Talking to Your Spouse About Your Dream

The most important person in my life is the one I married. The success of my dream takes second place to her.

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I’ll bet you are a lot like me. You get VERY pumped about your dream. You want to accomplish so much and build an amazing life of freedom! Good for you!!

I spend a significant amount of time working on my dream. You can see information about my schedule (and tips for creating yours) by checking out my post The Importance of a Schedule. That time is set aside for building a dream business. My wife is behind me 100%! She respects me using the time to create the life we want to enjoy together. But that wasn’t automatic, we had to take some very specific actions.

Many of you have a spouse or significant other that you love dearly. (Note that for the rest of this post when I say “spouse,” I mean spouse or SO. Thanks for understanding :-)). He or she means the world to you. Part of your dream life includes spending as much time as possible with the one you love most. Your dream is important to you so let’s talk about relating it to your spouse.

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5 Tips for Talking with Your Spouse about Your Dream

1. Remember what’s most important – You love your spouse more than anyone or anything else. That “anything else” includes your dream. Never give your spouse the impression that they are less important than your dream or business. If you do, then you may end up with your dream…but no spouse.
2. Enlist your spouse’s support – My lovely bride doesn’t question me when I spend money or time on my dream… because it’s our dream. She knows the point is to help as many other people as possible realize their goal of becoming entrepreneurs and she loves helping people. She also appreciates the fact that wonderful changes in our lives occur as a result of helping others. Show your spouse the big vision and how it benefits everyone involved, including the two of you.
3. Support your spouse’s dream – Recently my wife started painting again. She took a class with a friend and was hooked. She gets great joy in the creative process and paints beautifully. In fact, our son and his new wife asked for an original to hang in their new apartment. Her painting isn’t free, just like my dream isn’t free. But if it’s important to her, then it’s important to me. Your spouse has a dream too! Find out that dream and support it with the same passion as your own.
4. Be realistic – I know you want your dream to happen tomorrow. But businesses take time to build. Be careful not to give your spouse unrealistic expectations as to when you will have your dream life. Set goals and go for them, but make sure they are achievable within your timescale.
5. Communicate frequently – If my wife isn’t up to speed on my schedule, it makes it difficult for her to set plans. She knows pretty much my schedule, but if something unusual comes up that may conflict with our time together, I need to let her know. This is one I’m still working on. Keep your spouse informed and you’ll have a happier home.

The most important person in my life is the one I married. The success of my dream takes second place to her. But you CAN have your dream and a wonderful relationship, just be sure to do what it takes for both.

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Photo: Flickr/ uditha wickramanayaka

This article originally appeared on TroyStoneking.com.