“Dreams don’t work unless you do.” —John C. Maxwell
You have big goals, dazzling aspirations, and high hopes. You know you were meant to write the next great American novel. You feel destined to start the next money-maker like Uber. You’re waiting to serendipitously run into a talent scout who exclaims, “You’re the face I’ve been looking for; I’m going to make you a star!”
You keep waiting, wishing, and praying for that “big break.” You know you deserve it! You keep doing affirmations, talking about manifestation, and dreaming up big plans in your head.
However, from the outside looking in, your actual actions run more like this:
- Instead of working on building an MVP of your tech idea and actively reaching out to try to get paying customers, you keep planning to plan and preparing to prepare.
- Instead of signing up for acting classes and consistently attending to learn more and hone your craft, you take five classes and decide you’re ready for Hollywood.
- You spend months watching Netflix movies to “get inspired” instead of grabbing a camera and trying to produce your own short film.
So, why aren’t you getting past go?
The harsh truth is that in your subconscious mind, you are still holding on to the hope that someone else will make your dreams come true. Someone else will make it easy for you. Someone else will do the dirty work and make it happen. If you just keep holding on to hope, it will all work out in the end. Because hey, isn’t that how it works out in every movie?
In reality, the only way for you to triumph is to radically take responsibility for your dreams. Own up to the fact that you and you alone have to go after what you want and desire. You and you alone have to cut the crap and take strategic, consistent steps to get to where you want to be.
Nobody is going to make your dreams come true for you; you’ll have to do it yourself. It won’t be easy. It won’t be pretty. Heck, you may even go broke in the process…
But if you really want it that badly, you will figure it out. You’ll pull a Sylvester Stallone, a Taraji P. Henson, or an Oprah Winfrey. You’ll learn how to weather the craziest storms, overcome obstacles, and creatively push forward. When you realize you have nothing to lose — just your dreams — putting your fate in someone else’s hands feels too risky.
