Book Review: Your Dream Life Starts Here - Kristina Karlsson

It’s no secret that Kikki.k has always been a big inspiration to me. It’s what inspired me to open up my own online stationery shop. Their notebooks and designs are always so uplifting and cheery that browsing their store and collections always filled me with inspiration.

I was gifted this book and journal set by my dear friend Connie (who may know from Connie and Luna) which I flew with me in my suitcase from Melbourne back to Sydney.

The journal was designed specifically to accompany the book, but in my opinion it would work just as well as a standalone workbook (and vice versa).

But if I could only choose one: I’d choose the book.

“All too often, the beliefs we have about what is possible have also been limited by our upbringing and the expectations of others around us.”

Kristina encourages us to dream (imagining how our lives could be) as the first step to creating our dream lives — and making it part of our everyday lives. I love that she acknowledges that our upbringing, ingrained beliefs and fears could be holding us back so we need to work on breaking out of our comfort zone and take a chance on dreaming without limitations.

Kristina also has a podcast called “Your Dream Life with Kristina Karlsson” where she interviews guests each episode. It’s lovely and very inspiring — I highly recommend it!

There’s space to write down 101 dreams, but honestly I only got up to 37 but I’ll come back to it someday to review and add some more!

I love that there are exercises and prompts sprinkled through the chapters to help you put the theory and words into action, and to encourage you to reflect on your own life and dreams. Reading information is only one way to absorb it, but I think that taking the time to think and write things down too is so important — especially if you’re serious about making changes!

““When you want something so badly… when you have a vision to change your life, when you write it down, it becomes ingrained in your thoughts. It can be manifested, because your mind and your thoughts and your feelings become focused on that vision.””

— Dr Terarai Trent

One of the most memorable things that I read from the book was Dr Terarai Trent’s story. If you haven’t read about her life yet, you absolutely need to ASAP. You will be blown away by her resilience, courage and strength. Dr Tererai Trent also has her own book called The Awakened Woman: Remembering & Igniting Your Sacred Dreams which is on my 2020 reading list.

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.”

— Sally Berger

In true Kikki.k style, there are inspirational and motivational quotes throughout the book, as well as beautiful photography (some of which I have torn out to stick on my mood board). My favourite exercise in the book was highlighting up to 10 words that truly resonate with me “as things that are already important in my life or that I want to be very important in my life”. Reading each of the words and highlighting (or underlining, in my case) the words that resonated with me was a powerful experience for me. I loved noticing my reaction to the words I chose — I could feel the energy of the words and what they meant to me as I repeated them back. That might sound a little corny, but I really loved it.

I chose: authenticity, creativity, financial freedom, freedom, inner harmony, kindness, leadership, love, nature and sustainability.

These are the words I want to build my dream life around. I would’ve selected a lot more, but to only be allowed to choose 10 revealed to me what I valued and cherished most.

“…you need to know where you are before you can decide where you want to go. And how you will get there.”

There are some overlapping exercises and prompts in the book and in the journal, such as the “Your Dream Year” exercise as shown above. I cut out the one in the journal to put in my planner and repurposed this to write down my goals for each month!

“Who you are tomorrow begins with what you do today.”

— Tim Fargo

Another memorable moment in the book is the mention of The Top Five Regrets of the Dying: A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing by Bronnie Ware.

The top regret was: I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

I haven’t read the book yet, but I have read these regrets before and the first time I read the top regret, something in me clicked. I didn’t want to waste my life trying to please other people, or being too afraid to live the life that I wanted. Because up until that point, that’s exactly how I had been living my life. Ever since then, it has really driven me to life a life true to me. I’ve found my voice and the courage to create the life that I want to live — even if it doesn’t make sense to anyone else, including family.

“Keep away from those who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you too can become great.”

— Mark Twain

This book is perfect for anyone new to the world of manifesting, visualising and planning out your dream life. Chapters are paired with actionable steps and exercises to guide you through the process. It especially encourages you to write things down to further ‘cement’ those beliefs and thoughts — something that I also feel strongly about. The book will help you get clear on your goals, your life direction, your values and your purpose in life.

While it’s better suited to those new to this world, there’s definitely something in there for someone further along their journey. If anything, I found it a really powerful reminder of my own values, dreams and goals, and even when coming back to it a second time, I found that I could take away something new from it that applied to where I am in life.

The Dream Life Journal is designed to complement the book, but truthfully, I haven’t filled out much of it all (except for a few pages). But, I can see myself coming back to the book and journal when I’m in need of clarity or inspiration, and filling out sections that apply to me at that stage of my life. It’s not a book that you read once and never open again. It’s a good reminder book to keep close to you as you work towards your goals.

My one small critique is that, compared to other personal development/business/self help books that I’ve read, it’s more on the ‘simple’ side. It’s less about practical business advice, and more about the emotional and mental side of chasing your dreams (which is equally important, of course). It will help you overcome your own beliefs and mental and emotional obstacles, but it won’t help you run your business. There’s a place for both in the personal development world of course, I just want to make it clear what this book is for.

I hope you enjoyed and found this little review and my takeaways helpful!

I would love to know if you’ve read it and what you thought of it (did you do all the exercises?!) or if you’re planning on reading it and what you hope it helps you achieve?

jess x

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