Dream.... but keep your eyes open

Lionel Wijesiri

"All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible."

- Lawrence of Arabia (1888-1935)

You saw it in your mind. You believed it could happen. You spoke about it as though it were, in fact, going to happen. People laughed at you, made fun of you, sneered at you. But then it happened. And now everyone talks about your confidence, your vision, and your dream come true.

The possibility of failure exists, even when you pretend it doesn't. Failure! It is because sometimes "your very best" just isn't good enough. You saw it in your mind. You believed it could happen. You spoke about it as though it were, in fact, going to happen. And it never happened. And now people talk about where you went wrong. They think of you as delusional, egotistical, full of yourself. "Who did you think you were?" Can you live with that egg on your face?

Count the cost, dreamer. Are you willing to pay the price? If you are, then read on!

Mark Twain once said: "Every man with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds... Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover."

If you have managed to absorb the essence of Mark twain's quote, let me ask you three questions. Have you ever had a dream with open eyes? Have you ever chased your dreams to turn them into reality? Have you ever tried to convince yourself that what you dream can be turned into reality?

How are your answers? Positive or negative?

Around the World

Let me tell you a little story. In mid-January this year, an Israeli man with a long, red beard and orange kerchief on his head,rode his muddy bicycle into Beijing city. This scene was meaningful because Roei Jinji Sadan, 28, has now finished riding across the fifth continent on his world tour. He has cycled across every continent except Australia and Antarctica.

Sadan's life dream is to bike around the world and inspire local people in every country to follow their dreams. Though he has had to sacrifice many things - such as two relationships - in pursuit of this dream, Sadan says he will keep going until his journey is done. Sadan, who has already spent four years on the road, will complete his goal of cycling around the world after he bikes across Australia next year. A dream coming true!

The moral of the story is simple. Total achievement and pure success starts from a simple dream and we should never lose sight of our dreams. If you accept new challenges without the fear of failure, things will begin to happen... you will succeed.

The smaller challenges you meet everyday only prepare you for the larger ones in the future. Do not let our past limit your future. Let your past offer you guidance to succeed in future.

Let go of the past, live in the present, and reach out to the future. Dream all the dreams you can possibly vision and believe in them. As long as you search for success, success will eventually find you... and success is all in the opportunities

If we do not rise to the challenge of our unique capacity to shape our lives, to seek the kinds of growth that we find individually fulfilling, then we can have no security: we will live in a world of sham, in which our selves are determined by the will of others, in which we will be constantly buffeted and increasingly isolated by the changes round us.

Change

So... you want to dream of a change. The good news is you dream about something, as all people do. Maybe you want to become a singer, you want to move to another country, you want to find a real friendship. Anything is valid. The bad news though might be - you don't really believe these things can ever happen.

And this is your only obstacle. You are your only obstacle, really! ...but you can sort it out.

Yes, you heard well - your only obstacle in achieving what you dream about is not any external reason (like could be lack of education, lack of money, lack of time) but solely and exclusively your conviction.

But the best news ever is - you can change your convictions! You can work on it and if your motivation is strong enough you will see your dream materialising into your life. And you will be so overwhelmed that you will only be able to say - Wow!

It is important that you become conscious of what you're dreaming of ...it is there for a reason! It works like magic. I have seen this thing happen in my life as well as in others so many times already.

So you dream about something and you wonder how it could ever become true? The very first step, the first and most important thing to achieve what you desire is simply acknowledging it CAN become real.

For most people this is the hardest part, but it is indispensable to give life to your dreams.

What does it mean acknowledge a dream can come true? It means becoming conscious your dream is there for a reason. And if it came into your mind or your heart there must be a reason for it. It is probably a voice that tells you that you are not being/doing what's best for you.

Opportunity

Anything is possible! ...just decide it can be

Let's say you dream about changing your professional situation you're fed up with. Maybe you desire to do for a living something completely different from what you do at the moment. Now, what happens most of the times is that one dreams a change but at the same time doesn't really believe a change can happen. It seems too improbable, to distant, too difficult.

Until you don't start to see your dream as an opportunity, as strange and improbable, as it can be, you will never move on. Your dream will remain there and will never transform. It will continue to be what you see in it - just a dream.

If your dream makes you smile, makes you anxious about a change, makes you feel better, concentrate and convince yourself that it may happen.

You can become a writer, you can live in London, you can get slimmer, and you can have this or be that. The world is full of possibilities. Things happen. Anything can happen. You can do it, a change can take place. So, dream... but keep your eyes open.