A Cruise to Bermuda and Empowerment

Marsha explains how a journey to an island can take you much further than you thought

A few months ago, my husband, Donald and I took a group of friends, family and clients on a luxury cruise to the beautiful island of Bermuda. Donald is a travel agent (Haygood Travel) and I am a career/ life coach and motivational speaker (StepWise Associates). We thought it would be a treat to combine our business expertise and have some fun on the Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas.

The trip had been planned many months before and as the days grew closer to set sail, we fielded many calls about weather, food, clothing and the group coaching sessions that I would conduct during our days at sea.  We dubbed the cruise the "Empowerment Journey' and we suggested that our group spend some time reflecting on their life, past and future, as well as all of the wonderful activities this vacation had to offer.

Keep a Dream Journal

The night before the first session on board served as the ice breaker with lots of food, drink, singing and dancing. The next morning, the group, ages mid- 30s to mid-80's came to the  meeting smiling and happy but a bit apprehensive about what the session would entail.  I handed each a small journal and asked that they take note of anything they heard of interest or that they might want to share with others.  We shared stories from the night before, drank coffee and ate breakfast snacks very casually until I threw out the big questions....

Are you happy with your life? Are you pursuing your passions?

What would you be doing differently if you knew you wouldn't fail?

What legacy do you want to leave?

Wow....silence, wide eyes, reflection, smiles and a bit of nervousness all followed.  I asked each person to take their dreams out of storage! Bring them back to the forefront. To dream like they did when they were young children. And to tell what they wanted to be when they grew up. Within a short time fun stories began to be told ....basketball player, TV producer, nurse, truck driver, dancer, actress, writer. The list was long and varied. All very creative and limitless.


One by one, the group started sharing stories of what they had hoped to do and planned to accomplish over their lifetime. Excitement grew as they asked each other questions and shared experiences and life lessons.

Take Your Dreams Out Of Storage

This group, many who did not know one another before setting sail, were now encouraging one another, sharing resources and ideas and dreams that had been locked up in storage for a long time, some thoughts that had never been shared before began to emerge. It was like magic, as we each began to feel an unconditional sense of joy.


We all have dreams that we have locked away in "Someday" storage.  We sometimes even forget what they are until we are encouraged to go back and revisit them.  Taking dreams out of storage takes motivation and courage. We make excuses why they no longer apply or cannot be done......I am too tired, too busy, too old.  But is that really true?

Keep Dreaming

I encouraged the group and I now encourage you to take some time to reflect on the questions I posed and document your answers so that you can look at them, think about them and be accountable for them.  It's ok to modify or start anew but dreams are a part of life's journey. If it has been a while since you have had that feeling of joy and magic that a good dream brings, you owe it to yourself to open your mind and your heart and anticipate all the possibilities. You cannot just wait for it to happen; you have to make it happen. Take your dreams out of storage!

   Marsha's first empowerment cruise was so successful that the second one is already     scheduled for 2014. Dust off those dreams! 

By Marsha Haygood, Career & Personal Coach, Motivation Speaker, Author and President of StepWise Associates.  

You can contact Marsha with your questions here in the comments or at mhaygood@
stepwiseassociates.com.

Also visit Marsha's site for more information on the many services she offers at StepWise Associates.