by Maggie Jacobus, Tierra Magnifica
What is your dream? Are you living it? If not, what’s holding you back?
A long-term dream of mine was to live abroad with my husband and children. I longed for unstructured time with my three boys; I yearned for the freedom to experience new cultures, places and people. I had a deep desire to show my children the world, to learn side-by-side with them, to adventure together as a family and create bonds that would last a lifetime (and perhaps even keep us close during the not-too-distant-future teen years!).
What held me back from my dream was fear: fear of change, fear of failure, fear of disappointing family and friends, fear of making an irreparable mistake. And then there were the practical things, such as the small marketing business I owned, the fact that my husband was also a business owner and our children were in one of the best public schools in the nation. Why would I upset that perfect life?
But it wasn’t perfect. If it were, then I wouldn’t have had such a deep longing to do something else. But I stifled that longing, because I felt something must be wrong with me to have this desire. It just seemed too impractical–and, as some people felt free to share with me, downright irresponsible–to think of uprooting my family and moving to another country.
The process of letting go began one evening about 10 years ago. I had just started a yoga practice and was in my bedroom desperately trying to relieve some of the crushing stress I was feeling from the weight of all my business clients. As I bent in half in sitting forward bend (paschimottanasana), a pose I later learned is about introspection, I distinctly heard, “Let in the joy.” Tears began streaming down my face. Successful I was; joyful I was not.
As I mulled over this experience throughout the next weeks, it occurred to me that perhaps I could let some of my clients go and thus create some time for myself to return to my original passion and education of journalism. I began to write articles about what I loved–alternative health and healing subjects, which brought me great joy. My yoga practice deepened. I let more clients go. Eventually, I sold my business and was freelance writing for publications and newspapers around the world, including The New York Times.
And yet, my original dream continued to pull at me. Yes, I had let go and had certainly let in a great deal of joy. But I was sidestepping The Big One. That dream was a lot more complicated and was going to take infinitely more courage, not to mention buy-in from the rest of the family!
A first step toward realizing the dream was planning a two-week trip for our family (my boys were then 4, 5 and 7 years old) to Costa Rica over the 2001/2002 New Year holiday. I picked Costa Rica because my boys were crazy about the rainforest. I had no intention of that country being The One. It was simply a toe-dip into the ocean of possibility for an international experience together as a family.
The trip was a smashing success. The kids traveled like troopers and were enthralled every step of the way. As we trekked side-by-side through the rainforest, learned about nature and language and culture together, pushed boundaries and shared experiences as a family that we will never forget, I realized I was living my vision and that it really could be possible. During these two weeks, my husband, Steve, also started to understand the vision I had for us as a family.
It took three more years, but I didn’t give up the dream. I kept putting the intention out there, visualizing the life I wanted to live. I set short-term goals and made smaller adjustments along the way to clear the way for the big moment. Eventually, we took the leap: my husband sold his business, I bid my freelance contacts adios, we sold the house and everything else, the kids gamely said good-bye to their friends and we all packed up for the adventure of a lifetime.
We alighted in Nosara, Costa Rica on the Pacific Coast and started a whole new life: running a boutique retreat resort business we created (TierraMagnifica.com), home schooling the kids, learning Spanish, exploring nature together. I even began a business with my kids producing nature videos for children about our experiences here (SupernaturalAdventures.com).
Reaching for the stars hasn’t been without challenges, without the old familiar fears creeping back in, without a great deal of self-doubt and personal, professional and financial risk. But I’m here to tell you, whatever dream you have — be it to change careers, run a marathon, become a certified instructor, start a company, leave your company, move to a new location, take up a long-lost or never-tried hobby — whatever it is, it is possible.
Set your intention and stay open to the outcome. What does that mean? Well, I set the intention that I wanted to have an international living experience with my family. But I never said it had to be in Costa Rica or that I would run a retreat resort to make it happen. I allowed the universe some wiggle room to assist me in creating my dream. It took some time and a winding path for the dream to manifest. But manifest it did. And yours will, too, so dream big!
I would love to hear from you about what dreams you have, about what dreams you’ve manifested, and what struggles you might be having getting to your dreams. The more we support each other, the greater chance of success each of us has in reaching our goals.
Maggie Jacobus is a professional journalist, certified life coach and the creator of Super Natural Adventures nature videos and web portal for kids. She and her husband, Steve, and their three children own and operate Tierra Magnifica Retreat Resort in Nosara, Costa Rica, where portions of the 2009/2010 Athleta catalogs were shot on location.
What an inspiring story – it is, all possible.
I spent a lot of my early adulthood out of college being confused and racking up debt, then I became a breast cancer survivor at the age of 25. Now I’m 28 and tied to debt and health insurance, which isn’t a problem if you have a job like I do, but it makes that job completely inescapable, at least in the short term. Every day I go to work knowing that this is the reality I’ve landed in through all of what I’ve been dealt, and feel like I’m paying penance.
But I’m also an artist, and developing a yoga practice, and lots of skills thanks to my workplace. The fuel I have to escape my bounds is piling and piling, and though it might be tempting to burn the fuel now, I can also wait until its time. I can wait until my boyfriend graduates from medical school. I can wait until my contract is up and I get to keep all my equipment without penalty. I can wait until my credit cards are paid off. I can wait until karma finally catches up with me and leads me further into the freedom I am beginning to taste.
Thank you for sharing your story with everyone. It brought tears to my eyes to be reminded that everything is possible, especially if you mindfully seek it. Sometimes it doesn’t feel that way when you’re stuck behind a desk 40 hours a week without a vacation in nearly two years.
I dream of being an artist, being free to travel as such with and without family, and being able to share a greater love with the world through all of my work.
Having an Athleta wardrobe wouldn’t be so shabby either ;)
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How beautiful to hear of dreams fulfilled in this moving story! Your family’s journey clearly demonstrates that anything you want for yourself and your life is possible – thank you for vividly and passionately sharing that possibility with the world! The gorgeous photographs made me want to pack my Athleta clothes and head for Terra Magnifica as soon as possible!
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Maggie, thank you for sharing your story with us! I especially appreciate that you were able to identify your fears as obstacles:
“What held me back from my dream was fear: fear of change, fear of failure, fear of disappointing family and friends, fear of making an irreparable mistake.”
At times, this is the most difficult part for me. Once I realize what it is that I am afraid of, once I can label it, name it, somehow it becomes more of a tangible block that I can overcome. Maybe it is something that I chip away at (like fat loss), or maybe it is something that I can obliterate in one sitting (like getting into Pincha Mayurasana), but identifying those fears is a good first step.
My son loves the SupernaturalAdventuers.com website and he can’t wait to see Costa Rica! Maybe if he makes it a goal too we will be on your doorstep someday! :)
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This story is very inspiring. When I was 15, my parents reloacted to the midwest from New York. I was absolutely devastated and feel as if my time spent here has been a negative one because of my thought process. Now, I am a young student still in the midwest longing for a spiritual, cultural, and inspiring place. My fiance is from Hawaii and currently, it is our goal to move to Hawaii in less than a year. I can associate with the fears of money issues, change, and relocation. I often asking, is this going to make me happy? I loved the part in this article that stated- – - But it wasn’t perfect. If it were, then I wouldn’t have had such a deep longing to do something else. But I stifled that longing, because I felt something must be wrong with me to have this desire.
Through yoga I have been trying to build self confidence and use it as a tool to overcome fear.
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Nicole,
Thank you for sharing your comments and your story. You have set the goal–that is such an important step! You have a vision for what you want your life to look like. I wish you all the best in manifesting your dream!
Maggie
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Thank you to all who have shared comments here. Your stories add inspiration and encouragement to all who read this page!
Maggie
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Thanks, That’s just what I needed to read this morning.
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What a beautiful story! This is just the kind of inspiring story I needed to hear. My problem is that I know I am not happy, but am still trying to figure out what my dream is. It’s so easy to get caught up in the fact that you have a good job, a steady income, especially in the state of the economy. But with that steady paycheck, you can and should still have a dream, a hobby, a life outside of the 9 to 5.
I recently started practicing yoga. It took me a long time. There were so many days that I should have gone to a class after work but didn’t because I had a long day, or there was laundry to do, or I had to get up early for a meeting, or “insert excuse here”. I’m glad I finally went and found something that just makes my mind relax, if only for a short time.
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Dear Karen,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I remember when I was more in a place like you describe here. I knew I wasn’t fulfilled, but I wasn’t sure yet what I needed to do to feel otherwise. A wise physician friend said, “You need a quest.” To me, a quest is different than a dream. To me, a quest signifies a challenge, an exploration, an adventure. Delving into yoga, learning about alternative health practices that I used personally and also wrote about–this became the quest. While questing, my dream started to take shape.
Everything is a step on the journey! Recognizing that you’re not happy is a great first step. Exploring a practice like yoga is another excellent step. Don’t worry if you didn’t go to class yesterday, or last week, or last year. You can go today! As the Chinese proverb says, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” Congratulations on getting your journey underway!
Maggie
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Hi Maggie,
This is your former neighbor on Wildwood Ave. (recently named a “sweet spot” of neighborhoods in Milwaukee magazine BTW) Joe, Patricia and I are in Alajuela ready to fly home tommorow after a week here. I mentioned to Joe that I remembered that you guys had moved to CR and we found your web sites. Very interesting………..my quest may be to re-gain the spirit of adventure and courage that led me here in 1973 as an exchange student in the central valley with a coffee grower’s family. We visited with them today after driving up from Jaco. I have admired your writing projects from Outpost Exchange, etc.
Best wishes in San Jose!
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Hi Barbara,
What a surprise to hear from you! Sounds like a great quest you have set forth. Adventure is the spice of life, in my book!
Give my regards to Milwaukee and that sweet spot of Wildwood Ave. where we were living when all three of our boys were born.
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Hello beautiful readers!
Many of you have contacted me directly via e-mail to share your dreams, and your barriers to reaching them. A common theme to the barriers is not having all the answers, not knowing how it would all work–money-wise, job-wise, logistics-wise.
Recently a reporter asked me, “What did it take to go from suburbs to jungle?” Well, it took lots of things. But I think she was really asking me, “What did it take WITHIN YOU?” And the answer is: it took stepping off into the unknown.
You simply can’t have all aspects of your dream figured out before you do it; it just doesn’t work like that. You will cripple yourself with “paralysis by analysis.” You will find so many roadblocks that it will never happen. At the very least, you’ll limit your dream by putting formed parameters around it and thus block the flow of energy that opens to possibilities you haven’t even conceived of!
The rationale for stepping off into the unknown is very difficult to explain or convince others of trying. Interestingly, most people assume the ability to do it has to do with having money, and lots of it. In fact, money has little or nothing to do with it. Most people I know with money are incredibly trapped by it because they fear loosing it and thus need to do everything in their power to keep it.
Stepping off into the unknown has to do with a state of mind. Or rather, a state of Being. I recently found a quote while re-reading Eckhart Tolle’s “A New Earth” this week. When I read it, it explained to me the state of Being that allowed me to make the move, even though I did not know exactly what we’d be doing in Costa Rica to make a living or how it would all turn out (and STILL don’t, because it’s not over!). I offer it here to you; see if it resonates:
“When you become comfortable with uncertainty, infinite possibilities open up in your life. It means fear is no longer a dominant factor in what you do and no longer prevents you from taking action to initiate change. The Roman philosopher Tacitus rightly observed that ‘the desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise.’ If change is unacceptable to you, it turns into fear. If it is perfectly acceptable, it turns into increased aliveness, alertness and creativity.”
We are strong, powerful, intelligent women. We are trained that it’s powerful to have the answers. To not have the answers signals weakness. But it’s NOT, especially when it comes to manifesting your dream. In what is perhaps a paradoxical truth, you need to be willing to step into uncertainty in order for the answers to come for how your dream is going to work.
Also in Tolle’s book this past week I came across an entire passage on the aspect of joy, including this quote which astounded me, given that I was invited to “Let in the joy”:
“Joy is the dynamic aspect of Being. When the creative power of the universe becomes conscious of itself, it manifests as joy. You don’t have to wait for something ‘meaningful’ to come into your life so you can finally enjoy what you do. There is more meaning in joy than you will ever need. The ‘waiting to start living’ syndrome is one of the most common delusions of the unconscious state.”
When the voice said to, “Let in the joy,” I believe that translated somewhere deep within me as, “Open to the unkown.”
Many people are choosing to view the current world economic situation as an opportunity to step into the unknown. I’ve read several articles about people who’ve lost their jobs deciding that, instead of looking at it as disaster, to view it as a chance to do something else. Something they’ve always wanted to or neglected to do. This is a time of great fear for some and great opportunity for others.
If a dream is calling you, if this article is resonating with you, I invite you to make the leap. Come on in–the unknown’s fine!
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Hi Maggie,
I pass along your article to people I know and meet from time to time (doing so now). We have a sustainable community (Finca Las Brisas) as it turns out over in the Samara area near you in Nosara. Our project manager on-site has met you and tells us that you have a great place. Anyway, I thought I would just say hello and that I appreciate your message.
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