Who the Heck Put Us in Charge?

In thinking about ways to heal the world, I’ve tried a lot of different things. None of them really stuck until this: The Dream Lab.

The Dream Lab is a free experience where you get to reconnect with your inner dream. And it’s for just about anyone who feels like they’re at a crossroads—or simply suspects there might be more for them.

I can hear the gears in your head turning:

“Huh? How exactly do you see this working?”

Here’s my thought process.

Childhood is a time when you’re pretty much your most unfiltered self. Think Peter Pan: untamed freedom, imagination, and that pure sense of possibility we have before the world starts piling on expectations and responsibilities.

Now you’re worried about coordinating your shoes and belt. 

I totally agree with Peter Pan. Growing up sucks.

But here we stand: the adults in the room. The responsible ones. The people wondering who the heck thought it was a good idea to leave us in charge.

But in charge we are.

And the world is depending on us to own that responsibility with some tact, compassion, imagination—and maybe even a little joy.

Which brings me back to my purpose:

Healing this country I love so much.

I’ve been thinking about what happens when we give people permission to step outside, just for a little while, all the things that have shaped them—expectations, obligations, labels, politics, what they’re “supposed” to want—and simply reconnect with what makes them light up.

Hence, The Dream Lab.

Because when we are playful and joyful, we tend to become more authentic. More open. More curious. More willing to imagine something different.

And maybe, just maybe, that’s a pretty good place to start imagining a better future together.

The new tagline for We The People Rise is:

The American Dream Made Personal.
Open Yourself to What Is Possible.

And because We The People Rise is a nonprofit, my goal is to find ways to bring the Dream Lab to people for free.

Right now, we’re experimenting. Throwing spaghetti against the wall.

I’m hosting our first in-person Dream Lab on September 30 at 7:00 pm the Chapel Hill Public Library, and I’ll also be doing an online version. The first online one is September 23 at 7 p.m.

But I don’t want this to be something that only happens in a library or online.

I want to bring it wherever people gather:

church groups, companies, community organizations, schools, clubs, conferences, teams—or simply a bunch of people who want to spend some time dreaming, reconnecting with their inner compass, and remembering that thing that makes them come alive.

And this is where you might be able to help.

If you know an organization, company, group, church, community leader, HR person, CEO, rabble-rouser, dreamer—or anyone else who might be interested in bringing a Dream Lab to their people, I’d love an introduction.

We’re trying this out right now. We don’t know exactly where it’s going yet.

But I have a feeling it could be pretty interesting.

And if you know someone who should be part of figuring that out with us, please connect us.