DREAM

I'm a morning person. Each day I get up slightly before 5am to get a head start on the day. My first few hours are usually spent among a few others whose occupation call for their early awakening. Occasionally, the guys who manage the shop across the street will drop in. They sit at a table with their eyes on their workers making sure they make no mistakes nor reveal their humanity. They complain relentlessly about their shitty lives masked in the criticism of those who work for them and those who they work for. These guys have to be in their late 60's and they hate every second of their waking life. Only one question visits me when I see their rotten faces:

When Did They Give Up?

Were these guys always miserable or was there a happy time in their lives? How did the good times vanish? Did they make bad decisions? Have they come to realize the err of their ways? Surely, all 24,820 days they have spent on earth couldn't have been bad. Do they take comfort in criticizing others because they have tried and failed so many times? Have they even tried at all?

It seems to me that a person after doing so much living should be filled with joy. We should look back on life with wonderment and know that everything we do creates a legacy for others.

But then again, if we have compromised our existence to the lowest extreme, maybe looking back only brings us pain.

The next thought that visits me:

How Can I Avoid Turning Out Like Those Guys?

Dream Big!
Do you ever awake from a dream feeling completely energized? Something empowering happened in your unconscious state that reminded you anything is possible. Maybe you caught inspiration from a movie or song. Maybe you had a few beers and your imagination created a new beginning in your minds eye.

And then you wake from your trance, forget your potential, and get back  to reality.

No chance! If you can imagine it, you can dare to put your dream into action. Hold on to one part of the story in your mind. Too often we are scared to take chances. Very seldom does our fear manifest itself into failure. With every inaction failure is inevitable.

Cowards ignore their dreams and spend their lives with arms folded in judgement of those who dare to dream.

Prove Them Wrong!
I'm always one to do my talking on the field so I am not a big fan of post-game interviews. One of my favorite moments in sports history was when reporters asked Tiger Woods what he would consider a decent result in his first professional golf tournament... without a moment's delay he said,

"A Victory"

Some laughed, others shook their heads, and there were those who sought to talk some sense into him on the spot. He listened to none of it and went out to become the greatest golfer of all time. Because he did not allow the limitations of others to dictate his path in life.

If you allow the naysayers to crush your spirit, things will forever remain in the realm of the uninspired existence that they were too cowardly to change.

Keep Fighting
Coward is the most offensive word that can enter our ears. I think of times I have wimped out and done the safe thing. I will never get those moments back. We have to live every day with the understanding that if we are not willing to prove others wrong, their version of right will forever exist.

Dream...dream big....fear not the consequence and do what is necessary to make it happen.

If you are measuring the ROI of your actions a slanted scale glares you in the face: there is a 0% chance of achieving what you do not attempt. And yet we choose to do the safe thing, again and again. I don't like those odds.

We have to try harder. We have to be creative and to surround ourselves with people who will amplify our ambitions. At the very least I can encourage this:

• Dispel negativity by eliminating people who hold you back from your social circles.
• Ignore those who say you can't.
• Believe in yourself so strongly that no one's voice is louder than your own.
• Try harder than everyone else (its not as hard as you think).

One day, I may ask those bitter old men at what point in their lives they gave up. But then again, without their ugly existence, I would not know who not to be on any given day. 

...Dream Is Destiny...

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave