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Why It Is Okay to Have Big Dreams

Last Updated on March 29, 2023 by Mark Ferguson

The world has become full of people telling us how to live our lives. How to spend our money, how to save it, what career to get, and what we should dream about. I can’t stand it when people tell others exactly how they should live! We are all different and we all have different dreams and aspirations. There is no one size fits all life instruction book. That is one of the things that makes life so interesting and exciting. We do not know what is going to happen and we do not all want the same things. Some of us have big expensive dreams and others have small dreams or big dreams that don’t cost much money at all. Your dreams and passions should not be locked away because they are more expensive than other dreams and passions. It is okay to have big dreams.

What if your dreams are unrealistic?

A lot of us have big dreams, dreams that seem crazy to other people. We are told that we are being unrealistic and just asking for disappointment because we probably will not achieve them. Do you know what is even more disappointing? Not trying to achieve your dreams and never knowing if you could have succeeded if you did try!

I also wonder who has the authority to tell me that my dreams are unrealistic and other dreams are not. Who makes these rules and how much research has been done on the subject? The people who have made the biggest impact on the world and helped the most people all had dreams that seemed unrealistic to many. What if they had just given up hope?

  • Elon Musk
  • Jeff Bezos
  • Donald Trump
  • Barack Obama
  • Warren Buffet
  • Oprah Winfrey

All of these people could have decided to have “normal lives” and take the easy route. They decided to chase their dreams and not listen to the naysayers. Many of the people on this list made multiple dreams come true that seemed completely unrealistic.

If you are worried that your dreams are too unrealistic maybe you are on to something big! I mean, unless your dream is to become a dinosaur, that might be tough.

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What if you don’t reach your dreams?

It is possible that you will not achieve your dreams or do everything you set out to do in your life. That does not make you a failure. In fact, big dreams often produce amazing results even if they are not the results you dream of. The chances are you will accomplish much more with big dreams than realistic dreams even if those big dreams are never reached.

Many people dream of becoming professional athletes but most who try will never make it to the pros. Does that mean that they failed in life? No, many athletes become super successful in other fields, or even in sports, but not as an athlete. In real estate, I see many ex-athletes who are super successful. My opinion is that the determination, the discipline, and the work ethic it takes to reach high levels in sports help people become successful in other aspects of life as well.

Chasing your dreams and not achieving them can often lead you on an amazing path that you would have never found taking the conventional route. The path to working towards your dream will often teach you many valuable lessons that can be applied to other parts of your life. That path may also open up many other opportunities you would have never had if you simply gave in to the idea of being normal.

Not achieving your dreams is not failure, it is part of the process, and sometimes will lead to bigger and better things than you ever dreamed of! I personally have had many dreams that did not work out but the work towards that dream or goal lead me to something even better and more rewarding. Had I never tried to reach the original dream I would have never found the alternative that was even better!

How do you deal with people close to you who are discouraging?

One of the biggest reasons people do not go after their dream is their family or friends tell them not to. They tell them they are unrealistic, or they will shame their family, or they send them on the path that the family thinks is best, regardless of what is best for the person. This can be a very awkward situation and many people simply give in to what their family wants. Often, they do not even talk to their family or friends because they are afraid of what they will say or how they will react.

If people are discouraging you who you care about, the best action you can take is to talk to them and show them you are passionate about what you want to do. I don’t know how many hundreds of movies there are about this exact situation but most of the problems come from lack of communication in the movies and it is the same in real life. The people who care about us want us to be happy and sometimes they think that they know what is best for us. They may not realize how passionate we are about something or that our dreams are different than theirs.

Here are some tips for dealing with people who do not believe in your dreams:

  • Communicate with them!
  • Show them how passionate you are by creating plans, goals, and putting in the work to make the dream more realistic
  • Remember that it is your life and that you cannot make everyone happy
  • Create a timeline for how long you will commit to your dreams and if nothing happens you will consider other options at that point (remember you may not fully achieve your dream but progress can mean many things)

In the end, some people may not understand or accept what you are doing but that is part of life. Hopefully, the people close to you understand this but not everyone will and it can be a tough situation.

How do you know what your dreams are?

Some people want to be passionate and want to achieve big things but simply do not know where to start. This can be tough but most people have things they love to do and are passionate about. For many, the problem is that what they are passionate about may not be accepted by society as a typical successful career. People can change the world or be super successful in almost any field. If I followed society’s advice I would be nowhere close to my dreams. I happen to love cars and real estate. I have been able to own multiple exotic cars even though in my 20s I thought it was not for me, I was just a regular person. Well, believing in myself and my dreams was the first step to getting to where I am now.

If you don’t know what you are passionate about, simply think about what you love to do in your spare time, what did you love to do as a kid. If you had no worry about money or responsibilities how would you spend your time? This often leads people to realize what they really love in life.

Can big dreams make you more successful?

A lot of people say that dreamers waste their lives and never accomplish anything. This may be true for some people, but it also may be true that they just have not found the right opportunity yet, or given it enough time. If you have big dreams and use those dreams as motivation it can create a tremendous work ethic. There is a difference between daydreaming about how awesome it would be to have a lot of money and not have to work and thinking specifically about what your life would be like. The house, the cars, the free time, the travel, whatever it is you want. If you are always thinking about exactly what your life will be like it helps you work harder and be more motivated. Thinking about my Lamborghini was a huge motivator for me. It helped me achieve much more than I thought possible even though many people told me it was a dumb, egotistical, show-off dream. I didn’t care because I knew what I wanted, not what society wanted.

How do you make a dream a reality?

The first step when making dreams come true is realizing it will take work. There are no get-rich-quick schemes out there. Almost everything worthwhile takes hard work and thinking. The first step in making a dream come true is creating a plan. The plan should include:

  • What is the dream? (be as specific as possible, you can always change it along the way)
  • What will achieving the dream do for you? (how will you live, what will you do, charity, etc)
  • What business opportunities or jobs are available that involve your dream?
  • What are the steps from beginning to end that you need to do to make the dream come true?
  • Break down those steps into the first actions you need to take
  • Take action!

If you want your dream to come true you need to take action or you will always stay a dreamer. Dreams are great, but they cannot stay dreams forever!

Conclusion

A lot of people will put you down or discourage you from dreaming too big or having dreams they do not agree with. Don’t listen to them. Be your own person and pursue what you want to pursue. It may not work out exactly how you think it will, but if you really go after it you will learn a ton, you find other opportunities and you just may change the world.

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