Oh the things you see in a Wyoming Wal-mart!  With bag of cereal, gallon of milk, and my daughter in tow, we saw a teenage girl pushing a cart wearing a cowboy hat, tiara, and sash this weekend.  Since I knew the High School National Rodeo Finals were in town, I wasn’t nearly as mesmerized by the site as my eight-year-old daughter.  She couldn’t take her eyes off the beauty covered in leather and rhinestones. 

After fielding question after question from my daughter while we waited in a neighboring line at the checkout, I finally just dragged her over there to say hello.  Sweet as can be, Miss Oklahoma High School Rodeo Queen, Bayleigh Warren, looked at my daughter hanging on my arm and said in the cutest western drawl, “Honey, would you like an autograph?”

My daughter giggled like little girls do while the rodeo queen pulled out a picture of herself and wrote her a personal note.  I only had a second to read the inscription before my daughter clutched it to her chest.  It said, “Dream big!”

Amen!  The rodeo queen nailed it.  Yeah, we might not always get everything we dreamed of in life, but for heaven’s sake don’t let the fear of failure make you start with lower expectations.  It’s our thoughts (dreams) that control our actions.  Set the bar high.  Demand the very best effort from yourself in everything you do.  Dream big!