Do You Have a Dream?

Ask any child; "what do you want to be when you grow up?", and you will get an array of different answers. There are always the standard answers like, I want to be a fireman, policeman, doctor, or maybe even president. My grand-daughter wants to be a model when she grows up, and I think she will. She loves the camera and is a very beautiful girl. Of course, I'm a little biased in my opinion, but when you look into their eyes, you see this wonder and excitement when they talk of living their dreams. Their eyes are wide as saucers and they talk about them as if there is no doubt in their mind, they are going to happen.

What happens to all those dreams? What happened to your dream? What happened to my dream? Are you living your dreams? Did you have a dream?

I think as we grow older, our dreams may change. Circumstances and maturity set in and alter or change the way we look at life and our circumstances. The wide eyed child has matured into an adult and his dreams have also matured with him.

I always wanted to be a baseball player. I loved sports and played hockey as well, but life's circumstances changed all that and living my dream as a professional athlete disappeared. As I talked with people that have known me awhile and I reveal to them what my childhood dream always was, they kind of look at me a little funny, and say...really? They have that, "I don't believe you", look on their face. Have you ever had that happen to you?

People laugh at your dreams. I don't have to tell you that. If you are a dreamer, and entrepreneurs are dreamers or visionaries, you will have more than one dream and you will have more than one occasion where you receive the looks and laughter at your dreams and visions.

There are tons of dreamers, visionaries, entrepreneurs that come to mind, but I would like to bring just a couple to your attention.

1.Leonardo da Vinci

This man was born on April 15, 1452. He was a true dreamer. His drawings included detailed drawings of flight machines. Can you imagine him trying to talk to his friends about putting together a contraption that would take a person into the air? Talk about getting some looks and giggles, and think he might have gotten his share.

2. Thomas Edison

Besides giving us light through the incandescent light bulb, Thomas Edison also gave us the phonograph and accumulated 1093 U.S patents. He is credited with numerous inventions that contributed to mass communications and, in particular telecommunications. This guy was always thinking and dreaming of what could be.

3. Charles Babbage

Where would we be without computers today? I remember when I was in high school, computers were in their infancy, and the dream that someday a machine would have such abilities as the computer does today was a very laughable idea. Well, thanks to Charles Babbage, the dream is alive today.

He was an English mathematician, philosopher, inventor, and mechanical engineer who originated the concept of a programmable computer. Babbage is credited with inventing the first mechanical computer that eventually led to more complex designs.

What do all these men have in common. They dared to dream. They took the looks, the laughs and the finger pointing, and it didn't deter them from the visions they had. They weren't thrown off track by them.

Zig Ziglar says that he has been laughed at and made fun of and been told that he will never make it, all of his life. To continue and persevere under those circumstances is definitely a man on a mission. He did not let that deter him from fulfilling his dreams, and it shouldn't with you or me either.

Every one of these dreamers and visionaries had failures, bumps in the road, and people in the way yelling their sarcasm and negative slurs. That should only make you the more determined to win. Success has to go through some failure doors first.

When I played sports and certain people from the opposing team would do their intimidating talking on the field, or I would hear the jeers and yelling from the people in the stands, that just made me all the more determined to do my best and gain the victory. Failure is not final.

What are your dreams? Want to open and run a successful business? Want to open a school for inner city kids? What is the vision you have? I know you can see it as if it is already alive and happening. If this is you, I would like to tell you to never, ever stop dreaming, and don't listen to people come up to you and say, "that will never happen," "you can't do that". You can't stop them from talking at you, but you don't have to listen to them.

You are different. Only 3% of the world's population are dreamers and visionaries. The other 97% live in the box. Don't let the boxers yell their negative talk at you. Don't let them knock you off the road you are traveling. Stay the course, hold the line, and always continue moving forward toward the goals you have and live now the future that you envision. Never stop living your dreams.

"You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win. " Zig Ziglar