And while you are at it, dream big dreams. I have found that it takes no more strength or energy to dream on a grand scale than it does to dream on a small one. Grand dreams are more exciting. Elon Musk dreams of establishing a colony on Mars and millions of people watch his story. Big dreams have the power to wake me up in the morning and keep me up late at night. But I have a question: do you really know why you want the things you are going for?
When Alice spoke to the Cheshire Cat, all she could say is that she wanted to be any place other than where she was. The cat informed her that she could go in any direction she wished, because any place she went would be someplace else. I try to dream specifically. What that means is that even if I don’t have a particular goal in mind, I know what the desired effect will be of what I am trying to accomplish.
It took me a while to understand what I really desired. I want freedom — the ability to get up early or sleep in, go for a walk, go for a drive, go for a beer. I have worked diligently my entire life. I want to kick back and thoroughly enjoy the years remaining. That doesn’t necessarily mean not working, but enjoying whatever it is I do. There are so many ways the world offers to make that possible that I now have a multitude of options. As I have said from the beginning, I don’t know how all this will end, but I can imagine what it will be like, and I continue to prepare myself for the opportunity when it appears. Perhaps Einstein said it best: “Imagination is everything. It is a preview of life’s coming attractions.”
I learned a great deal from studying the story of Bob and Melinda Blanchard that I discussed last week. It’s true that they created a beautiful new restaurant, but reading their story again, I realized the restaurant wasn’t really the dream. What I saw was a hunger for a new challenge, an escape from harsh New England winters, a completely different culture. The restaurant in Anguilla was the manifestation of those desires, not the desire itself. Goals are rarely about things, but the way those things make us feel.
Dreams can lead to greatness. Joseph, the Hebrew shepherd boy, dreamed of a life of nobility, of his brothers bowing down to him (Genesis 37:6–7). They sold him into slavery, and he was taken to Egypt. Through a myriad of unimaginable twists and turns, he became Overseer of the Land under Pharaoh. Joseph’s original vision became reality when, during a widespread famine, his brothers traveled to Egypt and, without recognizing him, bowed down to plead for grain.
Jimmy Carter, a peanut farmer and first-time governor of Georgia, dreamed of becoming President of the United States, and it happened. Jules Verne, and then John Kennedy, dreamed of man going to the moon, and we went.
Dreams do not have to be big and bold. A child can wish for a new bicycle. A single mom can wish for a home with a fenced-in yard where children can play safely. A student can dream of admission to the college of choice. The size of the dream is not what matters but the intensity with which it is held. Dreaming is not fantasizing. It is envisioning something that matters to you.
I will leave you with one last thought from business philosopher Jim Rohn. “The real value in setting goals is not in their achievement. The acquisition of things you want is strictly secondary. The major reason for setting goals is to compel you to become the person it takes to achieve them.”
What one thing did you once dare to dream about — and where did that dream take you?
What is the dream you are holding right now that you haven’t dared to say out loud yet?
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