So I Have This Dream

“I want to own my own restaurant.”

“Really? That’s amazing! What brought this on?”

“You know, I just thought about how fulfilling it would be to make a bunch of foodies happy by presenting them with dishes made in my own kitchen. Just imagine, a line up in front of my restaurant, reservations made for months, people waiting for a dining experience of a lifetime. I’d provide the finest liquor, the most expensive table cloths, ipad service and glow in the dark take-home cups.”

“It all sounds so exciting, but how are you going to make this happen?

“I don’t know. But that’s not the point. The point is that when this all happens, I’ll be able to live a really successful life. I could buy a penthouse and own multiple cars and puppies and unicorns and….”

(That was over exaggerated, I know.)

Before I begin, I’d like to make a disclaimer: I am a realist.

I’m like Kevin O’Leary on Dragon’s Den. When presented with a creative business idea, he is intrigued and excited. But first and foremost, he looks at the facts.

WWKD? (What would Kevin do?)

Kevin: So, how many units have you sold?

Business owner: Well…none, we haven’t started production and we don’t even have a prototype! (Aka. All we have is this beautifully printed cardboard display!)

Kevin: Then what am I investing in?! Unleashes his fiery dragon breath*

I understand that every reality begins with a dream. Hence the term “I’m living the dream right now!”

But dreams don’t work unless you do.

I don’t question people’s dreams to make them feel doubtful or unsupported. I question them to make sure that it’s what they really want and that they’ve thoroughly thought about it before they have committed. Most of us romanticize the idea of the destination without understanding the amount of hard work, perseverance and struggle it takes to continue through the journey. Sometimes we don’t realize that we will have to endure a lot of things we don’t like in order to fulfill our dreams. And I get it; it’s hard. I’m not going to lie to you and say that I’ve never made a decision without thoroughly looking at all the facts and how it would help or hinder my progress as an individual.

For instance, today I ate McDonalds. (And in this case, I forgot to think about the NUTRITIONAL facts.)

Changing your path is a natural tendency. But if you’re constantly changing it simply because things are getting too difficult then you know the problem starts and ends with you; not the dreams you decided to pursue. The worst thing you can do is allow yourself to be the sailor who is mystified by the siren on the rocks – ultimately never steering his/her ship to shore.