The American Dream is alive and well. Once revered, then stashed away as unachievable for most, it is returning to the spotlight with a growing brightness. But beyond the pretty picture it paints and the clever little tagline it provides – why does it matter and is it really possible for anyone other than the elite to achieve it?

What does the American Dream mean to you?

We’ve thought long and hard about this. We’ve lived different stages of the American Dream. We’ve lost our grasp on it, and now have it clutched tightly to our hearts. It is through our own experiences that we’ve learned the nuances of the American Dream.

We’ve experienced the swell of hope when we recognize its potential, and we’ve felt the crushing weight of disappointment when we fell short of achieving it, or when it was ripped away from us. Now we are sharing these lessons with you.

The first thing to understand is that anyone, regardless of where they are born or what they are born into, has the ability to create a life of their own design.

The American dream offers the freedom of choice and the freedom to live in accordance with one’s values.

This concept is not something we created; It is woven into the tapestry of this country’s history and offered in our Declaration of Independence as the three unalienable rights  to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

The American Dream imposes no limits to those committed to its pursuit, and demands that those who achieve it extend themselves to help others do the same.

Millions of men and women have fought to protect our freedoms and defend these rights. They have served and sacrificed to ensure these rights remain available to the people they love, and to billions of others they never knew.

It is this aspect of the American Dream we remember each day, and call upon our community to do as well.

With these rights – with the opportunity for all of us to achieve the American Dream – comes a responsibility. We owe it to the men and women who have borne the true cost of our freedom and all the opportunities we have today to use this gift with mindfulness, tenacity, and gratitude.

We built American Snippets to serve as a platform and conduit for positivity, possibility, and patriotism. This mission is achieved via our podcasts and feature articles on extraordinary people across this country, our coaching and speaking and our American Snippets Facebook Community.

Each guest featured on American Snippets personifies the fulfillment of the American Dream.

Many of them have endured and overcome horrific traumas, significant personal or professional setbacks, or life-threatening illnesses or injuries. Every single one of them has risen above those events to meet and exceed their once seemingly unachievable goals. Most of them are now committed to helping others forge their own paths through adversity.

The lessons learned from each of our guests can be carried into your own lives and your own fulfillment of the American Dream. Their messages and examples of resilience, strength, courage, perseverance, patriotism and compassion are undeniable evidence of the potential within each of us, and the extraordinary events that happen when we maximize that potential.

There is immense power in proximity. Who you surround yourself with matters. We know we’re lucky to meet so many extraordinary people. Getting to know them enhances our own lives and strengthens our own mindsets every day. It brings us much happiness to share their stories with you so that you, too, can fuel your mind and feed your spirits with their inspiration, insight, and encouragement.

All of our guests spotlight precisely what it is about the American Dream that makes it so meaningful and so achievable.

They demonstrate the extraordinary efforts people across this country are taking to help others make their American dream a reality.

All of these guests are living their own versions of the American Dream.