A dream is a powerful, powerful thing.
Whether the dream occurs while your body is renewing it’s energy supply during sleep or if your dreams and visions come to you while you are awake at work, looking for work, playing with your kids or staring into the wondrous infinity of the ocean or sky, we all have an imagining that inspires us to aspire to greater heights. Our dreams, our goals- no matter how big or small are vital to the human experience. They provide our lives with a sense of purpose.
But as inspiring and enlightening as our dreams are, they can sometimes come with a daunting heaviness. Since the visions and plans that you have for your life are the conception of something that is not yet in front of you, doubt comes creeping in, making you feel foolish for pursuing your ambition in the first place.
But if we think of life as a race, then as Smokie Norful puts it,
I want you to run until you finish.
I have decided
Determined, I’m committed
That I’ll run
No matter the cost
Persistence Pays Off
Right now there might be a project that you’re in the middle of that initially felt like a good idea but after several setbacks, upsets and unforeseen inconveniences, you’re beginning to wonder why you even started it in the first place. After all,
how could you have been so foolish, cocky and blind to think that you of all people could make such a thing happen?
But I’m here to let you know that there is a reason why “you of all people” had the idea in the first place. It’s because the experiences of your life have brought you to a place where you are THE one who has been uniquely equipped to execute that particular vision and make the dream come true.
Don’t give up!
Even if you have to change the blueprint or the road map, it doesn’t mean that your ambitious destination is anything less than possible!
Keep Going!
Maybe the race that you’re running is a spiritual or emotional contest.
Maybe you’re one of millions of people who are battling various levels of depression. Perhaps you’re battling an addiction to alcohol, cigarettes, drugs or food.
Maybe you’re one of many people who struggle with self esteem and look in the mirror unable to see how beautiful you truly are. You’re constantly picking apart your face, your skin or your weight because you’ve been misled by a shallow, celebrity driven society that you aren’t worthy of love or attention.
You may have invested hour after hour in self help books, motivational podcasts, church services and yoga classes in the hopes that your problem will be solved. Your efforts haven’t yet resulted in the kind of immediate success that you planned on having.
But you haven’t failed. In fact, I salute you!!
Much like a doctor or scientist who works diligently to find life saving cures,
you have intuitively recognized that it is in trial and error that you ultimately find success.
Setbacks are not failures! Sometimes you can’t find the cure until you first discover what doesn’t work and why.
And the “why” is very important. Sometimes the solution has been in front of you the whole time but you just weren’t in the right place or mindset to be able to receive it.
Where I come from, some people might say that it just wasn’t your season yet.
Whatever category you fall in. Dont give up. Don’t stop chasing the dream.
Do like Stevie Wonder and KEEP ON RUNNING!
WE ARE ALL BORN WITH GREATNESS IN US
“I’m going to run this race
I’m going to take my proper place
In the winning circle”
Remember when we were kids and our parents and teachers told us that we could do it all?
“Yes, William. Of course you can be a lawyer, a pro wrestler, a basketball player, a race car driver, a senator and the next Michael Jackson! You can do whatever you put your mind to”.
Well, I was the kid that was crazy enough to believe it. Now I have definitely crossed a few of these items off of the list (maybe my child will have a better chance of becoming the second coming of Stone Cold Steve Austin..lol).
However, I am still very much someone who still has a lot that he still wishes to accomplish in various and seemingly unrelated fields.
I knew at an early age that my purpose in life was to be an instrument of positive change-
to make the world a better place for both my family and for the world community.
I am an incredibly confident, strong willed and purpose driven person.
But even for me, having these monumental spiritual and professional ambitions can sometimes come with self imposed pressure.
Sometimes I’ve felt as if I played a practical joke on myself by dreaming so big.
If I were writing, recording, studying or just playing my playstation 4, I would often turn and look in the corners of whatever room I was in expecting to see hidden cameras, documenting my foolish pursuit of happiness.
“Who am I to think that I can accomplish so much with the few years that we are given here on earth”?
I’ve been there. But I’m telling you from experience that your dreams are not a lie. As backwards as it may seem, sometimes the more impossible the goal, the more realistic that it actually may be.
“I don’t know where or when or how
BUT I KNOW THAT I’M GOING TO MAKE IT!”
YOUR ATTITUDE DETERMINES YOUR LATITUDE
Don’t underestimate what powerful allies belief and affirmation can be.
Whether you are like me and pray to God, or someone who prefers to address the universe, if you are non believer, there is power in affirmation.
Speaking things into existence isn’t some hippie inspired, hocus pocus.
It is a fact of life. The more you tell yourself that you can achieve incredible goals, the greater the chances that you will actually do so.
When I was younger, we were often told that your attitude determines your latitude.
And this is absolutely true!
Don’t be afraid to announce the extraordinary plans that you have for your life. As wild and impossible as they may seem. When you follow your heart and the passions that keep it’s rhytmic beating, that doesn’t mean that you have to have the whole thing figured out. As the Smokie Norful song says, you will make it even if you don’t know “where or when or how”. Sometimes not knowing what’s ahead makes the journey to your dreams that much more fulfilling. It can be fulfilling making discoveries about the journey and about your self. that you didn’t previously anticipate.
Lastly, don’t be ashamed of your dreams or feel the need to apologize for them. As long as what you are aspiring towards is rooted in truth, positivity, love and goodness then you don’t have to shy away from your goal just because others around you don’t understand it or might even ridicule it. This does not mean that you are absolved from being held accountable by the well intended criticisms of those who want whats best for you. But know the difference between a helper and a hater!!
Sometimes people criticize you because there is something broken within them. Hopefully you don’t let these people interrupt your race and take you off track.
One of the beautiful things about life is that while we all occupy the same planet, are warmed by the same sun and gaze under the same stars that there is a uniqueness to our individual journeys. It doesn’t matter if 2 people share the same neighborhood, house, upbringing or occupation. No 2 journeys are identical.
Your experiences are your own. Your dreams are your own. Your race is your own.
Don’t be discouraged by the hurdles. Don’t be dismayed by the speed with which that others seem to breeze by. Keep your eyes on your own prize. Keep running until you finish.
the conscience cloud 