My Big Dreams and Why We Banned “Be Realistic” From our Vocabulary

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My name is Josh Solar, and I’m a dreamer. I also believe everyone has some big dreams they’re scared to pursue, myself included. Sometimes we push through our fears to pursue our dreams and struggle and fight and claw and kick and fight harder to make our dreams reality, because we know deep down in our hearts we’re supposed to live a fulfilling life.

Now comes the part where I share my biggest dreams, because saying them out loud (or typing them out in a blog post) starts a motion that leads to them coming true. Or something like that. Image may be NSFW.
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I want to help other families be more intentional in the way they raise their kids. I want to leave a mark in the world of parenting, and make the Happy Family Movement a household name. I want everyone in the whole wide world to know they are worthy of love and they matter, because people who know they are worthy of love and matter are the ones that change the world. I want to turn my watercolors into a source of income that can support my family. I want to write and illustrate children’s books. I want to be a millionaire only for the fact that I want to be able to fully fund kickstarter projects I believe in. How awesome would it be to play such an instrumental part in making dreams of others come true? I wouldn’t even need the backer rewards. Most importantly, I want to do the best dang job I can to add more love and positivity and light into the world, however I possibly can. Those are some of my biggest dreams.

Besides being a dreamer, I’m also an encourager. I will do anything at all possible to make a friends dream come true, and this is where I need your help. My amazingly talented friend, Kristen Kalp, is trying to make one of her wildest dreams come true. She opened up and shared a very brave post about Brand Camp the other day, and, well, I want to see her succeed. Without Kristen, the Happy Family Movement wouldn’t even exist. She was the push Jenny + I needed to put some of our biggest dreams into the light of the world.

I know, without a doubt, Brand Camp will change my life, and yours, too. I know, without a doubt, I will have a bigger support group, and lots of tangible knowledge on how to see my dreams come to life after I get home from Brand Camp in May. I know I wrote a fun and fluffy post about Brand Camp back in November, but it’s so much more than fun (although it’s going to be a ridiculously good time, too).

You will be pushed to dig deep into what sets your heart on fire. You will come away from Brand Camp knowing exactly how to work on a business that’s meaningful as well as make money doing it. I know it’s hard to believe, but we all deserve to share our talents with the world and we deserve to be able to support our families while doing so.

If you’ve come this far and are wondering why this post is on the HFM, here’s why. We owe it to the kids in our lives to teach them their dreams are worth fighting for. When kids see us try hard for something we believe in, and take risks, and share our passions with the world, we’re teaching them their dreams matter. We’re teaching them to dream big. We’re teaching them to fight for what they believe in.

I shared the other day on Facebook that we banned the phrase “be realistic” from our house. It’s gone along with the word “can’t.” Side note: someone wise posted that when can’t is heard in their house they say, “can’t means won’t and won’t means pushups.” Love that. Back to my post…how many dreams would never have been realized if people were “realistic” all the time? How many of your dreams are still waiting to happen because you have been told to “be realistic?” Forget being realistic. Dream big. Listen to your heart and trust it. Get excited. Be freaking awesome.

And come to Brand Camp. I’ll be speaking, Jenny will be with me. You won’t regret it.