You know what is
so great about dreamers? Dreamers are the individuals that
end up living their dreams and pursuing their passions! After
all, it’s a little impossible to live your dream if
you don’t have one to begin with, now isn’t it?
Another great thing about dreamers is that they are seldom
conventional. They are often extremely creative and are great
problem solvers. Most dreamers are not satisfied to simply
live with the status quo. They tend to want something better
for their lives than what they see around them every day.
They don’t necessarily think that they are better than
everyone else around them, they just realize that things can
be different . Dreamers tend to fall into one of two broad
categories in my book:: 1) the dreamers that have there dreams
but unfortunately haven’t yet mustered the courage to
live them, and 2) the dreamers that are living their dreams
and couldn’t be happier. Chances are good that if you
are reading this book, you too are a dreamer. But the question
that you are faced with is which kind of dreamer do you ultimately
want to be?
I want to share with you a great quote from a terrific movie
from the 1980’s called “Say Anything”. Maybe
you’ve seen it. I want to use it to illustrate a point,
but hopefully it will put a smile on your face as well.
The main character of the movie, recent high school graduate
Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack), joins his love interest Diane
Court (Ione Skye) and her father for dinner. When Diane’s
father asks Lloyd what his plans are for his future, Lloyd
responds with this:
“I’ve thought about this quite a bit, Sir, and
I would have to say, considering what’s waiting out
there for me, … I don’t want to sell anything,
buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don’t
want to sell anything bought or processed, buy anything sold
or processed, or process anything sold, bought or …
processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed …
you know, as a career, I don’t want to do that.”
“ …I don’t know, I can’t figure it
all out tonight, Sir, I’m just gonna hang with your
daughter.”
This to me is a very funny line that never fails to make
me laugh when I see this movie, possibly because I kind of
relate to Lloyd a little. But if you stop and think about
it for a moment, is it possible that there is actually some
great wisdom in these words? Of course I realize that these
words were written to entertain us and weren’t really
intended to provide us with any sort of profound wisdom, but
wisdom is often found in the most unlikely places. Notice
how Lloyd is actually far less interested in doing what he
feels society tells him he should do (i.e. go to college,
get a degree, and get a conventional job or start a conventional
business), but instead he expresses pursuing his passions
and dreams, which are Diane and kickboxing. He realizes that
what will keep him from dedicating his time and energy to
those things in his life that he is truly passionate about
is the conventional career, which he simplistically and humorously
describes as “buying, selling, or processing”.
I think we can learn a great lesson from Lloyd which is don’t
be afraid to pursue your dreams and passions, and do whatever
you can to eliminate those things that will become obstacles
in the pursuit of these dreams and passions. Sure, we need
a more realistic and better thought-out plan than perhaps
Lloyd articulated in order for us to have this kind of freedom,
but I like his foundation a lot. Dreams and passions are the
stuff that life is made of. I believe that you can be a realist
and remain true to your passions and dreams at the same time.
In fact, I know you can.
In Diane’s father’s eyes Lloyd expresses himself
very innocently and inarticulately. He thought Lloyd sounded
pretty silly and naive, and maybe you do too. But I personally
feel that Lloyd made great sense in a way, even if he didn’t
realize it. Perhaps Lloyd was just a naïve teenager with
a simple outlook on life that needed a good taste of the real
world for a dose of reality. Or maybe Lloyd’s naivety
enabled him to see something that most of us tend to overlook.
Perhaps his innocence allowed him to observe something that
most of us have overlooked: that this society-imposed so-called
“normal life” that far too many of us fall prey
to was exactly what had been so destructive to everyone he
cared about and he didn’t want to be a part of it. Maybe
Lloyd sensed in some vague way that there was indeed another
option. Hmmm …
Many of us have this very same sense at one point or another
in our youth. I believe that a major initial step in living
your dreams is figuring out what exactly those dreams are.
As children we dream of being a fireman, a super-hero, or
even president. As we get older, we become a little more “realistic”
and maybe we decide it would be fun to be a rock star, actor,
or artist. Eventually we face high school graduation or even
college and we begin to “become more aware of the fact”
that it is a cruel world out there, and as we get input on
our futures from parents, grandparents, teachers, and friends
of family. It is at this point that most of us are faced with
a sort of crossroads. Our ever-so pragmatic loved ones encourage
us to be “practical” and “realistic”,
and think about “security” and “our future”.
But what do these words really mean? Is just finishing college
and getting “a job” really the best choice for
you? Possibly, but then again perhaps not. What if you end
up hating that “job”? Does having this “job”
truly guarantee you and your family’s security? Not
really. Is it really that difficult to find something that
you love and do that for a living and be happy? Not at all!
My question to you then, is this: Isn’t what these
advisors are really telling you to do is to never take chances?
What kind of advise is that? Do you think that Bill Gates
never took any chances? What about Thomas Edison or Benjamin
Franklin? What about the Wright Brothers or George Washington
Carver? Anyone that you can think of that accomplished anything
great, did they do it without taking chances? Of course not!
What do you think the advise of these great men and women
would be? I want to encourage you to think hard about that.
Follow in the path of those that you truly admire and were
successful before you. Take the advise of those who are already
successful and living their dreams now, not the advise of
those who are still wishing that they were living their dreams!
Who do you think is more qualified to help you get where you
want to be?
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