Dream Big and Dare to Fail

“Dream big and dare to fail. “
(Norman Vaughan)

I saw The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show when I was 9 years old.  I decided then and there that I was going to be a professional musician.  I saved up some money cutting yards in the neighborhood and bought my first guitar from Sears.  I took lessons.  I learned songs. I was going to be a star.

When I was 11, I had my first paying gig playing a neighborhood girl’s birthday party.  My band was me and a drummer, “Bumps” Walsh.  We knew, I think, 5 songs.  The first song I ever played “professionally” was “Louie Louie.”  I was scared out of my wits, but we kept playing and I lived through it.  In junior high, my band at that time, The Rebels, had a chance to play the prom.  But we had to audition, competing against four other bands.  I was as nervous as if we going up against The Beatles themselves, but we played.  And won. 

In high school, I played in “The American Dream” and, later, “Valley,” my last band.  We thought we were hot stuff.  We played clubs around town, the Officer’s Club at the local Army base, the teen club on Friday night.  And one day we got invited to play in front of hundreds of fellow high schoolers at an outdoor assembly.  I’d never played for so many people.  But if I wanted to be The Beatles and play Shea Stadium, I figured this was a necessary step.  The gig came off without a hitch and we had a great time that I remember to this day. 

All the guys in the band grew up and went different directions, different careers, different states but we’re still close friends after all these years, remembering the fun times and excitement of performing.  None of which would have ever happened if we hadn’t been able to “dream big and dare to fail.”

What does that have to do with running The Bradley Center?  Just 3 years ago we struggled with a census in the twenties, drained money from our parent hospital system every year to keep the doors open and wondered if we’d be here tomorrow.  We “dreamed big and dared to fail,” launching an aggressive plan to eventually grow our business to 50 patients a day (how many remember my “To 50…and Beyond!” Buzz Lightyear mascot??) and return The Bradley Center to profitability.  Many thought it would never happen.  Many thought we’d fail.  But as William Arthur Ward said, “If you can dream it, you can achieve it.”  And so we have...census in the 70's on a daily basis, improved quality & patient satisfaction...and profitability for the first time in 7 years.   So…here’s to our next big dream!

Things to ponder: 

Where in your life are you dreaming big? 

How will you take your first steps toward those dreams? 

Who is important in helping you accomplish your dreams?   

What is the biggest dream you plan to aim for in the next year?