Pursue Your Dreams!
All men dream but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes to make it possible. - T.E. Lawrence
I always wanted to be a writer when I grew up. As a Junior High student, my friends and I would produce comic books that I would write and others would illustrate. We put them together with the help of my father who worked for Xerox at the time. He would make dozens of copies that would be professionally stapled and we took those copies to the lunch room where we sold them for a dime apiece!
It was a marvelous time!
I carried that dream into High School where I wrote a few pieces for the school paper, not articles, but creative fiction. I took creative fiction classes and soon entered college as an English/Literature major. There I was published in the school anthology, three different times, and I sold my first piece to the now defunct 'Twilight Zone' magazine. I had grand dreams of becoming a full-time, best selling author....
Then life set in.
Like every other dreamer, I left life just take over and get in the way. I fell into the trap of reacting instead of acting. There is a difference. In life, most of us tend to react. We have bills to pay, so we get a job. We have more bills to pay, so we get a better job; and then suddenly, life just takes over and our dreams change. They modify. Suddenly our dream is that of owning a home; of getting married, of having kids and then eventually, of retiring comfortably. Gone are the dreams of fancy we had as a child or young adult; they are quickly replaced with the responsibilities of adulthood. Well, that and a strong bit of fear.
You see, it takes a brave person to follow their dreams.
I lived for years thinking if I pursued my dream, I would fail. It took until now, at this point in my life, to finally get over my fear and start pursuing my dream. Here is what I have learned along the way, perhaps this can help you overcome the fear and pursue your dreams:
- NEVER Give Up On Your Dream! You may have set them aside, you may have buried them down deep; but the dreams you had are still there. Resurrect them! Bring them back to life! If your dream was to get a college education - look into Online Courses! If you dreamed of playing in a band, take out an ad in Craig's List looking for members! If you dreamed to become a writer, WRITE! Start a Blog and shout it to the world! The point is, realize that dream and take the steps to start making the dream a reality!
- Take The Risk! A large part of why we let our dreams fade, we simply cannot ignore the 'What If' factor. What if I fail? What if I can't make money? What if I look foolish? While all very valid, these are all statements that by their very design are meant to make you fail. You have to let these go. As an example, for me, what if I fail? I finally decided, so what if I fail? What is the worst that can happen? I am never read. Well, because I took a chance, you are reading this now and my dream is finally starting to get realized! And it was as easy as starting a blog!
- Define Your Dream! No matter what your dream is, sit down and define it! Not only for yourself, but as an exercise in making it a reality. Once you have it defined, set yourself some very attainable goals. For example - I post to my blog at least once per day. My next goal is to write at least 1000 words per day for my novel.
- Finally, Live Your Dream! By that, I mean incorporating your dream into your every day life. Share your dream with your family and friends; they can be an amazing support system and possibly some of your biggest fans.
It is NEVER too late to fulfill your dreams! it is NEVER too late to start! All you need to do is let go of the fear and start living your dream!