Tammy Rimes' new book Drink Fine Wine... Ride Fine Horses is no "head in the clouds" self-help book. Tammy manages to be both inspiring and realistic as she encourages people to live the life of their dreams, using her own life and other people's encouraging stories as examples for how to make your dreams come true.
Tammy and her husband had a dream. She wanted to work with horses. He wanted to operate a winery. After years of working, saving, buying a ranch, and operating a small winery and wine-tasting room, they have made their dreams come true. And it wasn't easy. It took a lot of hard work-in fact, I love that Tammy dismisses the idea that if you do what you love, you'll never work another day in your life. You might get to work at what you love, but you will still do hard work. Part of that hard work was Rimes holding down a city job while her husband operated the winery, and then she would come home to work evenings. Part of it was networking in the community, including spending time at day-long outdoor events, covered in smoke and sweat but smiling at everyone who wanted to taste their wine. And part of it was holding on to the vision of that dream even when it looked impossible.
How do you make your own dreams come true? A great way to start is to read Drink Fine Wine... Ride Fine Horses and find out how Tammy and many others did it. She walks readers through the process, from believing in the dream to networking, dealing with adversity, and inspiring others to get excited about your dream. One example she gave that really resonated for me was that long before they had a ranch, she and her husband had decided to name it "Hacienda de las Rosas" or "Big House of the Roses" and she told everyone about the ranch before it was a reality. When people asked her where it was located, she would say, pointing to her head, "Right here... but one day it will be a real place."
Tammy dismisses any thoughts that people can't make their dreams come true. The biggest part of the process is often just believing it is possible. Tammy knows people might say, "Well, that's all well and good to have a Dream Life, but I have to pay the bills and need to take care of my kids." Tammy understands that, saying, "I get that... boy, do I get that. My husband and I have built our winery and horse ranch, but I still had to work another 'day' job to help pay for that dream. My Dream Life of Freedom was and is a work in progress. I had to work my other job for years to help support the achievement of our Dream Life. But having to work now doesn't prevent you from dreaming. Sometimes we have to do the job we have now for the dream of tomorrow."
Tammy doesn't forget that amid all the hard work she has done to make her Dream Life a reality, she has also needed to have fun. This book reflects her rich sense of humor, which I really appreciated. She knows how to inspire coworkers and employees, and she tells funny stories of how she's used humor in the workplace. Best of all, in my opinion, she's a big Lucille Ball fan, to the point that every year her husband and she have an event at the winery where she dresses up like Lucy in the famous I Love Lucy grape-stomping episode and then reenacts it for the crowd.
The book also has moving moments, including a wonderful tale of forgiveness about a coworker whose son was involved in a murder. Tammy realizes that sometimes we have emotional baggage that gets in our way and prevents our dreams. This tale of forgiveness and other examples she includes will truly help you to believe anything is possible from healing the past to creating the future when you commit yourself to pursuing your dream life.
From figuring out your passion and envisioning your dream life to making detours from Plan A to Plan B and even to C or D when necessary, and from learning how to be the leader in your own life to exercises that trigger your thoughts to create the life you want, you'll feel like the good life is not only possible but just waiting for you after you read this book.
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