I wonder if the optimist in me has a warped view of the
dreams or if those around me do. Yes I dream big. No I don’t chase money
or fame or things that those around me seem to hold dear, but I chase monster
dreams. I lived life without dreams for a long time and I wasn't happy. I was
existing and not really living and for me, that's no way to really live.
I
can rarely accomplish a lot of my dreams. I have yet to accomplish 101 goals in
1001 days, but I did accomplish a lot more than if I didn't make the list. It
isn't the actual 101 things on the list that motivates me; it’s to challenge of
trying to get them all done. Not just done, but to the best of my ability.
Doing a half ass job at anything you do isn't chasing something it’s just
getting by.
I am by no means a prime example of success because half
the things I dream of take three or four tries to conquer. I set out to write
one half decent book. Three tries and two years later I wrote two books that
sucked and one decent book. That was my goal. Not to write a best seller, not
to make a lot of money or even get famous, but to write one good book. Now I
learned a lot about writing over that two-year period and originally my dream
was to throw that book on a shelf and never worry about books again because my
dream was one book. The optimistic side of me who loves the challenge of
writing kicked in and said “I can write a better book” so I did. Now maybe it
is human nature to think I want more. To dream more, to do more and to look
back and think I did so many things with my life. Maybe it’s just a shy fat kid
from a small town in Ontario Canada thinking that his legacy to those who come
after him will be dream big and try harder. I really don't understand what
makes me chase dreams only that the process makes my life just a little more
interesting.
Now some dreams I am still struggling to conquer and
move on. These are those ones that keep popping up on my lists again and again
because they are strong and come with great fear for me. Learning to swim for
example, because I have a fear of water. Well a fear of drowning to be more
accurate. What can I say, I would miss me and all those things that I haven't
done yet. Is it irrational yes, but sooner or later I will learn to swim. Maybe
in a kiddy pool or the shallow end but it will eventually happen.
Some dreams
happen but not the way I imagined. I thought touching a snake would help me
overcome my fear of snakes so a few years ago I went to the reptile zoo and
touched a white python. Nope it didn't help my fear of snakes, but I still did
it.
There are dreams that I will never accomplish no matter how many times or
how hard I try. It's just how the world works, but I will keep trying. I would
rather spend my life running towards an impossible dream then running away. The
challenge of it is what makes my life interesting not the end result. Well for
me at least.
I have a dream of one million followers on Facebook. It
seems impossible today with my 643 followers and it really isn’t going to
change my life because I won’t have a million friends, but it’s on my list and
I strive for it. Not every dream will happen, but the effort makes it a
challenge to chase.
I don't let failure dictate whether I found success, only
the effort. I can tell you more things that don't work then do for every dream
I have ever chased. For a while I couldn't give away my books for free. Yes my
books sat there and nobody wanted to read them for free. I was still chasing my
dream of writing one good book so I read the reviews and thought about what
people said. I mean the good and the bad and thought damn they are right and
took what I learned and wrote more.
Now my dreams and goals change over time as I change.
Maybe its priorities or maybe it’s just the allure vanishes but I never give
up. There are people around me who have small dreams and those with giant
impossible dreams who let the fear of failure cripple them. My biggest
challenge in life isn’t dreaming big, but finding the time to fit everything I
want to do into the limited time I have on earth. Sometimes I think I will need
to live to be 200 years old to fit everything in.
I hear the words your dreams are too big a lot. I don’t
believe dreams are ever too big, but some dreams are impossible, but I never
say they cannot be done. I would rather cheer from the side lines and be amazed
by the effort then make the dreams of others seem even more impossible by
adding more doubt.
Here are three people who I find inspiring. Each chased
giant dreams and those dreams lived well beyond them.
Smile
JD
No comments:
Post a Comment