Why Leaders Need Dream Days

I stayed behind in Atlanta after everyone else left.

Several of my team and I at Quantum Franchise Group traveled to Atlanta this past week for what’s called a Broker Discovery Day. This is an event held by franchise companies, usually at their headquarters, for the purpose of bringing brokers and consultants together to learn about their brand so we can more effectively present them to our clients.

Our event wrapped up Friday afternoon. My team all headed back home. I decided to spend Saturday as a “dream day,” and fly back on Sunday. I’ve been in a funk for a few weeks. My energy level has been low. My creativity had dried up. I had been fighting off bouts of moodiness and agitation. And I had begun to feel like I was treading water, not moving the company forward.

And then I remembered how important daydreaming has been for me all throughout my life, and how my greatest moments of vision, clarity, focus, and momentum have always come during those times when I stopped trying to produce, and just let my mind, heart, and spirit go wherever it wanted to go.

So here I sit, at a little urban oasis, by the water, in the middle of Sandy Springs, GA, surrounded by the lush spring greenery abundant in Georgia yet lacking back home in Michigan, feeling the breeze, listening to the rustling of leaves, watching ducks land on the small lake, birds singing in the trees, letting my mind go.

It didn’t take long for the vision of the future of our company to spring back to life and ideas to begin flowing again.

There are three needs that leaders must meet, that can deplete their mental and emotional energy.

There’s so much I love about owning a business and bringing amazing people together into teams that accomplish great things. It’s very easy for me to pour so much of myself into the business, and into caring for my team and clients, while ignoring how three important facets of leadership can drain my own life force if I’m not careful.

The Need to Produce: Leaders are often under pressure to deliver results and meet deadlines, leading to a relentless pursuit of productivity. However, this constant drive to produce can be exhausting and unsustainable in the long run.

The Need to Care for Team Members: Another challenge leaders face is the responsibility of caring for their team members' well-being and professional development. While supporting and mentoring others is vital for building a strong team culture, it can also be emotionally taxing for leaders.

The Need to Keep the Business on Track: Finally, leaders must navigate the complexities of keeping their businesses on track and moving forward amidst changing market conditions and competition. This constant need to adapt and innovate can be mentally draining, especially when faced with uncertainty and challenges.

Everyone approaches self-care differently and regains focus, clarity, and creativity in different ways. For me, it’s taking time for dream days.

Here are three of my rules for dream days.

I have to be very disciplined with this. My mind is such a busy place, always processing ideas, thinking through strategy, finding solutions to problems that have arisen, tracking my to-do list. I’m also a bit of a restless person, easily bored and discontent. I’ve found that if I’ll adhere to these simple rules, I’m re-energized more quickly.

Be in a setting that stimulates my senses. For an effective dream day I have to get out of my mind, and into my senses. And ironically, when my senses are stimulated, my mind is freed to go wherever it wants to go, instead of where it has to go when in production mode. I can’t explain it. It just happens.

For me, these settings are always outdoors. At this moment I am visually stimulated by the clear blue sky dotted with wispy white clouds, the green, yellow, and pink flora all around me, all contrasted against the striking blue-green glass office buildings around the small lake. I am tactually stimulated by the contradictory warmth of the sun and the cool breeze. Audibly, there are birds singing along with the interesting adult contemporary playlist here on the patio while a jet roars to life somewhere in the distance. This sensory stimulation keeps me grounded in the reality that I am part of something so much bigger than myself.

No productivity is allowed. I have a lot that I need to get done. I have 41 new candidates that have responded to my latest marketing campaign that I need to connect with to schedule introductory calls. I have research to complete for brand presentations scheduled for next week. I have a new team member to onboard, and a lot of admin work that needs to be finished. But I’m not doing any of that today.

I cannot have an effective dream day while paying attention to the to-do list screaming for my attention. By default, I am a results-oriented person who judges my worth by my results. And this can be unhealthy. A guilt-free, lazy dream day, punctuated by periodic naps, helps me to remember that it’s far more important for my worth to be built upon who I am versus what I accomplish.

Silence the inner dream killer. For me, this is probably the most important rule I have to follow. I’m a creative guy. But I’m also a logical guy. I’m a dreamer. But I’m also a realist. I’ve tried things that have worked. But I’ve tried more things that have not. I’ve succeeded, but I’ve also failed. I have some trophies. But I have even more scars.

I’ve found that when I place myself in the right setting, and discipline myself to be, not do, my imagination quickly begins to soar. I see things as they could be a year, or five years, or ten years from now. Exciting narratives form inside of me and I begin telling myself, and believing, fascinating stories about the future.

The logical, wounded me that has failed many times over could easily begin shouting down the soaring narratives that begin forming on my dream days. It’s taken many years, but I’ve finally learned the art of embracing the narratives and arresting the inner dream killer. Now, I allow my mind and spirit to just go wherever it wants to go, free from the burden of logic, or reason, or painful past experiences. And I embrace all of it as a potential, very real, future reality. Why not?

I spent far too much time as a dead man walking.

Most of my adult life, actually, and sadly. Remember that scene from Lord of the Rings when Theoden, long under a dark and hideous spell, was finally reawakened by Gandalf, and set free from influence of Grima Wormtongue? I often refer to that scene as a pretty accurate representation of what I experienced a few years ago when I was set free to embrace a future of beautiful possibility and limitless potential.

Dream days are a very important part of keeping me free, and I’m guessing they are for you too, even if you haven’t yet incorporated this discipline into your life.

About Quantum Franchise Group

Quantum Franchise Group is a full service franchise brokerage representing over 800 brands across 37 industries. We are a member of the Franchise Brokers Association with certification in FTC compliance. Since March, 2022, Quantum President William Huffhine has helped aspiring business owners to open nearly 100 franchises across the United States.

We serve aspiring business owners, at no cost to them, by guiding them step-by-step through the entire 6-step franchise ownership process.

Our role is not to sell. We're in the relationship business. Our role is to guide our clients toward successful business ownership with great franchise opportunities. All of our brands are carefully evaluated and vetted so our clients can be assured that all of the work we do together will be in their best interest.