July 8, 2009 18 Comments

151 AM

151 AMIt’s now a little past 2AM. I can’t sleep. I’m on vacation, with good friends staying over. My family is asleep. I’m on this very quiet lake with a beautiful cabin. And I’m at the kitchen table wide awake.

I can’t sleep because I’m working on next moves, next steps, the next appropriate arc for me to take, for me to share with you, for us to work on together. I can’t sleep because if I stop, the next big thing will wash over me and I won’t be on top of the wave; I’ll be at the bottom.

This is all such utter bull. You can sleep. I can sleep.

What I can’t do, however, is stop dreaming.

Related posts:

  1. Sleep is Like Alcoholism
  2. No- I Dont Sleep

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  • http://weweremeant2live.blogspot.com/ Mark Van Baale

    Never stop dreaming, Chris. I love how you are always thinking about how to help others. Thanks for all you do. :-)

  • http://ariherzog.com Ari Herzog

    Sleeping is overrated. Dreaming is the best part. I used to keep a dream journal in college. I used to train my brain to know there was a pad of paper and a pencil beside my bed, so when I awoke–before I opened my eyes–I wrote down what I remembered dreaming.

    I learned a lot about myself and my obstacles in those months. I learned a lot about my inspirations and how those people and places I admired appeared in my dreams.

    I don't keep dream journals anymore, but I always wonder if I should take it up again.

    You're on vacation. Enjoy it. You don't have to sleep. Be productive. Or be unproductive. When your body is ready, you'll want to close your eyes..and savor your dreams.

  • http://www.facebook.com/acnatta Andre Natta

    It's nice to be reminded of the fact that sometimes we need to shut it down and not think that the entire thing will fall apart if we don't get it done right now.

    Thankfully I got this reminder and now I'm planning on going to bed – so I can tackle the issues with a clear head later on.

    Cheers.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=581193899 facebook-581193899

    Hey Chris,

    You made me smile. You just don't wanna sleep in case you miss anything! It's a lovely quality…

    Ritsa :)

  • http://www.marriedwithluggage.com/ Betsy Talbot

    I'm up with the same kind of thoughts, though you said it better. You're right – time for bed.

  • http://www.travelinlocal.com/ LisaNewton

    This happens to me all to frequently. However, in this case, I'm 3 hours behind you, so now it's time for me to go to sleep.

    I wish you sweet dreams and hope you're able to sleep soon, and let the dreams never die :)

  • http://twitter.com/johnchavens John C. Havens

    I'm sorry you can't sleep but do yourself a favor and check out: http://www.projectrant.com/ and laugh a good, long cathartic laugh.

  • Heath

    Dude, the dreams will always be there, but you'll be able to remember them if you get some sleep.

  • mikecohn

    So watch your kids boogie board at the ocean. They go out, and they try to catch the good waves. If they miss a good wave, they just catch the next one. At the end of the day, they've still had a good day (or not) in the ocean. It wasn't about catching each wave. Just about getting a good ride on the ones they do catch, then running out and trying again, until its time to take a break and get ice cream.

  • http://deanholmes.me deanholmes

    You and I have discussed the sleeping thing (at 1am) and how little we both sleep or actually WANT to sleep. The thing that keeps you awake is the same issue I have – fear of losing any valuable content, locked down for conversation so we don't forget, while sleeping.

    Dreaming is all I have sometimes and that's a good thing because it helps me to focus in on strategies to stay ahead of the crowd when it comes to driving objectives for senior leadership with clients.

    So…. 4 hours last night for me and I am back at it…

    Dean

  • http://www.tommartin.typepad.com/ Tom Martin

    Nice. Action on your dreams is the ultimate Ambien. Dream. Plan. Act. Sleep will follow. enjoy your travels friend.
    @TomMartin

  • JamieLee

    To live, you need three things: sustenance, shelter, and air.
    To LIVE, you need to add PASSION.

    You've obviously got that in spades, though I'm sorry it's hounding you into some sleepless (or mostly sleepless) nights.

    But, I can relate. As a single mom, freelancer, and budding entrepreneur with an insatiable appetite for information, connections, and new ideas; I've often wished that sleep was optional. I love to sleep, but sometimes it'd be nice to be able to skip it without paying the mental and physical price the next day (or the day after that … you know, when you come down off the high of whatever kept you up all night and hit the proverbial wall?).

    After much trial and error, I've learned that the bottom line for me is “just go with it.” When I want to sleep, I sleep. When I have an urge to stay up all night planning, pondering, and percolating; I stay up all night. Most of the time, it all works out just fine.

    I just hope your late night was fueled more by excitement than fear. What puts you at the bottom of a wave is struggling against the natural motion of the water. Relax, take it in, go with the flow, and you'll almost always rise to the surface and ride it out with a smile on your face.

    Cheers.

  • http://spgriffing.com/ Susanne Griffing

    I think I can speak for quite a few of us when I say that we appreciate your sleepless nights and all the great information that comes from them.

  • http://twitter.com/SharonLD Sharon Dombroski

    Nice! You can dream while you sleep or while your awake….things are a little clearer after a few hours of shuteye :o)

  • http://www.christinakatz.com/ Christina Katz

    I couldn't sleep either… but it was because of the full moon. I can never get to sleep on the night of a full moon. :)

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  • http://www.uprintingcoupons.com/ UPrinting

    Aww… come on, dreaming and dreams are good. At least you have them. Even if they are just “dreams,” who knows, maybe someday they'd come true.
    Get some sleep man. :D

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