Sandie Tillotson

Thirty years ago today, I purchased my dream beach house in Kauai.

It’s hard to believe that three decades have passed since a dream that once lived only in my imagination became reality.

Many years before that, I dreamed of owning a home on the ocean. To keep that dream alive, I subscribed to a magazine called Island Home. Every month I would flip through its pages, gathering inspiration and imagining what it would be like to wake up to the sound of waves and live beside the sea.

One particular home captured my heart. It was located on the island of Kauai, and I thought it was the most beautiful house I had ever seen. I carefully tore the pages from the magazine and placed them in a folder labeled, “My Dream Beach House.” It seemed like a distant possibility, but I kept the dream alive.

Then one day, while attending a Nu Skin Blue Diamond trip on Kauai, a small group of us—including Blake Roney and a few other Nu Skin executives—decided to do a little house hunting for fun. As we walked along the beach in Haena, I looked up and could hardly believe my eyes.

There it was.

The very house I had clipped out of that magazine years before.

Long story short, I was blessed with the opportunity to purchase it, and for the past 30 years it has been a place filled with family, friends, laughter, sunsets, celebrations, healing, and gratitude.

This home reminds me that dreams really can come true—but usually not overnight. Dreams begin with a vision, are fueled by belief, and are achieved through years of hard work, persistence, sacrifice, and faith.

So don’t be afraid to dream big. Write your dreams down. Create a vision for your future. Then get to work. Take the next step, and then the one after that. One day you may find yourself standing in a place you once only dreamed about.

Dreams don’t work unless you do—but when vision and effort come together, amazing things can happen.