Do You Have "Dreams" or "Goals"?...

Well, I guess I am going to keep up with the common theme that seems apparent in the last few posts, basically dealing with the daily "hustle" of trying to be successful, and the work that it takes to accomplish one's dreams, hopes, goals and aspirations.

I am a firm believer that you have to work hard for things you want in life. Not everything comes easy, though most people love anything that doesn't take too much effort to pull off. Sometimes you really have to work hard to accomplish something that you feel is great, and if you want it bad enough, you will do whatever you need to do to make it happen. I would assume that you don't want it badly enough if you are not willing to put your all into it.

Life is all about sacrifices. You may have to sacrifice time with family and friends, money that you would have otherwise used to eat out or go to a movie, or maybe even having fun sometimes. There is a New Balance commercial that touches on this subject where it talks about someone giving up their entire summer vacation to running. No free Saturday mornings or late night hanging outs. Extra time put in before and after practice. And what did running give in return? "Just that extra half step in overtime".

A lot of us want that extra half step without putting in the extra time and effort. We may think it's "just going to happen", when that is rarely the case. Maybe if your rich, and have everything handed to you in life things are a little easier, but for us regular folk we either have to chase our dreams and goals or watch them pass us by.

I don't like to say that I have "dreams" because "dreams" don't come true. I would rather have goals that I can work towards. Everything is a process. Everything takes steps. The football analogy by Plus One below is a great example and it really puts things in perspective. Does it make sense to throw a hail mary on the first 3 downs of the first quarter to get the touchdown? What if you run a couple plays and you see that they aren't working how you planned, so you switch it up and do something else? What if you use a couple plays that you know will work once in a while, so you implement those when the time is right? The goal is to get to the end zone, right? As long as your advancing to keep getting 1st downs and avoid being sacked- in essence, moving backwards- then who cares how many tries it takes, as long as you get there- just hope it's not in the last minute of the game. This is hard for a lot of people to grasp because we want the things in life to come easy. Technology has made it so we can rely on other things to do what we don't want to do. To me, thats fine... I like technology and the advancements it has made to our society, but when it comes to personal goals that one wants to accomplish, hard work and who you know are the most important things.

Let's say you play basketball and you know Michael Jordan. You want to play for the Bobcats and since he plays a major part in running the organization, you want to impress him. But there's one problem. You suck! You've been hanging out with your friends all summer. You've been drinking and chasing girls on the weekends. You've been spending all your money on things that give you instant pleasure and have no positive effect on you for the future. You just blew any shot of being on an NBA franchise. You didn't prepare yourself enough because you relied on the fact that you know Michael Jordan, forgetting that fact that there are a million other people your age who want the same thing. And the dude who doesn't know MJ is better than you, so you better make sure he never gets to meet the Great One because then your spot is GONE.

I have sacrificed hanging out, spending money and doing many fun things to the point that if I didn't tell people why I did so, they would probably think that something was wrong with me. That just shows my drive and ambition and confidence in the field I am pursuing. I would rather sacrifice all that stuff now to have it in abundance once I'm well off and successful in my career. The clothes, that slice of pizza, that box office hit (i'll watch it when it comes on TBS)... they don't do anything to help my career.

Work hard to achieve your dreams or goals and never give up no matter what. If you believe in yourself and really believe deep down inside that you can do something, go for it and do not let anyone tell you no. There are always people trying to bring you down because they are either unhappy or dont have the drive to follow their own dreams, so they want you to suffer like them. Keep on pushin!

-WhieBee? [wh-eye-b-ee]