“If you can dream it, you can do it” – Walt Disney
When I Grow Up…
Do you remember when you were a kid and someone asked you what you wanted to be when you grew up?
“I want to be a…fireman, policeman, a nurse, a superhero, etc.”
So what did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was 7-years-old I wanted to be an entertainer, a stand-up comic. My parents and I would listen to Pat Cooper albums and we would laugh hysterically. Pat’s real name was Pasquale Caputo and he would talk about growing up in an Italian Family. It didn’t matter if I understood the jokes or not…if Mom and Dad were laughing, I was laughing too.
When I was 16-years-old, I wanted to be the drummer for Van Halen. It didn’t matter that I didn’t play the drums, I dreamed of getting an emergency phone call from Eddie Van Halen telling me that Alex got sick and they desperately needed me!
What is it About Children and Dreams?
When you’re a kid, your dreams and ideas are unlimited, you don’t care if it’s realistic or not, you simply believe you can be anything you want to be.
When a group of 5-year-olds were asked what they wanted to be when they grew up, the number one response was…a super-hero!
What is it about kids that believe they can accomplish or be anything they want! And then something changes…
What is it About Adults and Dreams?
At some point most adults give up on their dreams and end up settling. The excitement and aliveness that once filled them seems to fade away with each year that passes. Almost as if time is slowly erasing the image of their dreams they had painted so many years ago.
A recent Salary.com survey found that only 16% of the people surveyed said they were living their childhood dreams. They went on to say that 60% of those surveyed still wished they could fulfill their dreams!
What About You?
Maybe your dream to be a ballerina, a baseball player, or a policeman has changed over the years. The core question here isn’t whether you actually became a super-hero or not…the real questions are:
- Are you happy?
- Do you love what you do?
- Do you love the person you’ve become?
7 Steps to Realizing Your Dreams:
- Ask yourself: What did I want to be when I grew up?
- Look for any correlations between what you wanted to be and who you are today.
- Write down on a sheet of paper 10 things you love to do?
- Look for any gaps between who you wanted to be and who you are.
- Look for any gaps between what you do and what you love to do?
- Write down one action you can and will take today to close that gap (make a phone call, an appointment, or put on a cape and run around the house).
- Commit to doing one of the things you love to do once a week for one month and watch what happens to your happiness meter.
No, I never became a stand-up comic or the drummer for Van Halen and yet, I love what I do – I cannot imagine doing anything else!
Sometimes I get chills thinking that I get paid to be a professional speaker and to help others realize their potential. It is living a dream for me!
Do Dreams Ever Come True?
Oh and one last thing…eventually I did go out and buy a drum set from a woman who was selling her ex-husband’s kit. Ironically, when I walked into her home to see them, the bass drum was sitting on top of the dining room table. Spelled out in tape in big bold letters was the name of her ex-husband’s band – 5150 – yup, the seventh studio album from Van Halen!
You see…sometimes dreams really do come true!
Here’s wishing you nothing but joy as you follow your dreams…
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