Your Dream Can Be Your Future by Chris Widener

Here is a basic truth you must accept and believe if you are to achieve your dream:

Your dream can be a reality! That’s right; your future can actually see you living your dream. It doesn’t just have to be a big wish!

When we are young, we are dreamers. Nothing seems too big for us to accomplish. Nothing seems too outrageous. “The world is ours on a string,” as the old song goes. Until reality hits. Reality is what others want to box you into by saying:
“You can’t do that.”
“Nobody has ever done that before.”
“It will never work.”
“You’ve gone off the deep end now!”

All dreamers (who eventually become accomplishers) have heard these things. Yet, they overcome them. They refuse to accept someone else’s reality for their own life. They let the average people live their average lives, bound by fear, while they pursue their chosen future—their dream! So don’t believe the people who tell you that you can’t or that you won’t. Believe your dream. Believe that it can be your future!

Once you have determined that you can actually live your dream, I want you to memorize this acronym. I’ve shared it before, but I’ve found it to be tremendously helpful for reminding and motivating us toward our dreams.

D is for Dare: Dare to dream while others don’t.
R is for Relentless: Relentlessly pursue your dream, no matter what.
E is for Excellence: Strive for excellence in all you do.
A is for Abandon: Abandon any other alternative plans.
M is for Measure: Constantly measure where you are on your dream journey.

OK, that’s great and motivating, but what about the practical stuff? Well, there is certainly practical stuff. No matter how lofty your dream, no matter how spectacular, you will live most of your life in the mundane. Richard Nixon said of the presidency that you “campaign with poetry, but govern with prose.” The vision is beautiful; the actual is mundane—not bad but “everyday,” so to speak.

If you are to achieve your dream, you need to plan and work, and work and plan. Here are my thoughts on how to go about reaching your dream and securing it as your future: Decide that you will do it. This may seem elementary, but many people never decide and commit to their dream fully. They simply keep thinking about it. Tell others you are going to do it. This puts you on the record as to what you are dreaming about. It makes you accountable. It will help you do it, if for no other reason than to avoid embarrassment!

Develop a step-by-step plan. This is absolutely essential. You must sit down and write out a few things:

1. A timeline. How long will it take to the end?
2. Action steps. Point by point, what you will do and when you will do it.
3. Resources you will need to draw from. What will it take? Who will need to be involved for help or advice?
4. An evaluation tool. You need to evaluate from time to time whether you are progressing or not.
5. A celebration. Yep, when you are done, you should already have planned what you will do to celebrate. Make it big!

I have found that there is no better time than the present to start making your dream a reality. So, set aside some time today to get started on your dream. Follow the action plan and set your sights for the top of the mountain! You will be glad you did!

—Chris Widener