Rise to Wisdom: Believing in your dreams.

Welcome to another episode of Rise to Wisdom. This week we will be dwelling on the topic:  Believing in your dreams.

Do you dream? For most people, dreams come at night and some of them we remember and a lot we don't. There is a difference though between a dream occurring during our sleep and those dreams we have when we are awake. 

I recently read a quote by Louisa May Alcott that said, "We all have our own life to pursue, our own kind of dream to be weaving. And we all have some power to make wishes come true, as long as we keep believing." Her words reminded me of a story about a man who had a dream; a dream that became his burning desire and a dream that tool thirty years to achieve. 

A dream that had to be put on hold several times, a dream that was dashed to ashes by circumstances beyond his immediate control, and a dream that when finally accomplished cost him his life. 

A lot of us wouldn't even want to contemplate waiting thirty years to accomplish a dream, a goal no matter how important it was. For most of us, we want to achieve what we want quickly. Maybe this desire is a sign of our times where we are too focused on immediate rewards whether that be the purchase of a house without being able to really afford it, or to go on that exotic vacation even though it will takes years to pay off credit card debt instead of saving for it, or the immediacy of having the latest and fanciest doodad that comes on the market. 

So, are there different types of dreams where one kind is more immediate, and another kind takes almost a lifetime to accomplish? Well, I've never seen dreams categorized this way but it is possible. One could argue, if dreams can be so categorized, that a dream that isn't that difficult is only of minor importance. Maybe this is something like a goal where most people do not realize that goals usually stretch us to develop new abilities if they are really meaningful. On the other hand, I think a dream that impacts us on a holistic scale is one that takes a burning desire where all our waking moments are focused on moving towards it no matter how small the steps, or how many diversions, or setbacks we have to deal with. 

Now, some of you know the story that I started to relate; a story that saw this man deal with failed businesses, personal bankruptcies, and personal tragedies but never gave up despite all the odds. A story that should encourage you to do what you want knowing that this was a normal man who wasn't born to wealth, who had to self educate himself, but a man who had a clear vision that would not be dimmed by thefailures over many years. 

This man was Abraham Lincoln.

Now, step back a minute and look at you own life, your goals, your dreams. If this story of fantastic perseverance means anything to you it should be this; you can be empowered to absolutely shatter anyobstacles or roadblocks until you've realized your deepest desires.

Do it like Abe did!