Everyone has a dream. Martin Luther King’s was a Mother of a dream. Yours may appear petty in comparison…to everyone but you. It is yours and it is magnificent and sweeping and grand: The best that can be. But the question is, will it ever make the cosmic transition from dream to reality?
The truth is, life races by and the dreams wave back. And you keep promising that you will turn the dream into reality, but you don’t. You blame it on the gods and circumstances and religion and tradition and other people, but it’s you that builds the wall you refuse to pass through. Just you.
Life is a precious gift. To refuse to live it to its utmost, to the extreme -in effect, to seize the dream- is a form of “sin.” Not the kind you go to hell for but a more insidious kind that deprives you of what can and should be the most important thing in your life. When King Edward VII of England fell passionately in love with Wallis Simpson, the only way he could fulfill his dream and marry her, was to do the undoable: abdicate from the throne. Which he did in a heartbeat. In doing so, in breaking the rules others had set for him, he reversed the general and passive order of things: his dreams took flight and life threw a kiss for his courage and his passion.
I walk into countless meetings and hear of dreams. I fly in planes and hear of dreams. I attend conferences and hear of dreams. And I love dreamers because they have the electricity of life. But so often it remains static electricity. “My career would be what I really want it to be, but…”, “My company would break new ground in our industry and achieve truly dramatic breakthroughs, however…”
Dreams are like snowflakes. They dance from the sky and powder the world with possibilities and in most every case, melt and disappear, leaving nothing but what might have been in their place.
Those who took the snowflake in mid flight and refused to let it melt dominate the history of the world. Abraham Lincoln would not let the dream of a great and enduring republic vanish. That fact that there were armies of men slaughtering each other did not stop him. Franklin Roosevelt had a dream of a near broken America rising up from its despair to its finest potential. That he could not stand without braces did not stop him from carrying the whole damn world on his back. Edwin Land’s daughter asked him why it took so long to produce a photograph and he dreamed and created instant photography. Rosa Parks dreamed of sitting in the front of a bus. And with the threat of death all around her, that is precisely what she did.
At this moment, in companies and firms and homes around the world, millions of dreams are out there, in holding patterns, waiting to take flight. Will yours? Life WILL fly by.
The question is, will your dreams wave back? Snowflakes of the mind?
Mark Stevens
CEO
Tell Me About Your Dreams…
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Mark – loved your comments on dreaming and your snow flake illustration. I am fullfilling my dream. I committed it to writing to formulate a 3 year plan. People around me believe I can do it but most importantly I believe I can do it. I am now executing on the plan – I will not allow myself excuses, I burned the ships, there is no turning back. Thanks for your insightful words. Ed Laflamme
Dear Mark,
This is by far, your best message ever. This subject is really the only thing in life worth discussing. The rest are just details. You did a great job opening “the” discussion. I hope it opens a few minds out there.
The next question to ask in this stream of consciousness is, “How can I turn my snowflake into reality? How can I manfest my dream?”
I addressed this in a book I wrote called, “The Holy Grail of Selling”.
Keep up the good work.
Sincerely,
Brad Justice
Mark: I have read your most recent blogs and feel as if I need to reach out and ask if you are OK. I ask because there has been a noticeable shift in “voice” in your blogs. The edge is gone; it’s all blue sky, dreams, snowflakes…almost Julie Andrews and/or Slumber Party Marketing in tone. Even the graphics are “airy.” No judgment here. I have agreed with several of your points. So file this under the heading of, “for what it’s worth,” I have read your blog; I have noticed a shift; and I am curious what’s driving the new approach.
For the first time in my 48 years of life, i am fulfilling a dream. To be honest, i always dreamed of having a family, and that is a dream i have made a reality, but other than that colossal dream, i’ve never dared have another one. Why? because once you have a dream you’re left with two choices; either make it come true, or have it nag at you forever. in order to fulfill a dream you have to have courage, conviction, and commitment. those three things are tough to muster- unless you truly consider the alternative, which is to live a life devoid of using the unique gifts you’ve been given. that, as you say, is a sin. so, about one year ago, i took a deep breath and made up my mind to begin fulfilling my dream and i have given it everything i have every day since. it is exhilarating and terrifying, all at the same time. but with every new experience i am GLOWING knwoing that i am (finally) doing what i was put on this earth to do. (oh, and my dream is nothing as lofty as, say, being a neuro-surgeon or writing the great American novel; i’m a public speaking coach. the world’s HAPPIEST public speaking coach!
Stacey – perhaps we are now just seeing Mark’s kinder gentler side – I think it’s always been there. Ed Laflamme
Absolutely on fire, Mark! Thanks for the wake up call. I think our own successes obligate us to remind others of what they are supposed to be doing. It never really sticks, but it is great that we can remind each other…often at just the right time.
Quite frankly this is poetic and I like the kinder-gentler. We need more gentile men!
I am the 3 year of my vision which keeps growing. But I feel alone. If I express my visions to those helping me with it they feel overwhelmed. I need someone to bounce things off of and interact with. I found a coach who want more money an hour than my lawyer. Any ideas?