As children it was always so easy to dream. We would dream of things we saw on TV or in movies or things we simply imagined in our minds. We would dream of what we wanted to be when we grew up, and it was without any worry or thought of the many challenges and hard work that it would take to make that dream a reality. As we mature, our dreams begin to take different form. They are no longer innocent or childlike, but they become what we want to dedicate our life to. We realize that they cannot always be dreams, but we need to make them a reality. Even further into our life, as we progress in school and near adulthood, many of our dreams fade away. We stop holding onto what we really want to do, and conform to the opinions of others of what we think we HAVE to do, based on what is "realistic". We meet challenges as we try to conquer our dreams, and often, when our multiple attempts at our dreams fail, we no longer strive, but begin to settle. Perhaps we don't have the energy or discipline to commit ourselves to our dreams? Maybe we got an idea of the amount of work required to accomplish them, and we preferred the short way out? Or the most often, we let the people around us influence us into abandoning our dreams because it was just too big an ambition. And I use the word "we" because this can happen to all of us.
There are two types of dreamers in the world: the first kind, we will call the personal dreamers, or "ME" dreamers.
1. The ME dreamers- These are the people that have a dream for their own personal gain. The people that strive to be doctors, lawyers, singers, actors, to ultimately benefit themselves the best way. They dream of their own future, and want to accomplish their dreams for them. An example of this is Muhammad Ali. Ali wanted to be the heavyweight champion of the world, to beat Sonny Liston, to beat Joe Frazier, to beat George Foreman, and be the iconic, 'The Greatest'. More often than not, we are convinced that dreaming like this is selfish, that it is wrong to keep yourself in mind. However, is it wrong to want the best for yourself? It is rather extremely important to let your own ambitions fly, to strive to be the best you, you can be.
The second kind of dreamer, we will call the universal dreamer, or the WE dreamer.
2.The WE dreamers- These dream for the good of a collective whole. They do not dream for personal gain, but dream for the best of multiple, or even many people. Mahatma Gandhi dreamed of peace, dreamed of nonviolence, and of overall, worldwide love and compassion that extends beyond money or power. Gandhi was poor, he had very little material gain, but dreamed not for himself, but for people of all walks of life.
The ME dreamers, and the WE dreamers are in fact different, but it is not important as to which dreamer you are, but rather that your dream is big enough and important enough, that it positively influences the people around you. It is hard to let ourselves dream as big as we would like to dream, depending on our differing circumstances, our many problems we face day to day. We are told to have a plan B, just in case our dream does not work out, or to start thinking about other options "just in case", and more often than not, these people that tell you these things, genuinely mean them to protect us. A dream may not have worked out for them, so they wish for us to take a different, safer path so we are okay. In truth, it is important to listen to these people, but more important to listen to the inner voice that guides you. Referred to as "the heart" or "conscience", this is the inner map that devises our way for us.
There are so many factors that come into play when we embark on our journey to accomplish our dreams. We are met with unexpected challenges, criticism, and our will and dedication is tested. When we dream big enough, whether a ME dream or a WE dream, we see how necessary it is that we reach it. The voice we hear from deep inside us does not speak in words or banal phrases, but rather is embedded into you, a part of our nature as humans. Following this voice you can see your true potential, and accomplish your deepest dreams.
"You must maintain a sense of destiny, and feel connected to it always. You are unique and there is a purpose to your uniqueness. You must see every setback, failure, or hardship as a trial along the way, as seeds are being planted for further cultivation, if you know how to grow them...Never losing connection to your Life's Task, you will unconsciously hit upon the right choices in your life. Over time, master will come to you." -Robert Greene, Mastery.
