Helping people make their dreams come true is what I do for a living. I have manifested so many of my own personal dreams. I believe that we are here to create magic, to break boundaries and to experience life through our own personal power.
What I have learnt is every single dream that I felt was impossible to achieve, when I achieved it, it brought a deep and special gift. A gift within that is so personal and that cannot be explained in words. The gift is an expansion of self, an expansive of what it means to be alive. It is the unveiling of the diamonds and the gems within. We all have them but they tend to lie dormant unless you keep realising the dreams and goals within ourselves.
Personally, helping another experience their dream is even more rewarding . In this case, it was the dreams of two people who weren't taught to think big. Life had led them to move their entire family from a small rural village in Southern Serbia all the way around the world, to a foreign land they knew nothing about. My parents, with their limited education, have always felt that some of their big dreams were impossible for them. Although they are my heroes because of who they are and what they have achieved in their lives in Melbourne, Australia, they never felt that the big luxuries and ideas and desires were for them.
As most migrants from the Balkans of their generation, they would never think about going beyond the necessities. They worked hard and lived moderately. My parents did regularly travel back to their homeland but never took the time to go much further.
I remember as a child, my father had a fascination with Russia. He would talk to me about the Russian opulent history, their culture, and the natural resources that this massive country had. He would persistently read about the country dreaming about what it would be like to experience it. Many times, he would say to me "one day, if I am lucky, I would love to go there."
I knew with their practical way of living that dream would never be realised unless I intervened. So, I took leadership of the situation and back in 2012 and created the luck he had dreamt about for so long. I surprised them with a fully paid trip to Moscow and St Petersburg.
By this time, I had already been an extensive traveller. I had visited many countries mostly alone. I had an idea of what to expect but I must say, in this case, my expectations were significantly exceeded.
Walking around Moscow, we felt comfortable and safe. The clean city was full of diversity, beauty and a depth of culture and arts. Having grown up in Australia, we heard all sorts of things about this country but in our experience being there, the ideas that most Australians had about Russia were not true.
Everyday we walked for hours around Moscow, it was clean and a melting pot of the traditional and modern world combined. One of the highlights, amongst many, that you do not hear much about is the Moscow underground train stations, their metro.
Getting off from one station to the next, the Moscow Metro stations left us in absolute awe. Each one having its own theme, we experienced mosaics, high arches, exquisite chandeliers and frescoes each sharing the history of Moscow. The deep history of this city was exquisitely displayed on the walls of each train station. It felt like you had just entered a national museum rather than being on a train line.
In our experience, the Russian people and culture displayed a deep respect and reverence for their arts and their history. We were in awe of this beauty and also astounded how well kept the metro gems were, there was not a dot of graffiti to be found anywhere. It was refreshing to see how deeply the locals respected the work and efforts that had gone into creating such beauty. The architecture and creative genius was deeply impressive.
When our Moscow adventure was over, we took the overnight first class train to St Petersburg. We were impressed by Moscow but St Petersburg was truly another level. With all of the travel I had done up until that point, St Petersburg was in my opinion by far, the most beautiful city I have ever experienced. If you had to choose only one word to describe this city it would be 'opulence'. It is truly the city of the Tzars. Walking St Petersburg, you cannot help but imagine Catherine the Great, Peter the Great, and Tolstoy's Anna Karenina roaming the streets.
We were truly impressed by the romantic night river tour. The experience of this royal city lit up at night as her bascule bridges would lift to let you cruise by was special. The palaces, the architecture, the romance came to life with a truly majestic atmosphere. You can really feel her history, the tzars and the opulence that was around in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
We spent a whole day in the State Hermitage Museum. One day is not enough. The opulence in just this one museum felt like it was never ending. My mind boggled when I though that during the wars a very large part of the art treasures they had were burnt down yet they had so much left. Opulence was everywhere and in every way of the word.
I think the best part of this trip was that one of my father's dreams had come true. Today, twelve years after that very special trip I took with my parents, my father has onset dementia. I occasionally show him our photos from Russia and his face lights up. He does remember our time there. It was special for me but I cannot imagine how much more special it was for my father. Although it was a dream, he never imagined that he would ever have this dream fulfilled. It will be something deeply etched in our hearts for the rest of our lives.
So, my friend, go out there and realise your wildest dreams. Do not let money hold you back. Do not let convenience stop you from making a dream happen. There will always be other priorities, other things you need to attend to. But if you do not attend to realising your dreams, this precious thing called life will pass you and your loved ones.
There is so much to do, to see and to explore in this wonderful world. To live the best life, to create memorable experiences for yourself and your loved ones means you have to step out and make a decision to make your goals and dreams happen. In the first chapter of my book, Your2Minds, I help readers define what it is that they want to live their best life - a free copy is available on my website - www.your2minds.com.
Now it is your turn. Make your big dreams and fantasy real. An experience of a lifetime is waiting to be yours.
Suzana Mihajlovic
Founder and Lead Success Coach
Your2Minds Pty Ltd
