Have you ever wanted to accomplish a goal or dream so bad you think about it obsessively for days, months, or even years, but unfortunately never do anything about it? If you’re like me, the answer is a resounding “yes”.
But today, I’m throwing down the gauntlet. Yes, today is the day I stop procrastinating and set off on that path to the unknown and begin to achieve what I think is unattainable. I’m done with always thinking about accomplishing my dreams but never achieving them. Sounds kind of scary, doesn’t it?
Don’t worry though, because I’ve thought everything out. In fact, I’ve thought so much about achieving my dreams that I am an expert at telling you all the possible pitfalls of even attempting to achieve my dreams.
Pitfall number one: I’m just your average Joe, who has no connections and lacks the social savvy to connect with the great, powerful people in the world who can help me achieve my most lofty ambitions. Not only do I lack the “super humanness” it takes to be a success, I can’t even articulate my dreams in a succinct enough manner that anyone would ever take me seriously.
Pitfall number two: I’m a nobody. Really. A complete nobody. Especially compared with people like Brad Pitt, Warren Buffett, Barack Obama, or any of the other successful actors, writers, politicians, and moguls. Who would want to hear what I have to say?
Pitfall number three: You might think pitfall number one and two are bad, but the biggest pitfall of all is - what if I fail? I hate to fail. In fact, I hate to fail so much that I’d rather not try so I don’t fail. Hence, I’ll never fail at anything, because, I won’t try anything.
Okay…this is getting frustrating. How am I supposed to accomplish my dreams and goals if I’m too worried about all the possible pitfalls and failures?
When I was a child, a relative asked what I wanted to be when I grew up. I said that I wanted to be a professional baseball player. “You’re too short to play professional baseball”, was the response I got. Ouch. I thought that the people close to you were supposed to encourage and help you aspire to your dreams, however impossible they might seem.
Just think of how many successful people who were told that they would never achieve their dreams by well-meaning loved ones, friends or teachers. Not because they believed that the person wasn’t good enough, they just thought it was just too big of a dream. And what happens when people try to do big things? They fail.
Think of the list of Who’s Who of failures.
Who dreamed about becoming a successful journalist only to be fired as a local news reporter because she was ‘unfit for TV’? Oprah Winfrey, that’s who.
Who wanted to make movies so badly that he applied to the USC School of Theater, Film and Television, only to be rejected not once, but twice? Steven Spielberg, that’s who.
Who was told he was so mentally deficient by educators that he wouldn’t amount to anything in life and was forced to be homeschooled by his mother? Albert Einstein, that’s who.
The list of Who’s Who of failure goes on and on. I want to be on that list of too.
I’m glad that some people are brave enough to ignore other’s opinions and do what’s in their heart. Aren’t you? They make it seem possible for someone like myself to achieve something so spectacular, that it will be remembered for years to come.
Now, I’m no Oprah, Spielberg, or Einstein (see pitfall number two), and I know I shouldn’t compare myself to people of that stature, but don’t I have the right to dream big dreams and accomplish them just the same? Or do I have to be some special, talented, gifted, intelligent, brainiac from the moment of conception in order to accomplish something BIG?
“But I don’t have a dream or lofty ambition” you say.
Sure you do. We all do, or did at one time. Maybe you buried it below the surface. Maybe you forgot. Whatever the case, you had a dream or goal at one point in time, and like me, you saw the pitfalls and those pitfalls have held you back.
I know it sounds unusual, but the truth is, I want to fail. Let me rephrase that. I want to succeed at failing. Wait, that didn’t come out right, let me that try again. I want to fail at doing something to achieve my dream. Because by failing at attempting to live out my dream, it means at least I’m doing something to accomplish my dream.
I want to learn what it means to fail, so when I succeed, I will appreciate my success that much more.
Perhaps, if I can be the type of person who boldly steps out in faith, works hard, and risks stupendous failure, then, one day, if the opportunity presents itself, I will get a break and achieve my long awaited dream. And if that ever happens, I’ll be comforted knowing that all those nights I stared at my bedroom ceiling, imagining my achievement, weren’t a complete waste. But if I don’t get a break, there is a consolation prize. I’ll never have to image what might have been if only I had been brave enough to face my fears.
And guess what? Just by reading this article, you’ve helped me take one minor step in accomplishing my dream of becoming a professional writer. Not just any writer, one that changes lives with the words that I write.
I hope you enjoyed reading my attempt to break away from my fear of failure. With any luck, this article will impact you in a small, but profound way and motivate you to accomplish a dream that has been sitting on the shelf way too long.
As for me and my journey, when success as a writer finally does come (how’s that for positive thinking?) I hope to look back at these humble beginnings and think to myself, “What a marvelous failure I’ve become.”
