UNITED STATES—A dream: it’s something many of us hold onto with unbelievable power. We all have dreams, we all have aspirations, but for many of us, those dreams don’t always come to fruition. However, I think for most Americans our dreams never dissipate; they are just placed on the backburner. So the question to ask is what causes someone to place their dreams in the distance? Well its life. Things transpire where that dream we held so tightly to as kids or young adults, doesn’t matter as much as we age and we begin to take on more responsibilities.
We like to hold onto our dream or dreams, but at the same time we have to face a bit of reality; everything we want in life does not always come to fruition overnight. For those who are dedicated and driven never give up on achieving their dream, however, those who are not as dedicated, or who become easily flustered or agitated when instant results don’t transpire, let go of those dreams.
I have to admit I have become one of those people. My dream of becoming an accomplished screenwriter, director and producer has fallen to the waist side as I invested all my energy and time into a project that frankly has not paid off. It’s frustrating, very frustrating coming to the realization that one allowed their dream to dissipate in front of their eyes. However, just because a few months or years have gone by where one’s dream became a distant memory does not mean that dream no longer exists.
Hearing a tale of someone else accomplish their dream or their journey and continue to chase their dream in the midst of obstacles is a caveat that can re-energize a person to go after something that perhaps fell through the cracks. It gives one a bit of rejuvenation; that burst of energy that just makes one fight that much harder to make something happen that may have seemed impossible not too long ago.
The most important thing when focusing energy on achieving a dream is to be actively working towards it. You can’t whine or moan about not making it as an esteemed athlete if you’re not actively pursuing it. That’s the thing about dreams; we focus on WHAT we want, but we are NOT actually doing anything to change the outcome. That makes all the difference when it comes to NOT giving up on that dream. I will admit, I cannot even acknowledge the last time I looked at a script or even attempted at tackling a screenplay. It has to be at least 4 years or longer. The biggest reason I’ve been so focused on work and dedicating my free time (which is minimal to say the least) to another job that hasn’t really paid off.
The sickening element is that it has taken me this long to realize it; I’ve been wasting my time and I need to recalibrate my focus to doing something that actually brings me a level of jubilation, excitement; a feeling that I can’t describe with words America. I think my biggest reason for writing this column is to reenergize people to NOT give up on their dream, to not lose focus, but most importantly to go to battle for something that means the world to them. Nothing happens overnight. Anything that has surmountable pull takes time to come to fruition, but the great thing is when it does transpire in front of your eyes, you will not be able to fathom what you’re witnessing.