Dreams 1: Any Dream Will Do

In the last set of blogs, we looked at Fear and how to overcome it. This time, we move on to a study of dreams. I will try to find my dreams and, at the same time, I hope we can identify yours too, your motivation to do better.

In this way we will move from a position of fear to personal power as I have found your dreams are the foundation of success.

Do you feel you don't have a dream? Well, consider this. Every child has a dream - what posters did you have on your wall as a child? What did you want to be? Why is that not your dream now? Or maybe you achieved your dream. Congratulations.

I'll bet you do have a dream now though. Every parent has a dream of helping his or her child grow up in the best way. Every striking building was once a dream, every book was a dream, all those dating websites are full of people who have a dream to find a soul mate, every bored worker has a dream to be free, perhaps lying on a beach somewhere and every athlete has a dream to be world champion. Accept this - there are dreams all around us. Unfortunately it is not fashionable to talk, to think about your dreams.

That idea stops here. Find that dream for it is the fuel that will drive you towards success.

At the beginning of the movie 'Pretty Woman' a man crosses the street shouting: 'What is your dream? What is your dream? This is Hollywood, everyone has a dream.' Sorry, my friend, I believe everyone everywhere has a dream.

I realise everyone needs a desire, a hunger, to move on. This is what I have been lacking in my life. A strong enough dream gives you motivation to overcome any residual fears left we have left.

Last week I attended a business conference for Internet marketers and home business entrepreneurs. I met some highly motivated individuals and noticed (and I don't want to be racist here but the fact cannot be ignored) that nearly all the most motivated were from an immigrant background. Why is this?

The answer, I believe, comes down to hunger. In Britain particularly we have a welfare state, which will pay you if there is no other way for you to make money. Obviously this is marvellous if you are truly unable to earn an income. Unfortunately, we now have reached the position where some families find they are better off not working but living on state benefits. Connected with this is a memory of socialism, which leads to a general discouraging of innovation and wealth. I regret also the rise of the so called 'nanny state' where risk and individual decision-making are actively discouraged.

I have been influenced by this collective negative thinking myself and am appalled by the people I see every day who have no zest or confidence in their lives through being in the same position (or worse). Of course, this has left society exposed to the recession we now find ourselves in.

Billionaire Warren Buffett put it best, I think, when he recently observed "You never know who is swimming naked until the tide goes out."


If you find yourself in a similar position to me, then you might agree we need to re-establish the motivation, the desire of individuals. I now understand this starts with discovering our dreams.



Oh dear, I can hear you say, 'Dreams? We want concrete action to change our lives, not airy fairy dreams.' I know you said that because that is exactly what I said. However, reading and understanding the power of dreams has changed my mind.


I think someone else can explain this better.



The View of Wes Beavis


I turn to Wes Beavis, an Australian singer, speaker and author, writing in his introduction to his entertaining and essential book 'Become the Person You Dream of Being'.


"It seems almost a lifetime ago but I still remember my first grade teacher calling to me from the front of the classroom. It took me a while to register that someone was seeking my attention and of the many words she said to me all I can remember was 'stop dreaming and pay attention.' I did enjoy the occasional journey into the realm of fantasy. To be imagining myself as a fireman fighting the horrendous fire that was threatening the school or a policeman catching the robber was a much more exciting use of my mind at the time. From the tone of my teacher's voice, I got the impression that dreaming was something you were not supposed to do."


"So I grew up thinking that dreaming, apart from when you're sleeping, was an indication of a lazy mind. Try as I did to avoid it, however, I was always drawn to imagine myself in scenarios beyond present reality."


"It was not until years later that I understood the place and power of a dream. When reviewing the great events of my life and development, I discovered that they all began with a dream. The experience where the mind transcends the present and imagines something good becoming reality seemed to be at the start of every one of my noteworthy achievements."


"Somehow, and perhaps mysteriously, dreaming is the first step to releasing reality from the realm of potential. It can unlock desire that has been lying dormant. This dream induced desire can then set you on a course to becoming what you dream of being."


"When you think about your life ask yourself this question 'Is the world seeing the best of me?'"


"Maybe your answer to this is the cause of that niggling frustration that you have been carrying. Deep inside, you know that you have more to offer than what the world is currently seeing."


"Sometimes you catch yourself visualizing being someone greater. Have you noticed that when you come back to reality, the dream leaves you with a gnawing feeling that there is a greater you longing to emerge?"


"Therein lies the power of the dream. It beckons you to consider becoming someone greater. If you have a dream, you are poised for greatness. For the seed of greatness germinate in the dream."


Next week we will continue to look further into the significance of dreams and then start the all-important process of identifying our own dreams.


In the meantime, have a great week. With my greatest wishes,



Keith


http://www.keithbraithwaite.com/