Keeping Your Dreams Alive

Dreaming is the easy part, if that was all it takes to be successful then success will be a piece of cake. – Selahsomeone

Dreams and aspirations are the foundation of success but our ability to keep these dreams alive, act on them, evaluate and correct our mistakes are how we build our success stories. 

It is beautiful to have our dreams in our head/consciousness at all times but it is even more beautiful when we have them documented. This helps guide us on what next to do, how to go about it and keep us focus on what must be done. Have a personal notebook, write it down as it comes, go over it again and again, adjust as often as possible and update it to reflect times and trends. Let the book be your companion at all times, if possible wear your dream like a tag, so you do not forget what you want for yourself. A friend once told me, he had to get a wrist band that says “never give up”, just to keep reminding him not to give up on his dreams. Keep your dreams in clear view, a place where you will always see them and be reminded of what needs to be done. Keep your dreams in ink!

Giving life to your dreams is the only way to be assured of success, “it is said that we miss 100% of the shots we do not take”. – Selahsomeone

We should not wait for a perfect time to start working on our dreams, time can never be perfect. I believe in destiny, “what will be will be” but then I also believe in actions, “if you want to shape an iron, then you have got to keep hitting it while it is still hot”, meaning ‘what will be will be if we do not stop trying to be’. In spite of what you believe about destiny, you have to understand that you have to keep going at it, if you want it. Dreams that is left unattended to, is a nightmare in the making. You have to keep at it, pound the iron while it is still hot, over and over again. Go after what you want, overcome your fears with actions; just like a cold shower, the first splash of water is always the greatest challenge, once you get that part over with, the rest becomes easy. Take the first step!

The most hideous thing is to believe something cannot be done. Impossibility is a child of ignorance! Ask questions, meet people, widen your scope of knowledge, see things from other people’s perspective, be informed and see how you can project your own ideas better. Dreams are cool when we fantasize about them unfortunately cool fantasies don’t necessarily translate to real life success. We have to move our dreams from the fantasy land to the real world, if we want success. An idea that might seem impeccable in fantasy land might be an epic fail in real world, if care is not taken. No matter how beautiful your idea is, make enquiries to see how practicable and sustainable it is. Meet people!

Dreams without plan is like wanting to build a house without a pillar. Castle in the air sounds like fun but unfortunately there must be an anchor for anything to stand.

Quitting and starting afresh is the way a coward deals with challenges but the brave pauses, reaccesses the situation and make informed corrective decisions. You can’t keep abandoning dreams halfway because of startup’s challenges and expect to end up at the door step of success. If you have dreams, make rooms for fails and stomping blocks. It won’t be as smooth as it is on paper, you have to be ready for the unexpected and when it comes you would be require to revisit your plan and adjust accordingly, not quitting. It is said that if you are tired of starting all over again then you have to stop quitting halfway. Most times it seems there is no way to move ahead but trust me, that is the exact time you need to move ahead. The darkest part of the night is always just before the break of dawn. Don’t be a coward!

If you desire water you don’t wait in the desert, you look for where the river flows. We can’t have what we desire till we position ourselves where we need to be. To win a race, you must at least be on the track. As beautiful as going it alone is, without having the right knowledge, people, resources and information, alone will most likely lead to nowhere. We must position ourselves to take what we want, leaving our comfort zone to a place where we must be, if we want to be where we want to be. This will come with new challenges, new enemies, new friends, new perceptions, most won’t be comfortable but if the dream has to stay alive, sacrifices have to be made. Get uncomfortable being comfortable!
It is our job to keep our dreams alive; people, times, troubles, challenges, disappointments and life in general will try to dissuade us but we have to stand our ground if we must excel; that’s why it takes standing out to become outstanding.