How To Dream Like You Once Did

Every day you want to live a better story, right?

You try to tweak your life, make virtuous decisions, manage your priorities, and make little changes here and there so that your life and legacy will ultimately mean something.

But are you living without a dream?

photo by Bokeh Burger

The Dreams of our Youth

I recently attended an event focused on connecting with incredible people, working hard, and learning to succeed in life.

An older gentleman came up to me, noting that I was significantly younger than him, and he solemnly expressed that things would be different if he had “this,” motioning to the entire event, “when I was your age.”

He then shook his head with self-pity and walked away.

When you were younger you dreamed differently than you do now, don’t you?

Maybe you’re a twenty-something and you remember those crazy irrational dreams of being a superhero and saving the day.

Or maybe you are in your 50’s and you remember being 20 and thinking that the whole world was simply at your fingertips waiting for you to take charge.

But now you try to be more “realistic”. We have all these reasons why we can’t do something. Too many people have lost their ability to dream crazy, world-changing dreams like you once did.

Let’s fix that.

But first we need to remember a few things:

You cannot change the past. No use having any regrets then. You cannot see the future. No use trying to plot out your entire life then.

You are what you are right now. That is what matters. There is only one thing that you can control: today. Let’s make the most of it.

Today is the day you start living a life that matters and doing work that has purpose and meaning. Today is when you start dreaming like you once did.

How to Dream (and live) Like You Once Did.

1. Never stop learning.

Your education doesn’t end after you get your degree. You’re knowledge doesn’t stop growing once you get that promotion. No matter where you are in life, you must never stop learning.

Think back to when you were younger – you didn’t have it all figured out did you? There was a lot you didn’t know so you learned and studied. You explored the world and didn’t stop.

2. Take risks.

There is something amazing in a passionate, excited, and younger you. It’s almost like you felt indestructible. Infinite.

You were willing to sacrifice sleep, grades, hobbies, and money just so you could put everything into something that you had fallen in love with.

It’s a mighty risk to go out on a limb and it can be a scary moment; but unless you’re willing to put some skin in the game, to make some sacrifices, to take some risks and give up comfort and security – then you can’t start dreaming like you once did.

3. Fail

Inevitably we must come to this. If you’re always learning and you’re taking risks then somewhere along the line you have to mess up. You have to take a chance and come out on the losing end, disappointed.

The amazing thing is that this shouldn’t stop you. You should be ready to pick yourself up, learn from your failure, and then take another (smarter) risk next time.

Far too many people tell themselves that they are too young and in a few years you’ll be more experienced and ready to take on the world. Then, before you know it, you’re telling yourself that you are just too old and you’re time has passed.

This is fear. This is doubt. This is everything that is stopping you from living a better story.

The only way to beat it is to always keep dreaming like you once did. Do not fear, never stop learning, take magnificent risks, and expect yourself to fall down.

Then pick yourself up and go at it again. Just don’t stop dreaming.

What helps you dream like you once did?

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