The Nature of Being a Dream Pursuer
Some of the most successful individuals in the world are dreamers. Or should I say, dreamers who succeeded. It's not easy being a dreamer and pursuing a dream. Many people are dreamers but few pursue their dreams. Upbringing has a lot to do with that. How you were raised by your parents, for the most part, dictates whether or not you will pursue your dreams. Many parents will tell their children then can become anything they want in life, but then put their thumb down on their children when they feel their children express an interest in pursuing some dream that has an unlikely probability of being realized. The fact is most dreamers who pursue their dreams fail. They fail because they quit. They give up on their dream. They are influenced by those around them to take the well-marked road of life, traveled by the masses, instead of the road that has no markers and, worse, leads you to other roads that also have no markers. You see being a dreamer means you are one of those oddities in life. You are on the outside looking in at everyone else who is doing the safe thing. Being a dreamer is fraught with so many risks, so many variables. It is, quite frankly, a miracle that we have any dreamers at all who pursue their dreams. So, you see, being a dream pursuer is a very rare thing indeed.
Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich, was a dreamer. He spent years, uncompensated, interviewing Andrew Carnegie (founder of Bethlehem Steel, at one time the largest steel manufacturer in the world). Mr. Carnegie agreed to share with Mr. Hill, at length, his secrets to financial success. There were many secrets and many lessons to be taught. During this very long and drawn out process of interviewing Mr. Carnegie, Mr. Hill's family and friends urged him to stop wasting his valuable, uncompensated time with Mr. Carnegie and get a job like everyone else. Mr. Hill acknowledges that he considered quitting many times. Only by sheer willpower and a fanatical desire to pursue his dream of uncovering the secrets to success was Mr. Hill able to continue on. Although he wavered, and often, he kept at it. He continued to pursue his dream. It was not easy but we all know how the story ends. Think and Grow Rich is still today a bestselling self-help book. To date, it has sold over 30 million copies. Simply amazing! What would have happened if Mr. Hill listened to his family and friends and quit?
The Downside of Being a Dream Pursuer
There is a cost to being a dream pursuer. It takes a commitment of time to pursue a dream. There may also be a financial commitment. What you lose in pursuing a dream is potential compensation for the time "wasted" on pursuing your dream. You may also lose money invested in pursuing your dream. There is also the emotional turmoil exacted upon the dream pursuer that takes a toll. The ups and downs of pursuing a dream are enough to drive you mad. One minute you sense your dream being realized only to have the rug pulled out from under you. The next minute your dream seems to have gone bust, only to have some event occur that reignites the potential realization of your dream. Dream pursuers know too well what I am talking about here. When your investment in time and money begins to affect your family and, perhaps friends, that is when the pursuit of your dream is challenged. That is when everyone around you will begin telling you it is time to stop pursuing your dream; that you are just wasting your time. You will be told you need to pull your head out of the clouds and stop chasing the brass ring. And these people are all correct. Being a dream pursuer means you are not living your life like everyone else. You are on the outside looking in. Most dreamers end their pursuit when their relationship with their immediate family begins to unravel and come apart. That is when most dream pursuers cut bait. Losing your family is simply not worth the realization of the dream. It just isn't. The dream dies and the dreamer jumps on the road well traveled; family intact.
The Upside of Being a Dream Pursuer
Dream pursuers who succeed (dream achievers) change the world. They are the reason why we have T.V., radio, airplanes, computers, cell phones, software applications, frozen food, toys, no more black death. Dream achievers change the world in which we live and reap untold financial rewards. Rewards that cannot be spent in five generations, let alone one generation. Dream achievers alter the course of humanity. They prove everyone else wrong and the masses jump off the road they were on to jump on the road traveled by the dream achiever.People are sheep. The are risk averse followers of the crowd. That is why when a dream pursuer succeeds, he takes on a new status. He becomes god-like.
If you have a dream you are pursuing, congratulations. I applaud you. Most likely, you will quit at some point. Most everyone does. But I hope you don't. I hope this article gives you the inspiration to continue on; to will yourself to continue pursuing your dream. The world depends on dream pursuers. Without them we would still be living in caves and painting on the walls.
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Source by Thomas Corley
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