Accepting the Call to Adventure

 Every dream begins with a call — sometimes spoken to you, sometimes spoken through you. In this episode, Katherine Craddock breaks down the three principles that shape the start of any dream: the moment someone else names it, the courage to take massive imperfect action, and the quiet discipline of building with what you already have. You’ll also learn how your own voice can become the call that awakens someone else’s dream. 

Transcript

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Welcome to the Dream Blueprint, where we build your dream into something real. On today's episode, we're going to be talking about the call, the moment when someone else names your dream. Last week we talked about giving a voice to the dream that's been living in your heart that you've been afraid to share, that's that secret wish and longing, and I have to do this before I die. This is my purpose on this earth kind of dream. And letting other people know what it is so they can help you and inspire you to follow through on the dream. But today we're going to be talking about a more common situation, which is what if you don't know what your dream is? What if you already accomplished your dream or your dream died? It's deader than dead. You can never ever ever accomplish it because that moment in time has passed you by or situations in your life have changed. What if you don't have the self-confidence or the self-awareness to go, hey, I'm really good at belly dancing? Like you, you just really might not know what it is that you're good at. And that's totally okay. It's the human experience, actually. And it's such a common experience that, you know, most of the time our dreams don't come from inside of us, it comes from someone else who sees something in you before you see it in yourself. That's why we have teachers, that's why we have coaches and parents and mentors and best friends. We need that human connection to call us into our best selves. And that's what we're gonna talk about today. What do you do if you don't have a dream? It's such a common human problem that Joseph Campbell realized that it was a pattern. It was a universal story that he called the hero's journey. And Christopher Vogler he adapted it into a 12-step version that's used in Hollywood screenwriting and in storytelling, sermons, uh conference presentations, book authors, they all use this 12-step hero's journey pattern, and they actually gave it a name. It's called the call to adventure. Um, and oftentimes, this is also part of the hero's journey, there's a refusal of the call. Ah, I can't really do that. I don't feel really qualified. It's so common, all humans experience it that we have a name for it, and it's a familiar rhythm in the stories that we tell ourselves and each other. I know this because it's how I became a screenwriter in the first place. Someone saw something in me that I didn't see in myself. And today we're gonna talk about three moments in dream building related to that. The first moment is when someone calls you, they name something in you, they awaken something in you. The second moment is when you take massive and perfect action. You go, you know what? I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm in. I'm gonna, I'm gonna give it a try. I'm gonna start learning how to accomplish this thing. And the third moment is when you become the master, you become the mentor, and you can start to call those things out in other people, that you can be that prophet, that teacher, that coach, that guide in their life, and say, Hey, here's what I see in you. Did you ever notice this about yourself before? You're really funny, or you're really fast, or you work really hard, you're a good cook. Those kinds of compliments that make other people have those moments where they say, Oh my gosh, uh, you're right. That is totally aligned with what I love to do and who I want to be. I had one of those moments myself when I was in college. You know, ever since I was a little girl, I had a lot of people telling me that I was a good writer, um, I should be a writer, all these kinds of things. But it wasn't until I was in a class with this Pulitzer Prize-winning professor, Roger Wilkins. And it was after class, the classroom had emptied out, I was gathering my book bag and about to head out the door, and he looked at me and he said, Hey you. And with all the gravitas in the world, he said, You have a gift. What are you going to do with it? And in that moment, because of how he said it, how deeply he looked into my eyes, how sure he was about what he said, and how much it resonated in what I knew to be true in myself, I felt totally exposed. I felt vulnerable. I felt naked in my soul, that he could see inside of me that he knew that I had this calling on my life. And it was the first time someone had given me that charge of you must deploy this gift in the world. This is your heavy responsibility. And now, decades later, I what he said resonates in my head all the time. I know that him calling that out in me is part of God speaking through him to me to say, you must help the world with your gift. I sometimes I use it in a lot of different ways. I don't always use it in some magical way, but sometimes that calling, when somebody else says that calling to you, it's not uh full of gravitas and it makes you cry and it makes you feel vulnerable. Sometimes it's really just ordinary. And that's how I became a screenwriter. I was driving back late at night. I had the kids strapped in the car, and we were actually driving home. My husband and I, Chris and I, we were driving home from my mother-in-law's because at the time we didn't have enough money to have a TV or to have like cable services of any kind. And we were just driving back. It's nighttime. We're driving in my like moldy Dodge neon that's like me and has this tiny little horn. Um, and we were just talking about movies and our friends, and all of a sudden, he just was like, you know, we have a friend who has an incredible true life story. It was a friend of ours who had been a basketball player, was cut from the basketball team, and tried out for soccer, and later became an Olympian. And um, or anyways, represented the US national team. But he said, You're a good writer. I bet we could turn this into a movie like Rudy or Rocky or something like that. Uh, why don't you try to become a screenwriter? And I was like, I don't know anything about that. Like, that's not what I've been trained to do. I don't know how to write a screenplay. He was like, Well, just give it a try. So we the most massively imperfect action we could possibly take. Um I we called our friend, we said, would you be interested in having your story turned into a movie? And he said yes. And we show up at his house, and I had like a notebook, like three, you know, with the ring binder notebook and a pen. And um, we had like briefly figured out like Sid Feld's three act five-act structure. I don't even remember what the axe structure is now, to be honest. But we we were like, okay, it's got to fit these parameters. And I had, you know, the kids and the care baby carriers, and they're a really kid-friendly family. And so I sat down and just started interviewing. Tell me your story. And as he told his story, we realized it fit perfectly into screenplay format. So that was really exciting. And then I didn't know what to do, how to like get this done on paper, but I knew how to use like Microsoft Word. So I just started typing it into Microsoft Word and like big, huge paragraphs. I didn't know about screenwriting software or how to use it or screenwriting pacing or anything like that. And um, every week we would get together with a group of dudes that were part of our college uh ministry that my husband and I were doing, and it was in the like dankest uh college dude townhouse you can possibly imagine. But we had so much fun. I would present 10 pages and we would eat pizza, and the guys would give their feedback, and then I'd go, and the next week I'd bring 10 more pages, and um, and then I realized I needed more help. So I got uh we we saved up money and we paid for a consultant, and um, the consultant's name was John Rainey, and John is awesome, and he's still my friend, and he was like, Wow, what a hot mess! But he said it kindly, and he helped teach me this is how you do the grammar and the punctuation and the dialogue, and this is how you structure a screenplay story, and we started getting books and listening DVDs and magazines and and um podcasts and trying to figure out the screenwriting world together. It was a hot mess and it was all over the place, but at the end of the day, we did have a polished screenplay that was able to be produced. It took a long time, but we did it. So I'm I'm really proud of that moment because I didn't know that I could be a screenwriter, and it enabled me to go on to my next screenplay, which that more came from my heart and what I wanted to share with the world. And it was able to be done much faster because I had mastered the process. It was really true. I did know how to screenwrite, and um, I was so grateful that my husband uh called that out in me because we got to have these incredible adventures in the movie screenwriting production world, and we got to invite all our friends in so that they could also be a part of that process. Um, so these moments, these callings, like sometimes they you didn't have them as part of your plan, but somebody calls it out for you. And a lot of times, because it's you and it's your voice and you bring your twist on things, it helps you get your unique message out into the world. You know, the second screenplay I did that got produced is called Touched by Grace. And that started when I was a kid. My babysitter, Sharon, she was wanting to be a special needs teacher, so and she still is, and so she would surround us with stories of special Olympics and here's how you help. And in my church community, we had a lot of families with special needs, and I got to become friends with these beautiful, beautiful souls in the world, and it taught me that every soul is valuable, and that we need to be respectful, and we also need to open our eyes to the gifts that everybody has to bring, and they're not always obvious. And, you know, in Matthew 5, 14, it says, You're the light of the world, and we need to share that light. And I was able to highlight a population that that's all they do is share light, and then in return, a lot of times they're bullied, and I was able to use that as a lens to help like my own daughter navigate bullying situations. The hinge moment for that screenplay actually came uh by accident in terms of I put myself out in community. I put myself out in an uncomfortable situation where I did allow other people to speak into my life. It was late at night, the kids were going crazy, everybody's crying, it's pouring rain outside. I get a text, hey, we're meeting with um my husband's aunt for dinner at this fast food restaurant. Can you come? And I was like, oh my gosh, I just this is overwhelming. I'm gonna have to bring three kids there. How am I gonna do this? Uh, but I was like, I I love my family, so I'm gonna show up. And I showed up, and and we're just I don't even remember the fast food place, if it was like McDonald's or whatever it was, everybody's running around, it's total chaos. And I was started mentioning, hey, I have an idea to do this screenplay, and then she just was talking about her kids and their high school experiences, and she ended up giving me the story, a bullying story about some kids who had elected um someone to the prom court as a prank, as a cruel prank. Um, I was like, oh my gosh, that is the missing puzzle piece. That's my story. And if I hadn't showed up, if I hadn't gathered the kids and been there in the rain, I would have never gotten that puzzle piece that became a movie that has gone on to bless a lot of people. So I think it's so important as we consider what our dreams are, we have to be seen in order to be called. Calling requires visibility. You can't be called if you're hiding. You know, Jesus tells us that you're the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. We can't hide ourselves all the time and expect to find a dream. And when you step out into community, it doesn't have to be big. It can be in the context of a church or a concert or a conference or a mastermind, but it can also just be in the context of like the other day, I went to two garden centers because I was working on a dream of mine to have a Normandy-inspired garden. I love gardening. And I actually made a pact with myself because I'm I'm really locked into like just driving the kids' places, doing schedules, taxes, laundry. I I'm I almost never leave my bubble, my sports roots and my farm bubble. And um I gave myself a challenge of I need to go and do one errand a week where I get out of the house and I do something that's like self-care related, that's that that um gets me out of my comfort zone. And when I went to these garden centers, it happened not once but twice. And it actually like is something that inspired me to start this podcast. I was asking in the first garden center, I asked the lady, can you show me where the Millennium Allium is? And um Allium's like a it's a plant that does this beautiful globe. Um and it's like an onion, but it's it's really cool looking. She's like, Oh, I love globe alliums. Have you heard of them? And I said, Yes, I have. And then I made a connection she wasn't expecting. I said, Roll dolls garden has them. And she's like, the author? And I was like, Yes, the author. She's like, like Charlie in the chocolate factory is like, yes, it's so whimsical. He has like a whole forest of them, and it totally matches his personality, but that's actually not the garden I'm trying to build today. And I just saw on her face this surprise that of the way I connected things, the way that I told a deeper story and and kind of created a tapestry and had like a lot of thought behind a lot of story thought behind the garden I was creating. And then it happened again because I went to a separate garden center and a man came up to me and he was like, I was looking at catmint, Nepito Walker's Lowe, and he was like, What is that? And I said, This is Catmint. And he said, Would that be good for my garden? I said, Well, Martha Stewart had it in her garden, and she actually planted it so much that you know you should know that she had to dig it up, and so you have to be really careful. And all he heard was Martha Stewart, and so he said, Oh, Martha Stewart has it all. Just take 20 of them. And I was like, No, no, wait, I I tried to tell you a deeper story. But I I saw on his face that I was able to sell him the plant for the garden center. Yeah, I I need commission on that, because I was able to tie it into a story and a connection that he wasn't expecting and that resonated with him. And they didn't, they didn't actually directly call something out of me. They just kind of reminded me, like, oh yeah, I speak in a unique way. I make interesting connections. And I need to give that gift out to other people again, and that I had been hiding. So it doesn't have to be this big prophetic moment, like, you know, what are you doing with your gift? It can also just be a reminder that, oh yeah, I am good at that. So those two things are important the the being called by someone else, allowing yourself to say yes, and then taking massive and perfect action. But there's a third element, a third challenge to dream building, which is, you know, sometimes we're not just dreaming for ourselves, we're dreaming for other people in the best way, not in a controlling or a manipulative way. And sometimes we are the person who calls that out in other people. And, you know, John Maxwell talks about people rising to the level of the vision that you give them. And, you know, someone saw my gift, someone named my light, someone handed me possibility. And my words can call out someone else's dream. Your words can call out someone else's dream, but so can your presence, so can your vulnerability, and so can your need. It doesn't have to be, you don't have to have it all together. Sometimes the moment you say, I'm I'm missing this, I need help with this, you're awakening someone else's purpose. Our vulnerability, our need, the very things we try to hide, they're sometimes a doorway into someone else's courage. Like in the movie Touched by Grace, Grace was born with Down syndrome. And just her very presence in the world changes everyone around her by her just simply being herself, sharing her love and her joy and her need for help and friendship. And the same thing happens when we step out into the world, when we show up in community, when we show up at the Garden Center, our at Walmart, our presence at our need can call out someone else's dream. And our vulnerability becomes someone else's activation. And that leads us to this week's call to action. You might think that this call to action is listen to the dream that somebody else is calling out in you, and that's good. But sometimes when you don't have a dream yourself, that's okay. Start looking for that spark in other people, and you can be the dream weaver, the dream maker, the dream inspirer for somebody else. So my challenge to you this week is to have the courage, and it can be really hard and really vulnerable to compliment other people, but have the courage to give one naming compliment this week, not like I like your necklace, or you know, it can be you look so cute today because that does really help a lot of people, but it shouldn't be as much about appearance or performance, but more about that identity. Like, hey, everywhere you go, uh, you make people feel welcome, or or some kind of compliment that speaks to the core of who they are. Or like my husband being like, you know, I think you could be a screenwriter, or even two weeks ago being like, today is the day you need to start this podcast. So thanks, Chris, for calling me out. But um, that's he's very good at calling out dreams in other people. He's much better than me at that. Um, so tell someone the gift you see in them, tell someone the light you see in them, tell someone the value you see in them. And if you're still searching for your dream, your vulnerability, saying, Hey, I don't know what it is, you could you could type it out on social media. Um, You could ask, you know, pray and ask God. You can just say to a friend, like, I don't know what I should be doing. Do you, what do you think? Um, that very vulnerability might awaken someone else's uh dreams and their desire to have purpose and have help. Sometimes the missing piece of your dream is waiting right outside your comfort zone and the garden center or the dinner table or going to a class or in a conversation you didn't plan. Calling doesn't happen in isolation, it happens in community. And this week, you get to be that person for someone else. I'll see you next week for episode three, where we talk about once you have the dream, what happens when your dream collides with someone else's dream? Talk to you soon.