We all have dreams. As freelancers, we are attempting to live out our dreams daily. But, have you thought about all of your dreams lately? Sounds silly, but while you have your head down typing away trying to survive as a freelance writer, have you really looked at your dreams and made sure you were on the right track?

For me I have always dreamed of being a writer. In grade school it was poetry, in high school it was fiction and in college it was as a journalist. While my writing dreams have taken on many forms, I got sidetracked early in my career, abandoning writing altogether for a 401k and a salary. But recently I have found my way back to writing and all of my dreams seem possible.

I love being a freelance writer. I love that I am home all day, I love that I can pick and choose who I work for and what topics I write about. Primarily I do business writing because that’s where my experience is, there are more jobs available and it pays on a regular basis. I truly love what I do, I love my clients and I love writing no matter what kind of writing it is. And I realized this week that I have other dreams for my writing career too.

I just read a really great book, the type of book that makes me actually sad that it is over, and afterwards I sat there thinking – I would love to try to write a book. Something that would make readers feel the way I felt while I was reading that book. Now back when I was in the corporate world, I would have laughed at myself for that thought and forgotten about it as quickly as the thought had occurred to me. But now, it seems like a lot more than a childish day dream, it actually seems possible. Why not? It has suddenly occurred to me that there are other forms of writing that I have always wanted to pursue too. I love reading so much and I have always secretly wanted to be a book critic. I would love to be the first person to read a new book and give my opinions on it in a review. I have also always wanted to write for magazines.

So while I am happy with my current work and I wouldn’t change it for the world, I am going to keep my other dreams on the table too. I am going to start brainstorming book ideas, magazine ideas and I am going to follow all of my dreams, not just one version of them.

What about you? What are your other dreams? What kind of writing do you really want to do and how do you pursue it?