Dreams. They live in the realm of endless possibility.
Dreams are juicy. Audacious.
Dreams are big, small or anything else in between.
They are fluffy and freaken magical.
They have the butterfly effect.
They get us excited for what may be to come.
We all have them. Those dreams. Some of us dream a lot. Some of us dream a little. Some of us don’t allow ourselves to dream at all.
We have heard of people living their dream life. In fact, in this day and age, we see a lot of them. We hear people talk about it on big stages, in videos, in books, in real life. And we often think there is something special about those people.
That they are different from us.
That they have something that we will just never have.
That they were lucky, or don’t have it as hard as we do.
That they came from privileged backgrounds.
That they had some kind of advantage we don’t have.
That they can do it. And we can’t.
But is this really true? So let’s find out.
Big dreamers in history
Many of them you will have heard of. Many of them you may have admired at one point or more in your life.
The big dreamers in recent history are the likes of Mahatma Gandhi, The Beatles, Steve Jobs, Eon Musk, Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey, Walt Disney, Tony Robbins. And there are so many more whose names we don’t even know.
They all had their individual stories. Their own journeys, their own trials and tribulations. They achieved big things in their lives. They did things that probably many people at the start of their journey thought were “impossible”, “crazy”, “unrealistic”.
And they followed their dreams anyway. I suppose unless we ask them we will never know exactly. But here what I assume.
The stakes were high. Not following their dreams could have resulted in an outcome that didn’t seem like an option for them. So following their dreams, what they were passionate about, what was important to them, maybe became the only perceived viable option.
Do you think they stopped dreaming their big juicy dreams because others didn’t believe in them?
Do you think they believed deep down that their dream was possible?
Do you think they believed it was possible for them to achieve it?
Do you think they had a plan or a how?
Do you think they had a roadmap to the achievement of their dreams?
Do you think they listened to people doubting them or their sanity?
Do you think they were always confident and never asked themselves “What the hell am I doing here?”
Do you think they walked and chose the easy path or the easy ways out?
Well, here is what I think they did.
- They dreamed BIG!!
They allowed themselves to reach for the stars and the universe beyond. They allowed themselves to just try on the possibility of the impossible.They got creative and in tune with what truly excites them. They got clear on their big juicy dreams.
2. They believed in themselves
Even if noone else did. They believed that the dream was possible. They believed that it was possible for them. They made a choice. A choice to believe in themselves. Did they waver in their self belief? Did they doubt themselves? Probably. But did they let that stop them? No.
3. They trusted
They likely had no or little of a plan, the how was probably pretty murky. They had to get trusty with the idea that their path wasn’t going to be neatly laid out for them. They trusted all would unfold as they walked the path anyways. They trusted in themselves and the process.
4. They embraced failure
Part of not knowing your path or the how is about trying things out. Giving things a go and embracing the possibility of “mistakes” or “failure”. Embracing the fact that sh** might get messy. Sometimes, the harder you fall, the higher you bounce.
5. They challenged themselves
Self-reflection, growth and the willingness and honesty to owning and shedding what doesn’t serve them. They got outside of their comfort zone. They challenged themselves to become better, more knowledgeable, more capable or whatever it was they needed to achieve their dreams. They embraced the challenges.
6. They stopped listening to the doubters
They tuned out and stopped listening to the haters. The people that doubted the possibility of their success. That told them their dreams were just dreams and unrealistic. Instead they stayed connected to their vision no matter what.
7. They took action
The reality of living in this physical world is that we need to take action to make things happen. Our dreamers didn’t rely on chance for their dreams to manifest. They made them happen by taking action in the world. They did whatever was necessary to achieve what they wanted.
Success does not discriminate
So back to the questions above. Is it true that these high achievers and dreamers have something you don’t have? The short answer is no. At Least i don’t believe so.
Success, living our dream life, is possible for everyone. We may not all be born into the same opportunities. We may be born into different circumstances, provided with different challenges in various different levels of wealth. We are born into different customs and cultures. But we all have the opportunity of possibility.
We all are born with an inherent ability to dream and create. We are all inherently powerful human beings. At the core of us. Our soul self.
It is the conditioning of society, our upbringing, our environment and our own response to life events big or small that can create a sense of disempowerment for many of us. A sense of life is happening to us, rather than we are making life happen for us.
I was there once. Thinking I was the victim of people around me, the circumstances of my life. That life just happens. Until I discovered that I had truly the power to create whatever change I wanted to see. That I could make life happen the way I wanted it to.
So the question I pose to you: Now that you have been given this possibility of success (whatever that may mean to you) and the notion that you are inherently powerful no matter what you have been led to believe, will you allow yourself to become a dreamer and to be free? To make life happen for yourself the way you want to?
