DREAM BUT DON'T SLEEP

I ’d like to ask you a question… Do you dream? I mean, when you wake up from sleep, do you remember having had a dream? 

Well….I am a dreamer. I like that I dream. A lot of times I wake up in the morning, I remember my dreams. In fact, my dreams while I sleep make sleeping more satisfying. I feel sleep is productive when I dream…especially when I remember that dream. 

I once had a dream, where I was in a place that was familiar. Only, I don’t recognize having been there before. It was a large hall; very brightly lit and I was being applauded by a large crowd as I walked down the aisle through the center of the crowd towards an elevated stage. 

In truth! I was different. More beautiful in fact! No black spots; glowing flawless skin and I appeared powerful. But before I could go any further enjoying this apparent ‘new me’ – DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! My rude alarm woke me up. Just for me to see my tanned skin, my spots still there! In fact, with an even newly recruited pimple at the base of my chin; no crowd, no applause and obviously no power - Just a small room. What an annoying reality. 

But today, I’m not speaking of that kind of dream. I am talking about a kind of dream which comes mainly when you are NOT sleeping. And this brings me to my topic: 

DREAM BUT DON’T SLEEP

Dreams….Dreams…Usual factors of life aren’t they? But with all that familiarity we have with them, can you say what they are? Can you easily define them? If you ask me I’d say;   

“Dreams are images of the mind; produced by will of the heart; which are made manifest in reality by the achievement of set goals”. 

To me there are two types of Goals: Long term goals and Short term goals. I will say more about these two later.

 So, in this regard, I am talking about the kind of dream that gives purpose, meaning and direction to your life.

Here are some TIPS: 

1. Have an Image in Mind

 You must have an image in mind. There must be a bigger picture and having a bigger picture means you have purpose.

2. Decide!!! 

Make that decision. Decide that ‘this’ is what I want. It’s not enough to feel it or to yearn for it. You must decide to follow through. Think it through. Have a clear head. This is what I refer to when I say ‘will of the heart’. Create your conviction, then, begin.

3. Act on it

Action gives life to thought. It gives movement to will. It cannot remain in your mind and heart if you want it to come to pass. It must happen. To ‘happen’ means to take place - TO DO. Therefore, you must DO something about it.

Now this brings us to point 4.

4. Set Goals

Goals make dreams tangible. As already stated earlier, I recognize two kinds of goals – Long term and Short term goals. Long term goal(s) is the ultimate goal. It is that vision that thrives in your heart and keeps you committed to the future you desire to have. It is your dream. Short term goals are a series of time bound activities embarked on at different points in time that eventually result in the accomplishment of the ultimate goal.

When you dream you do not sleep, you wake up and set goals. ‘Sleep’ in this regard refers to laziness, procrastination, docility and excuse giving. ‘Wake up’ in this context means push yourself into action. 

If I hadn’t woken up from my dream would I have realized that my reality was distastefully different? I would not have. And that hunger to make my ‘dream’ my reality would not have been born; would not have been further strengthened. When you taste something that is not sweet, it agitates you to look for what is because what is bitter (in this context) is not enjoyable.

You can’t achieve dreams if you don’t set goals. Otherwise, how do you measure your performance? Note that your goals must take you closer to the ultimate goal. Thus, goals must be relevant to your purpose. Each short term goal may be different from the next, but they all come together to form the final goal.

Note: Goals must be:  

· (Practical) Realistic 

· Time bound

· Measurable

5. Find a source of Inspiration

A lot of us are inspired by people who are already ‘there’ – that is, where we want to be; those who are at the top so to speak and by inference, those who are leading. Whenever questioned about our ambitions we quickly lean towards people taking the lead in their chosen career paths and leaders of all sorts in all fields of human endeavour e.g. leaders of nations, Professional leaders, Church leaders, societal leaders, social leaders (musicians, actors, actresses, and the likes). And gradually, these personalities have become our standards.

You want to be where they are, what they are, how they are, enjoy what they enjoy. You desire is to be ahead of the rest just as these pace setters are. By way of being pace setters, they have become leaders in their various fields. So, by wanting to be like them, you indirectly want to be a leader. Interestingly, this is the part many of us miss. 

We all want to be at the top not the bottom; ahead and not behind. However, to be in front means to have others behind you. When you are at the front, what are you doing? LEADING! When you are leading what are you? A LEADER!

These successful individuals have become our beacons of inspiration, and by extension, they have indirectly placed on us the responsibility of summoning that courage, discipline, determination and perseverance in us that took them to get to where they are.

Here’s one way to take charge…

6. Self Development

It is one thing to have a source of inspiration that keeps your enthusiasm for greatness fuelled and another to consistently engage yourself in line with your inspiration ensuring that your progression towards your dream is assured. You must work on yourself – develop gifts or talents you have noticed you have and acquire others you feel necessary to guarantee your success. Because like it or not, before you can lead in anything you must first master leadership of yourself. By this I mean, know who you are, understand what works for you and do not try to be others. Make effort to discover yourself and further invest in bettering yourself

In order to achieve this, go for trainings in capacity development, attend certificate courses, be an apprentice somewhere of relevance to learn what you did not know before and master what you only had a vague idea about prior. But remember, every experience you put yourself through must be relevant to the bigger picture. You need not worry about financial resources. Start small and work your way up. Register for affordable courses or training and as you adopt, utilize knowledge and skills gained; and grow, you can gradually begin to enroll in some more recognizable organizations. There are many opportunities to gather information online for instance. That’s a good way to start. 

As far as you are no longer totally ignorant as you were before you started, you will be more useful when new opportunities of engagement come up. These will further develop you. 

7. Have Faith and Patience 

While you make effort to accomplish your dreams, remember that nothing happens over night. Those you envy, admire and look up to devoted massive energy to succeed. Even though they appear to have it easy, it was not always like that and probably still isn’t.

I bet you they still put in a lot to sustain their success. Because the reward of success is more work. So, you must be patient. 

Nevertheless, be realistic about your efforts and always tell yourself the truth if you are doing enough and also if what you are doing is right to your purpose. Conversely, have faith in yourself when confronted by challenges (for surely they will come) and stay connected to your source of inspiration. 

I wish you all the best!!