, but…’ That safety feature in our brain causes us to think too soon and shuts down our ability to dream without borders.

According to Mitch this is part of the process, but don’t stay there!

“Good thinking helps you flesh out the impact you’d like to make, bad thinking makes you insecure. Beat the insecurity by doing the things you can control and embrace the mystery of what’s to come. You’ll have more fun that way!”

How and Who To Share Your Dreams With (40:24)

I believe it truly takes a village to make things happen. – Thanks again for holding me accountable to launch my newsletter! – But that vulnerability is scary without a doubt! I was curious to get the expert’s take on when, how, and to whom we should share our goals.

Mitch suggests sharing with your inner circle first. “These are your advocates, such as a spouse, or friends who are open to talking you through the dream phase.”

Then share with those who can help make the dream come true. “Ask who can I be learning from? Who can I reach out to for mentorship? Who is the missing piece to my puzzle?”

 *Mitch’s Pro Tip: If you feel you don’t have someone to talk it through with or receive mentorship from, be that for someone else and what you need will come to you.

Speed Round (47:45)

• What have you started using or doing lately that you love?

  I’ve been training my new puppy, Hiro. He’s helped me to slow down and enjoy everyday.

• What is something you’re looking forward to learning?

  How to scale our business from six to seven figures. Also, hearing from God more.

• What are your favorite accounts to follow?

  Antonio Neves, Kim Kaupe, and Andy Grammer

Homework:

1. Download our app Dream Together, use code: dreamthinkdo to sign up.

2. Give yourself permission to be a novice at something.

Next Week:

It’s just you and me! I’m all ears so bring any questions that have been nagging you, any new book or podcast recommendations, and any professional wins you’ve had recently. I’m excited to have a little chat just you and I and a few of our close friends here in this CWK community.