Impossible Dreams Coming to Life

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Spring coming to life in Madison, Wisconsin, feels transformational. The winter dragged on in the first two years that we lived there, and temperatures remained below zero degrees Fahrenheit for days. Even though I had never lived in the South or anywhere that is warm year-round, this felt extreme. When the breezes started to feel warmer, and the piles of dirty snow melted, my heart sang.

As spring days emerged, during the years when my daughter MacKenzie was four, five, and six, she and I would enjoy biking around Madison. We had a bike trailer attached to mine. It allowed her to pedal or “give me a turbo boost,” as I’d like to call it, on Madison’s many hills or stop pedaling when she’d had enough. We would zoom from Madison’s west side to Monona Terrace and continue through the isthmus, where both lakes come close to converging parallel to John Nolen Drive. Riding around Lake Monona, where the breezes from both lakes meet, makes the experience of enjoying the city’s downtown joyful.

Madison boasts exceptional bike paths that connect across the city and surrounding suburbs. We would ride 10, 12, sometimes nearly 20 miles. Since she did not have to pedal, she would contribute erratically, pedaling and then relaxing. During times when her pedaling stopped, she would occasionally get sleepy. This felt dangerous. While she could stop pedaling, falling asleep was something else entirely that could cause both of us to fall over. I’d start asking her questions when I would notice her chatter stopping for more than a minute or two, to prevent any head bobbing naps. One of my favorites was, “What’s your impossible today, MacKenzie?”

It rarely took more than a few seconds for my daughter to dream up something imaginative and playful. At the time, MacKenzie’s impossibles were primarily related to building life-size houses out of Legos. I remember one day during hurricane season when she described a house that was on retractable stilts that could be taller when necessary and grounded lower when no hurricane risk existed. Occasionally, as she grew older, her impossibles became things like going to a favorite place to eat, and I’d challenge her to dream more boldly.

Throughout my life, I’ve dreamed impossible ideas into existence. While I now practice a fair amount of caution with athletic risks that might limit my ability to run or ride my Peloton daily, I reject a governor on the size of my dreams. I dreamt of owning a pair of red cowboy boots, spending my 40th birthday in wine country, running the Boston Marathon, leading a credit union, meeting Dave Matthews, and creating an event to elevate resources and remove stigma around mental well-being for children. Today, as we celebrate the second year of In the Cellar and see the heart of credit unions coming together on behalf of Children's Miracle Network Hospitals , I say, let’s keep dreaming! 

When I first shared the idea of In the Cellar, there were a lot of eye rolls. I’ve become accustomed to that reaction to my zany ideas. An eye roll or two won’t faze me. Some people told me Michigan wine wasn’t good enough. Others suggested we focus on beer. People said there’s no way folks will donate in the way you describe. People doubted.

More importantly, people believed. Leaders like April Clobes , Brian Flynn, Chuck Fagan , elry armaza (he/him) , Mike Valentine , and Tom Kane said, “I love that idea. What’s next?” With grit, a commitment to kids and mental well-being, and a whole lot of determination, last year at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, we raised over $900,000 on behalf of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. I can’t wait to tell you how we do tonight.

Impossible dreams come in all shapes and sizes. The work of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals puts all our inspiration in perspective. Our health can create boundaries for what’s possible, no matter our level of determination. The doctors, nurses, caregivers, administrators, and team members within these institutions ensure that kiddos across our country have even more opportunities to dream and put those dreams in motion. That’s what makes In the Cellar such an incredible, once-impossible dream come true: The success of this event means our world will have a whole lot more bold dreamers moving the impossible into action.

And that action matters. Our inspiration and hyperbolic grandeur fall into the realm of fairy tales if we do not make them a reality. One of the gifts of the Despite Impossible podcast conversations has been getting to know this unique group of human beings who dream boldly and also demand action and progress. While dreamers are rare, dreamers who also “do” are unicorns. We need more unicorns to change the world and inspire the next generation of leaders.

My challenge to you today is to imagine yourself on a glorious spring day, riding bikes with someone you love, and give yourself permission to dream boldly – dream wildly. Imagine a world where your dreams come to life, and keep stepping into those dreams to make them realities. Smile like the Cheshire Cat when people say, “That’s impossible.” With “that’s impossible” as a fire in your belly, run into motion, surrounded by others with a spark to ignite an even brighter future.

It will take work. It might take 25 years. It might take a whole lot of “no’s” before you find the “yes” that fuels your journey. As with all of us as we age, finding the path to impossible dreams takes a little longer and a little more encouragement. Today, MacKenzie’s ideas often start with, “I’m worried” or “I’m nervous.” My response is, “I understand. And what if it went better than you can even imagine? The only way it will is if you keep dreaming and taking action to make those dreams happen.”

As leaders, let’s take that same advice. Might we…

• Shout our story so boldly from the rooftops that we never again hear, “What’s a credit union?”
• Become Gen Alpha’s best ally in elevating their financial and holistic health.
• Catalyze collaboration in ways that business schools teach as a discipline.
• Activate joy for Americans to dream impossibly as partners in financial success.
• Become the employers of choice for those graduating from high school and university.

Share your impossibility with us by September 30. I’ll compile them, and let’s come together to make them a reality. Use the channel that you love the most. Be bold and share your impossible, whether it’s a comment on this post, a DM, a text, snail mail, or via paper airplane.

Credit union leaders, what’s your next impossible?