“What do you want to be when you grow up?” 

Do you remember what you replied? As a young child, you weren’t limited by fears, ability, money, or even the qualifications you might need. Instead, your answers bubbled up from within, driven by desire and the influences of friends, family and life experiences.

As teenagers, our dreams shift as we become increasingly aware of the world and our place within it. In our twenties, we are busy finding our feet, refining career choices and finding a life partner. By the time we are in our thirties, we’ve usually accomplished something of what we once dreamed about, but many BIG dreams are put on the back burner because homes, kids, jobs, cars and life admin to look after, we have so little time. 

BUT no matter how old you are, there is often still time to make a cherished dream come true. Especially if that idea, vision or dream regularly drifts through your mind. 

I have been fortunate to create three big dreams. The first, in 2009, was to purchase The Jasmine House. Please read my story here. In January 2024, I published my first book. Click to watch a short video of me reading part of the introduction. And in September 2024, I bought a ‘project’ property in Calabria, Italy, which will become my winter bolthole. Click to watch a short video. All of my dreams have taken a long time to manifest while other things took priority. And yet, I regularly thought and talked about, pondered and researched them while they were in the background of my life. Keeping dreams alive is one of the important steps, as you will see below. Over the years, I’ve learnt how to make BIG dreams come true. I believe everyone can make their dreams some true. Are you ready to work on your yours? These six steps are the secret to manifest your dreams.

STEP 1. DON’T BE AFRAID TO DREAM BIG

Being scared of the unknown is an intricate part of our being. Fear, at its heart, is designed to keep us safe. Yet when, with our whole heart, we step out of our comfort zone to be the person we aspire to be or do or have something long held dear, life itself surges through our veins, and it feels good. 

It is though, so easy to play it safe. A mortgage, your children’s future and a chosen lifestyle may require the stability you have created. This may be true—or perhaps it is a crutch. BUT please don’t stop thinking, dreaming and exploring different opportunities. Allow space in your heart for your dreams to live. Allow ideas to percolate without worrying about how to make them real—or even when it could happen. Trust in the simplicity of keeping your dream alive. This will somehow, at some time and in some way, lead you to opportunities and synchronicities that lead you to where you want to be. 

STEP 2. COMMIT YOUR DREAM TO PAPER 

Dreams in the land of thoughts are often as wispy as clouds scudding across the sky. However, when you commit ideas and dreams to paper, it gives them shape. Being more tangible helps you imagine them more clearly. 

If you can, instead of typing, write by hand. With a pen in your hand, there is a visceral connection from your heart to paper, which is much stronger than when your fingers tap on a keyboard.

What and how you record your dream is personal. It could be a simple list of bullet points, a random stream of phrases or complete essays. Choose paper, a notebook or a scrapbook. Do it in a way that feels right for you. Enhance your dream by finding images online or in magazines—any image that resonates with what you hope to create. Don’t worry if the pictures aren’t exactly right—these are just reminders for your subconscious to latch on to. Trust your choices. Attach these images to your words, and keep them somewhere close by—in other words, not filed away in a draw that never sees the light of day!

For several years, I doodled, wrote about and collected images of a large house with a walled garden that would have an open fireplace and sea views. When I viewed The Jasmine House for the first time, it was quite spooky how much it mirrored my words.

STEP 3. SHARE YOUR DREAM WITH OTHERS

Much like step two, talking about your dream makes it more real. BUT be sure to share it only with people who will be supportive and excited for you. This is important. 

STEP 4. TRUST, FAITH & BELIEF

Take the first step in faith. 
You don’t have to see the whole staircase. 
Just take the first step—Dr Martin Luther King Jr.

My initial dream was to create a healing centre. I envisioned a grand old house with space for different therapists to work in harmony in helping our collective clients. I didn’t have the money for such an investment, but I wanted to somehow make it real so, as my first step in faith, I purchased the domain name, www.thejasminecentre.com. Spending only £15 gave my dream more gravitas. 

Then, one evening, randomly searching for a new home on Portland—not a healing centre—I found what is now The Jasmine House. In my scrapbook, I had written reams about a healing centre. In particular, I had written about it having a walled garden, and the house would have large windows to let the light in, an open fire so it would feel cosy in the winter, and there would be sea views. On my first visit to view the house, it was spooky how much my words were mirrored in this property. It was too small for a healing centre, but I thought it could be a healing house. And so, my dream morphed from a healing centre to a retreat house.

STEP 5. TRY IT ON FOR SIZE?

What would give you a taste of what you want to manifest? 

One of my former clients, unemployed at the time, passionately wanted to work for the Southbank Centre. So for one week, I asked her to mimic what would be her morning commute to The Southbank Centre and for every morning to enter the centre as if she was already working there. In this way, she experienced how this felt. Two weeks later, on a whim, she did her commute again, but this time, she walked to the reception desk and asked if there were any job vacancies, and after several interviews, she landed a great job.

When imagining The Jasmine Centre, I was invited to a Health Clinic to talk about Ayurveda. The clinic was in a grand old house with more than a dozen therapists working there. It looked very similar to my dream. After the talk, I cheekily asked the owner if I could take her to lunch and pick her brains—and generously, she said yes.

If you wish to meet the man or woman of your dreams, imagine where you would go in your free time. Where are they likely to hang out? Make a conscious effort to hang out there, too.

Does your dream involve living somewhere else? Instead of a usual holiday, visit the new place and stay in AirBnB rather than a hotel. Once there, visit what might become your local supermarket—even if it is to only buy an apple. What did that feel like? Which establishment would become your local cafe/restaurant/pub or haunt? Go there. What does it feel like? Notice the energy of the place and the people there—does this place feel like home?

There is always something that you can do to ‘taste’ what it feels like. What can you do to ‘try it on for size’?

STEP 6. TIME FOR THE STARS TO ALIGN

Making dreams come true combines desire, persistence, patience and a willingness to try new things. And, trust it will happen at the right time. Both of my big dreams happened many years after the initial thoughts and a couple of years after I was focused on making it happen. Finding my winter bolthole came after several trips to Sciliy (where I thought I was meant to go). After each trip, despite having a good time, I came away disappointed that I had not found ‘my place’. 

In February (’24), I flew to Calabria—the toe of the boot of Italy that almost touches Sicily. I hired a car to explore four towns and the coastal villages between them. The beginning of the trip was a disaster, including an AirBnB fraud, leaving me with nowhere to stay and getting fined for driving. I almost aborted the trip, but the last town I visited was exactly what I had hoped for. Once there, finding the property and meeting people who helped me purchase the property was perfect synchronicity. 

Timing. Making your dream come true may happen quickly or more slowly than you think it should, but often, your dream usually happens at a perfect moment. The secret is to be open to new variations on your dream, be ready to step up and appreciate it all.