“Do not lose hold of your dreams or aspirations. For if you do, you may still exist but you have ceased to live.” Henry David Thoreau
I’m an average guy with average talents. I wasn’t born with the gift of gab, the eloquent diction of a future Pulitzer winner, or a mind for how the body works. I had to – and still have to – work, and work hard. If I could say one good thing about myself, however, it’s that I love to dream.
Some look at a dreamer with pity. They look at a dreamer as someone who’s living in another world, never in the present, always in the future. But I have another take on what a dreamer is, and why a dreamer is the only one amongst us who will truly live.
This article will serve as both an argument for dreaming, and a blueprint of how to make your dreams become reality.
There are two kinds of dreamers.
One, a person who dreams to escape reality. The second, a person who dreams to create his own reality. “There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other.” Douglas H. Everett
One dreamer will live, the other will live only in his mind. I’m of the belief that truly living exists in the following of one’s dreams. As Marsha Norman put it; “Dreams are illustrations… from the book your soul is writing about you.” Dreaming is simply us letting us know what we want our lives to look like, to smell like, and to be.
Often, the people around us want us to live in their world. A world or limitation. A place where possibilities are limited.
This brings me to a third kind of person. The one who belittles the importance of dreams. The guy or girl who can only see what surrounds them as their options and destiny. This person is everywhere. He’s the one telling you to have a back-up plan for when your dream fails. He’s the one who’s eyes roll back in his head when you talk about the possibility of accomplishing something great. He’s the guy who wants nothing more than to bring his viewpoint into your life. Your mind.
If this site can serve in any way, hopefully it’s a kick in the ass. Ideally it would be the boost you need to take the first step towards a dream, to finally honor your dreams and give them the respect of trying your damnedest to accomplish them.
Life is never better than when we’re trying to make our dreams become real. As Mack Douglas suggests to “dedicate your life to a cause greater than yourself, and your life will become a glorious romance and adventure.” So here are 11 ways to make your dreams, real.
1. Surround yourself with “Why Not?” people.
“One of my best moves is to surround myself with friends who, instead of asking, “Why?” are quick to say, “Why not?” That attitude is contagious.” ~ Oprah Winfrey
Who you hang around with most are the people that are going to shape how you think. If they have limited beliefs, one day you’ll stop fighting them and join them. They’ll break you down. Plus, you’ll never truly have the confidence to create your future if you’re always being told that it’s impossible.
In your work, seek out the uber successful and hang out with them. Give them some value. But see how unlimited they see life, success, and what can be accomplished. With your fitness, hang out with someone who’s doing what you want to be doing, or is where you want to be. Always try and find a training partner in better shape than you are. Don’t get dragged down to someone else’s level. It’s a completely useless way of living.
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2. Understand that there are no excuses.
“Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Louis Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein.” ~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
Everyone who accomplished something truly Legendary fought the same difficulties as you did, if not worse. Sometimes it’s the one’s who face seemingly insurmountable odds that fight the hardest. They know what the bottom feels like. It sucks. I’ve been there. And it’s nowhere near where I want to ever live again. So I work my ass of as to ensure I don’t.
Excuses don’t exist on your mission to create your Perfect Body, your dream job, and your dream life.
3. No dream is too big.
“You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not?’” George Bernard Shaw
Nothing is impossible. The greatest success stories are the most unlikely one’s. Proving that even they weren’t impossible. When you dream, dream big. Allow yourself to set the goals you really want. You’ll see why later in the article.
4. It’s never too late.
“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” C. S. Lewis
It’s too late is like saying it’s too soon. “I just need a bit of time before I start working on this dream.” What a load of crap. A load that I’ve spilled before, but one that serves no purpose. “It’s too late” is in the same sentence. A dream doesn’t become real at the perfect time. And if you’re an old far and you’re still dreaming about something big, honor it by taking the first step.
If you think you’re too deep into the way of life you’re living to make something great happen, stop. You’re not, and you never will be. Write it down, and take the first step.
5. Be bold.
“Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Boldness and confidence can be spoken alike. Nothing good in my life has ever arisen from being timid. Actually, bad things have happened when I’ve been timid or shy. When I say fuck it and lay myself out there to be judged, laughed at, or ridiculed, good things always seem to happen. Even if it’s a lesson learned, or respect earned, good things happen when you’re bold.
6. Fear is a friend. If it scares you, it’s important to you.
“You block your dream when you allow your fear to grow bigger than your faith.” Mary Manin Morrissey
Fear is a good thing when it serves as an indicator. When something really scares you, it’s more than likely something that you should do, try, or move forward and accomplish. However, never let your fear of failure be the reason why you don’t give it your absolute best. I’m not talking about “trying” here.
Trying is useless. Anyone can try. Only a few ever give it their all. If we want to accomplish something great, we have to give it our all.
7. Walk confidently forward.
“If one advances confidently in the direction of one’s dreams, and endeavors to live the life which one has imagined, one will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” Henry David Thoreau
The first step in accomplishing a dream is knowing that you can accomplish it if your work hard enough, and smart enough. Most people don’t follow their dreams because they simply don’t believe that they’re realistic. “The realistic is what we should work towards because it’s what’s likely.”
Don’t think like they do. “Realistic” is what you make of it. So make something of your dream. Act as if. Act as if you’ve already accomplished it, then do the work with that confidence in hand, to make it happen.
8. Get used to not sleeping.
“Dreams pass into the reality of action. From the actions stems the dream again; and this interdependence produces the highest form of living. ~Anais Nin
Taking action is huge. A large part of taking action is working your ass off. This goes against all of the health and training advice I’ll give you on this site. But sometimes to reach a goal we have to work long hours. Sleep is the sacrifice of many a dream.
Sometimes. I think good hours are more important that “hours”. We can often get done in 1 hour with a lot of focus and energy, that would normally take 3 without that focus and energy. But sometimes we have to put hours in pursuit of a goal that would otherwise be hours we spend sleeping.
9. Attack your dreams with passion.
“I would rather be ashes than dust; I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot; I would rather be in a superb meteor, every atom of me in a magnificent glow than in a sleepy and permanent planet; the proper function of man is to live, not to exist; I should not waste my days in trying to prolong them; I shall USE my time.” ~Jack London
Live a large life. Don’t settle for something small and insignificant. Jack London has a great quote here. Would you rather be a bright, big, blinding blaze, or a small, steady, insignificant flame? If you set audacious goals and attack them with passion, there’s little to no chance you’re going to be an insignificant flame.
10. Make them real.
“Thousands of perceptions, hunches, ideas and intuitions race through our brains every day. Some are pure genius. Give them the red light for at least long enough to write them down.” ~Ralph Ford
I keep a notepad by my bed because I never know when an idea is going to come. Some of my best ideas for products, programs, or articles have come when I’m dreaming. Writing your dreams down is an important step to making them real. It makes them tangible. It makes it more than a dream. It becomes a goal when you write it down.
11. A dream is just your true definition of success.
“If success is not not on your terms–if it looks good to the world but doesn’t not feel good in your own heart–it is no success at all.” ~Anna Quindlen
That’s the point I’m trying to get across. A dream isn’t just a dream, it’s what you and I want out of life. What we really want out of life. If all you do is dream about acting, become an actor. Take the necessary steps to make that dream a reality. Are there thousands upon thousands of others doing the same thing? Sure. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.
Your true version of success will come when your talents and your dreams align. Often, this process takes a lot of trial and error, it has and is in my life. But that’s even more of a reason to keep trying.
12. Love discipline.
“The first and best victory is to conquer self.” ~ Plato
Learn to enjoy saying no to something that doesn’t contribute to your dream. Enjoy not doing stuff that detracts from your success as much as you enjoy doing stuff that contributes to your success. A disciplined life is a great life. They’re rare these days. We usually only see them in people doing great, big, inspiring things with their lives. Weird, huh?
Respect your dreams by giving them everything you can possibly give them. All of the effort, the hours, the sacrifice, and the discipline they need to become your life.
