“Nothing can happen if not first a dream” – Jim Valvano
I recently watched the 30 for 30: Survive and Advance, which follows NC State’s miraculous run to the 1983 national championship. Jim Valvano’s team did something that would sound unrealistic if it were written into a movie – winning nine straight games against some of the best teams in college basketball. Their run became one of the most improbable stories in sports history. But long before the wins, it all started with a dream.
On the first day of practice, Jim shared his dream of winning a national championship with his new team. They didn’t just identify the dream, they committed to it by living it. During practice, he would often bring out a ladder and scissors and they would cut down the net one by one, just like teams do when they win the national championship. It’s a leader’s job to invite everybody into the dream. Good leaders don’t just communicate dreams; they create environments where people can experience them.
Dreams aren’t only something you see when you are sleeping, and they’re rarely something everyone believes in at first. Most of the time, they begin as one person’s vision of what could be. The culture takes shape when that vision spreads beyond the originator and is embraced by the whole group. When a team is invited into the dream, they take ownership of it. At this point, the dream is no longer just one person’s – it’s the team’s.
When the dream is shared, it changes the way individuals approach their day-to-day. It changes the way that they respond to adversity. Instead of thinking of all the reasons why it can’t be done, people start searching for ways they can make it happen. Teams with a unified belief move differently and find themselves accomplishing things that once seemed unattainable.
Many of the great cultures and accomplishments we admire began with someone believing in something that did not seem possible. Great leaders don’t keep their dreams to themselves; they invite their team into them and create environments where people can believe in them and live them out together. When an entire team believes in the same vision, it shapes the culture and redefines what is possible. So no matter where you are in life, whether you’re leading the dream or contributing to it, I encourage you to Dream On. Because in the end, nothing can happen if not first a dream.
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