Don’t Waste Time Chasing Your Dream - Live Your Dream

UPDATE 11/15/23: I was reviewing old blog posts and this one jumped out to me as it was exactly 2 years ago today that I published it. I had forgotten this post but it tied wonderfully into a recent post, 2 Tips to Refresh Your Outlook, where I talk about this same son, who just recently turned 16, who blessed me with a tremendous gift of the reminder to Soak it In and Dare to Dream.

Today, it hits even more personally, as I am in the midst of my own life change. After working 30 years for the same company, I am no longer dreaming about a pathway that I hope to travel, I am now fully committed to that journey. That Dream is now AND Beyond Today.

It was the morning of my youngest son’s 14th birthday and being the loving father that I am, I was working on the perfect Facebook post that would combine thoughtful wisdom with enough personal and funny comments to accomplish my mission of showing love and embarrassing him thoroughly all at the same time.

I wrote to Ethan, “keep pushing and grinding so you don’t have to chase your dreams, but you live those dreams.” I felt good about this as it connected with my latest post about the 2nd Pillar of Impact: Expect Excellence​ and how the pursuit of the goal is more important than a finite goal.

Later that morning my daughter plays a Cody Johnson song titled ‘Till You Can’t. I had never heard this song and it is definitely a song that will make you reflect. A line in the chorus stood out to me, “If you got a dream, chase it, ‘cause a dream won’t chase you back.” Immediately, I was thinking “Wow! That’s a good way of looking at it.” But then I remembered my Facebook post from a couple of hours earlier and I started running it through my head. 

While I enjoy the sentiment, and Cody Johnson isn’t wrong, I prefer my way of looking at the dreams.  If you are chasing a dream, then your focus is always on that moment in the future, and you could mistakenly fail to enjoy the journey and the appreciation of the effort it took to grow and to reach your dreams.  Like I said in the previous post, it’s not about reaching a destination but the journey and experiences that help shape you as you move forward in life. 

So let the chase itself - those activities and experiences, the good times, and the bad times - be part of that dream. Let the excitement of the pursuit be equal to if not greater than accomplishing your goal. Choose to Live Your Dream so that your dream will take you Beyond Today.

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