A few weeks ago I wrote about the Powerhouse Women event and this post is a little update on that dream.
For the Newbies: What is a Unicorn Dream?
A unicorn dream was introduced to me by Lindsey Schwartz at Powerhouse Women in 2019. I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into when Jess told me that I really needed to go to this event. My ladies were going, so I went. Everything is going great until cut to the part where we get the instructions to write down everything negative we’ve ever said about ourselves. Then we tell all of those things. out. loud. to. a. stranger. Thanks Lindz for making shit really uncomfortable.
Then after you have made a new BFF that you’ve just bawled with, you write down a dream that you have something that is so freaking big and crazy and out of this world that it might make you tremble just a little bit with fear. By the time I worked through the process, Jess pushed me even farther than I was willing to push myself, I ended up realizing that a big crazy unicorn dream of mine would be to be on the cover of Vogue telling the story of my gold leaf art.
Masterclass and Anna Wintour
I joined Masterclass after seeing that Anna Wintour had filmed a Leadership and Creativity class. It’s more to me than just wanting to be on the cover of Vogue to promote the things that I do. I’ve always looked up to Anna Wintour and the things she’s accomplished. High-end couture Avant-garde fashion has always been something I really loved and admired and I thought I would go into fashion when I was younger. It’s been really great getting to listen to Anna’s Masterclass and listen to her talk about her experiences, her idols, and advice. I would highly recommend this course to you if you’re interested in it.
One of the amazing things that Masterclass does is they do lives with all their instructors. Again, this is a great bonus because after you take their classes you get some Q/A time with the instructor. Anna Wintour and Hamish Bowles did a live chat this week and I was so excited to watch. One of the last questions someone asked was, “What’s the one piece of advice someone gave you that you’re glad you ignored?”
Anna told the story where she was at an event sitting next to a person who gave her some unsolicited advice or more of a statement. This person told her that Vogue was the type of magazine that would never showcase someone like Madonna on the cover or even in the magazine. She gave a slight laugh as she was telling the story. She continued to say, that at that very moment, they were in fact, shooting Madonna for her very first Vogue cover.
This just gave me chills and here’s why. Madonna is an artist. She was rogue, wild, experimental, and very determined to make her dreams come true. You never get to see the person before they became really well known. You don’t get to see the sweat, the tears, the long nights, or the effort that goes into getting them to where they want to go. Watching Madonna and the Breakfast Club on Hulu was a really big reminder for me that everyone has to work for their dream. It doesn’t come easy for anyone.
I’m definitely not Madonna, but I am me. I know what the universe is calling me to do and I’m going to do it.
Go For Your Fucking Dreams
I took a screenshot of the live chat and posted it to my Instagram stories. I woke up the next morning with an alert saying Anna Wintour had mentioned me in her stories. What the what?! Is this a dream? This is a woman who is Editor in Chief of Vogue and newly appointed Artistic Director for Condé Nast. She took a moment to notice me. When I got the notification that my Instagram story had been reposted in her stories, I took it as a sign from the universe that this is something that could actually happen. I could one day be on the cover of Vogue.
Granted, do I think it’s going to happen tomorrow? No.
But if I put in the hard work and continue building the series of work to the audiences that I want to, one day it could very well happen.
Put what you want out there. Stop just thinking it. Write it on paper. Tape it to the mirror in your bathroom so you see it every morning and night when you are brushing your teeth. Carve out your first three steps of your path. When you accomplish those, carve out the next three. Remember that it’s okay to complete a step, realize it’s not right and step back to start carving steps out in a different direction as well. The main message is to just start, be consistent, and walk your path.
