Live Your Dream Too

A dreamer walks by faith, believing in what they can't see.

A pragmatist, unable to see and afraid to believe cannot step forward for their fear of the unknown chains them to the monotony of the already known.

A dreamer fails often. The skin on their elbows and knees is worn to the bone; their bodies often ache and their souls are in constant pain. But there is and there always will be an eternal glimmer of hope burning in their eyes.

The pragmatist seldom fails. Their skin is as smooth and as soft as the day they were born; they are clothed in the finest silk; yet something is sadly missing in their eyes...

There is a fork in the pathway ahead, the road diverges into two and it will never meet again, there is a choice to be made...are you ready to walk the seven steps?

The first step is a leap of faith; fueled only by the image of what you cannot see.

If you have never taken a leap before, then you will find the first step terrifying to the point of paralysis. Even experienced faith walkers have trouble with the first step.

What to do? How you can you stack in the odds in your favor.

Dream friend, DREAM; let your imagination paint you a picture in vivid color, your dream will draw you from your lonely ledge.

If that doesn't work, ask a friend who also dreams to push you.

People talk smack.

Pragmatists, pessimists and pragmatists and pessimists pretending to be "realists" love to stand on their own little concrete ledges and curse you for your foolish faith.

In my experience they are pretty much impossible to shut up. You can't argue with them nor can you convince them to join you, there is really one option, simply put your hands over your ears and keep on walking.

When you fall (and you will) they may laugh at you, berate you, or offer you some form of cliched sympathy that patronizes the dreamer within you to your very core.

Don't listen to them, ignore them and keep on walking, eventually you will be so far away from them that you won't be able to hear them any more.

Your life challenges them, they are alone on their ledge, and the only way to save them is to keep on walking.

The third step you take in following dreams 101 is a crucial one.

You are beginning to feel free, the ground is firmer than you realized, the ledge you were trapped on feels less like a living room and more like a prison. You give a damn about the pragmatist's back on the ledge..

Careful, pride could be about to cut you down; there is one thing to do, you must remain humble.

Yes, for the first time in your life you are really living, and yes it feels exhilarating and grand but you have yet to achieve anything and you are not yet ready to fly.

Humility is essential for all you have to learn; for their is much to learn if you are to achieve your dreams.

Remind yourself that the road is long and there are many obstacles ahead; plant your third step firmly on the ground and keep on walking.

Falling is an inevitable part of dreaming, the bigger the dream the further you are going to fall.

Have you fallen yet?

Why do we fall?

We fall because we are broken, because we are young, because we are weak, because our sights are set so high.

Everybody falls, the dreamers who say they have never fallen are lying to you and hiding their wounds, do not believe them.

Falling is a magnificently bloody, wonderful thing, so fall with all your heart; don't you dare try and hang on and avoid the inevitable... fall goddammit FALL!

Falling is the fourth step in dream chasing 101, falling tears away your final remnant sof umbilical attachment that you may have to your ledge of security, falling sets you free.

Pain is a great teacher. Not the best teacher of all time, for she evokes a lot of "fear" but she teaches us some good lessons a long the way.

Chasing our dreams is a dangerous thing, sometimes we fall from a great height and we land painfully.

When it really hurts, it is tempting to go back to the ledge of security, to listen to the voice of the pragmatist who is telling kindly that he "told you so."

Do not go back to the ledge, that is not the point of pain. Falling down teaches us to walk, not to retreat or remain seated.

Remind yourself how much it hurt, strive not to fall in the same way again. Let the presence of pain focus your mind on your journey towards your dream.

As you take your sixth step towards your dreams, a mysteriously wonderful thing happens... your skin thickens.

Those back on the ledge may call it a loss of innocence but it's not that. Do not be drawn towards such cynicism

It's actually the protection of your innocence; you see your thickening skin is forming a robust protective layer around the innocence of your dream, no one can touch you now.

To achieve anything of any substance in this life, you need a certain resilience to get you through the tough times.

All that falling down as been thickening your skin, you are more ready than you have ever been to pursue your dream.

Fiery arrows may come your way in the morning, but you are ready for the battle, you are ready to run.

You must stop walking, you are ready now, you must begin to run.

There is a battle ahead, who would have thought that chasing your dream would lead you towards war?

Have we learned nothing? Everything worth achieving must be fought for.

If you walk in battle you will die, if you run towards your dreams, if you embrace who you have become, if you fight with everything in you, you will surely win.

Who will you fight against, you will fight against the opponents of your dream, not merely flesh and blood.

You will take arms against greed, jealously, envy, pride, apathy, self interest and hate; if you have kept your dream pure then surely you cannot lose.

Great men and women don't normally drift off into the sunset; they nearly all die covered in blood in some kind of battle.

They found something worth living for, something worth fighting for, why would they stop?

Why would you stop? Never go back to that secure ledge, there is no life there.

As dreamers we nearly all begin with an end in mind, whether it be some gold statue called Oscar, or a prestigious appointment, or a significant award; but that was never the single purpose of our dreams.

The goal is not in the reaching but in the walking, falling, screaming, running, fighting breathing battles that transform and bring life to our souls.

That our calloused hands would carry a sword for justice, that our lips would breathe love and not air, that we would stamp our feet and the very earth we stand on would tremble with fear; that in the end our dreams would break us open and we would fall one last time, open and alive forever more.