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DreamBank Dream Academy

Dream Academy is a signature DreamBank program and a skills-based virtual learning experience designed to help you overcome the most common — yet often daunting — obstacles dreamers face.
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What to Expect

In this virtual classroom-style program, we’re partnering with distinguished experts and professors to lead you and your cohort through a curriculum consisting of video lectures, guided discussions and individual coursework while creating a shared community for you to learn and grow within. Each course will address common obstacles that can get in the way of your dream pursuits and equip you with the tools and skills to overcome them.

How is this different from a typical DreamBank event?

Here at DreamBank, our goal is to support you in your dream pursuit in many different ways, which is why we have several signature programs! Here's what you can expect:
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Weekly Sessions

We'll meet weekly over the course of several weeks to dig into the learning together in a classroom setting. Then, we'll head into smaller discussion sessions to deepen the learning.
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Tangible Takeaways

Each Dream Academy course will include dedicated materials and resources created by the instructor, designed to give you hands-on learning to help you overcome the obstacle the course is focused on.
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Connect with Others

Each week you'll leave with tangible takeaways and homework, so be ready to do some work between each session!
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Hands-On Learning

Each Dream Academy course will include dedicated materials and resources created by the instructor, designed to give you hands-on learning to help you overcome the obstacle the course is focused on.

Upcoming Dream Academy Courses

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First-Time Homebuyers with American Family Insurance

Ready to become a homeowner, but not exactly sure where to start? While buying a home is exciting, the experience can be complicated and intimidating — especially if it’s your first time! Join this DreamBank Dream Academy course designed to guide you step-by-step through the home-buying process. From budgeting and mortgages, to closing day and home maintenance tips, the DreamBank team along with an American Family Insurance agent will help you feel comfortable and confident as you navigate your dream pursuit of homeownership. In addition to self-guided sessions, you’ll also have access to valuable tools and resources that can help along the way.


It’s time to say goodbye to renting and hello to homeownership! Feel empowered to take on buying your first home with this self-study course — providing you with key steps, tips and expert advice that you can take along on your journey to finding the house you’ll turn into a home.

Recent Dream Academy Courses

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Dr. Christine Whelan: Why am I here? What am I called to do? Is this all there is? These are the questions that keep us up at night. Your purpose is a road map to a more meaningful life one with more joy and energy more drive more fun.

Join me, Dr. Christine Whelan, as we go on a journey. An exploration of all sorts of possibilities to turn that amorphous idea into reality in this five-week course. My hope is that you will take the time to ask and answer those questions of what matters most to you and how to make it happen.

For me, I'm juggling a lot. I'm a professor, I do some consulting, I'm also the mom to five kids-- and let me tell you, life gets pretty chaotic! So knowing the why behind what I do is very important in this dream bank dream academy series.

I invite you to take another path to claim your power, to claim your energy, to claim your joy on a whole nother level by asking and understanding what purpose means to you.

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Embracing Your Purpose with Dr. Christine B. Whelan

Your purpose is your roadmap to a more meaningful life –– a life that provides you with more energy, joy and dreams. Join Dr. Christine B. Whelan for this DreamBank Dream Academy course designed to help refocus your power, drive and happiness with a new approach to living your life intentionally. In this series of conversational, applied lectures, Professor Whelan, known to her students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as the “Happy Professor,” will demystify purpose research and help you clarify your values and strengths.

Based on her research, her best-selling Great Courses Audible Original lecture series, “Finding Your Purpose,” and two decades of behavior change work, Professor Whelan will give you the tools to make big and small changes in your life and encourage you to embrace the many emotions that come along for the ride. Through this enlightening five-week course, you’ll explore giving yourself the space to ask and answer questions of purpose that will help you take ownership of your future, and know how to roll with it when life doesn’t turn out as planned. Let’s learn to take a new approach to understanding what living on purpose means to you.

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John Zaratsky: Hey, I'm John Zaratsky. I'm the author of Sprint and Make Time. I'm a technology designer. I'm a startup investor. I have a lot going on and like everybody else, it's hard for me to find enough time for all those things, but unlike everybody else I'm a huge nerd about this stuff so I'm constantly experimenting with weird and different tactics for how to make better use of my time.

In this video, I'm going to share five of the tips that I use to help me structure my time and my attention around the things that matter most to me.

The first tip is I do not use a to-do list.

It sounds crazy, but it's true! To-Do lists are where tasks go to die. When something new comes on my plate whether it's in an email, a meeting, a call, whatever- it goes immediately onto my calendar I schedule the time when I'm actually going to do that thing. That is the best way to make sure that I actually make time for the work that needs to get done.

The second tip is that I use my calendar for truly everything; not just the work that needs to happen but the things in my personal life.

I schedule what time I'm gonna wake up; I put on my calendar. When I'm gonna have coffee, when I'm gonna shower, when I'm gonna eat, when I'm gonna go for a walk- everything goes on my calendar. This makes sure that I'm confronting the trade-offs and how I'm spending my time. If I want to add something new, what's going to go if I'm commit to doing something when am I going to make it happen.

Number three, I have a distraction free phone.

That means that my phone does not have any infinity pool apps on it.

I do not have social media on my phone, I do not have the news on my phone, I don't have streaming video and I don't have email on my phone.

Again, I know it's crazy, but it's true!

I check my email on the computer, I do social media on the computer, I read the news on the computer.

If I need to re-establish those things on my phone, I reinstall them but then when I'm done I clear them out that gives me control over what I'm paying attention to.

Tip number four, sleep is really really important to me.

If I don't sleep, well, nothing else works.

I have zero devices in my bedroom. I don't have a tv, I don't have a phone, I don't have an iPad, I don't even have a kindle in my bedroom. My alarm clock doesn't plug into the wall it's a battery-powered alarm clock. It's an analog clock there's no light to keep me up these things really help me fall asleep at the end of the day help me rest up help me prepare for the next day.

Finally, weird tip number five, I look for ways to deliberately inconvenience myself.

I walk to the grocery store, I take the stairs instead of the elevator, I do all my own chores around the house- these are things that keep me moving keep me energized and keep me away from screens really important to help me build energy day after day.

If you want to learn more about those five tips and you want to find your own essential set of tactics for making good use of your time join the DreamBank Dream Academy.

I'm going to be teaching a whole course about how to make time for the things that matter most to you and I hope to see you there!

Making Time for What Matters with John Zeratsky

Thursdays, July 21 - August 18, Noon-1pm CT

Sometimes it feels like we run our lives on autopilot. We wake up, grab our phones, respond to emails, work, check emails again and go to bed. We're busy, stressed and burned out. And at the end of the day, week or month, we often look back and ask ourselves: when was the last time I did something for myself – or my dreams? Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be this way.

DreamBank is thrilled to once again offer Dream Academy: Making Time for What Matters. Join author and designer, John Zeratsky, for an introduction to Make Time – a simple framework that will help you focus on what matters every day. Through this enlightening five-week course, you'll identify your biggest time stealers, choose your top priorities, redesign your daily schedule and make intentional changes to how you use technology to support your productivity and well-being.

Signature Programs

Be sure to check out our other signature programs to continue your dream journey!
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Dream Summit

We’re bringing together like-minded dreamers to develop and connect at our first-ever Dream Summit, and we want to see you there! RSVP today to commit to 2.5 days of inspiration — spots are limited!
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Dream Camp

Want to achieve your dreams with the help of 1-on-1 coaching and workshops with business-building professionals? Apply for the DreamBank DreamCamp to join other campers for three days of seminars and presentations that can help you make your dream come true.