What Happens After You Realize the Dream?

I realized something a few months ago that I wasn't entirely prepared for.

I fully realized my dream of SHINE.

Not I'm getting close.

Not someday.

I mean...I looked around and realized:

Holy crap. 😂

This is it.

The Light House. The lake. The community. The teachers. The workshops. The education. The thousands of people who walk through these doors every year to heal, learn, connect, become practitioners, change careers, or simply become more of themselves.

It had exceeded every dream I once had for it.

And then something happened that I didn't expect.

I started wondering...

Now what?

And if I'm being vulnerable, for a minute I even wondered whether fully realizing the dream meant my time with it was complete.

That's a terrifying thought to have when you're standing inside everything you once dreamed of having.

Although it scared the crap out of me…

I entertained the idea.

Because here's something I've learned about myself.

Bishop T.D. Jakes talks about builders and bankers. Builders are wired to create, initiate, develop, and bring something into existence. Bankers are wired to steward, manage, optimize, and sustain what has already been built.

I'm a builder.

Human Design would call me a Manifestor.

CliftonStrengths calls me an Activator.

Which, loosely translated, means:

I get stuff done. 😂

The teachers I collaborate with at SHINE make fun of me for this all the time.

They'll say, “If you have a conversation with Cortney at 8 AM, by 5 PM the idea has a name, a price, a date, a product page, an Eventbrite listing, a Facebook event, an email campaign, a graphic...and somehow three people have already registered.”

They're not wrong.

Add all of that together and what do you get?

I'm not entirely sure either. 😂

Some kind of highly caffeinated creative tornado...minus the caffeine.

But I know one thing.

I don't stand still very well.

So when I realized SHINE had become the full reality, I tried giving myself some very mature advice.

"Enjoy the orchard.

Taste the fruit.

You don't need another mountain today."

Beautiful.

Very evolved.

And apparently...not me. 😂

Because the truth is:

I do need another mountain.

Not because this one wasn't enough.

Not because I don't love SHINE.

And not necessarily because I'm finished with it.

But because creating is part of what makes me feel alive.

And once I stopped making that mean something was wrong, everything got clearer.

_

You Are Allowed to Want More

I think we sometimes carry a strange guilt around fully realizing a dream and then discovering we want something else.

Shouldn't I just be grateful?

Shouldn't this be enough?

Didn't I say this was what I wanted?

Yes.

And maybe it was exactly what you wanted.

Maybe you climbed the mountain.

Maybe you built the career. Raised the kids. Created the business. Earned the title. Bought the house. Became the person you once desperately wanted to become.

Celebrate the hell out of that.

And then...

Listen.

Because new desires don't stop arriving simply because an old one came true.

In fact, just the opposite - realizing one dream gives you enough space to finally hear the next one.

That doesn't invalidate what came before it.

It means you're alive.

And I would go even further: the danger isn't wanting another mountain. The danger is staying on top of the old one because you think you're supposed to be satisfied there.

And once I realized that, I started asking:

What mountain top is calling me now?

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So...What Does That Mean for SHINE?

I've decided something very simple.

I'm in it for the joy.

If something at SHINE lights me up, I'm following it.

If it feels expansive, interesting, weird, leading-edge, synchronistic, or makes me say, Wait...what happens if we try THIS?

I'm in.

I'm not in “let’s build it” mode anymore.

I'm in synchronicity mode.

That doesn't mean SHINE stops evolving.

Have you met me? 😂

There will always be something new.

In October, Auburn and I are heading to one of Dr. Joe Dispenza's advanced retreats, and I already have a feeling I'm going to come home with my energetic snow globe thoroughly shaken.

What comes from that?

I have no idea.

That's kind of the point.

I'm leaving room to be surprised.

But I'm also turning more of my attention toward the things calling me forward now. The ideas I want to explore. The work I want to create. The people I want to work with more deeply.

A new mountain is emerging.

And I'm letting myself climb it.

-

Maybe Yours Is Too.

This is where this stops being a story about me.

Because I wonder how many people reading this already know there's another mountain.

Maybe you've outgrown something that was once exactly right for you.

Maybe you've spent 20 years in a career you're really freaking good at...and you don't want to do it for another 20. I hear you, sister. Been there. Done that.

Maybe the kids don't need you in quite the same way anymore.

Maybe you've become fascinated by healing, energy, the nervous system, sound, Reiki, somatics, yoga—and there's a tiny voice saying:

What if I did something with this?

Maybe you don't want to blow up your entire life.

You just want to know what else might be possible.

Or maybe you're ready to set the whole damn playbook on fire. 😂

Either way...

You're allowed to want the next thing.

You don't have to diminish the life you've built to admit that you're ready for more.

You don't have to hate your career to explore another one.

You don't have to abandon one dream to become curious about another.

And you certainly don't need to know exactly where the next path leads before you take the first step.

Sometimes the first step is simply admitting:

I think something else is calling me.

Then you follow the breadcrumbs.

Take the class.

Walk into the room.

Learn the modality.

Meet the people.

Ask the question.

Trust the synchronicity.

See what lights up.

Because maybe you don't need a five-year plan for your next chapter.

Maybe you just need to give yourself permission to explore it.

I'll be doing the same.

And I look forward to seeing some of you on the next mountain.

xo,

💚 Cortney

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P.S. Want to dip your toes in?

Our SHINE Open House is around the corner. Come browse. Meet our teachers. Experience the campus. Learn about different healing modalities, trainings, and pathways. You don't need to know what you're looking for yet.

Sometimes you just need to walk through the door and see what catches your attention.

➡️ Explore the SHINE Open House

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P.P.S. Or maybe dipping your toes isn't your style. (twins!)

My High Frequency Healing Mentorship is the cannonball into the deep end.

It's real. Raw. Intimate. Transformational. And unlike anything I've offered before.

It is absolutely NOT for everyone.

But I have room for one more person, and applications are open for just a couple more days.

If something in you has been whispering yes every time you've seen me mention it...

Maybe this is your next mountain.

➡️ Explore the High Frequency Healing Mentorship

Will you trust the breadcrumbs and say yes to either?