Are Dreams Worth It?

J Wright
J Wright
Sep 1, 2018 · 2 min read

In America, every child is raised with the same notion: follow your dreams. Don’t listen to others, be strong and independent, and do what you want to do. Regardless of what others may think or say, be you.

I covered this in my last blog, but right now, I am currently striving to realize my dream. My dream is this: to become a successful author. I currently give countless hours of my time writing fiction stories. But that’s the thing — most people, when striving to achieve their dream, give countless hours. Hours that they could be using to find opportunities; hours they could be using to achieve something else.

And this raises the question: is following your dream worth it? I mean, is blindly drudging along, trying to grasp the Holy Grail of Success, worth it? In my opinion, it is not. Let me put it this way — would you rather have a slight chance of success at something that, honestly, probably won’t feed you every night, or have a successful career in a field you never thought you’d find yourself in? For me, the answer is obvious.

Of course, this is assuming your dream is something along the lines of: becoming a famous author, artist, or musician. If you well and truly want to be an aerospace engineer for NASA (for example), and don’t mind all those years of college debt and math, then go for it.

I once heard a story about this. Unfortunately, I can’t remember who said it or from where. But follow me here. There once was a young man who dreamed of being a famous (fill-in-blank-here.). But he found himself working incredibly hard for very little return. But unlike most people, instead of pushing forward and going to bed hungry, he saw an opportunity. The local sewer cleaners were hiring. So he decided to apply. Several years later, he is the happiest that he has ever been. The job paid all his bills, and with very little people actually wanting to go out and clean sewage, his pay was pretty high. As he said (paraphrasing here), “I made millions by literally cleaning up peoples’ sh!t”.

The moral of the story here is this: don’t focus on your dreams alone, lest you miss out on other opportunities. Make sure to look where others ignore, because maybe, you might find a career that makes you millions. But also, be realistic. America, as of this writing, needs more manufacturing workers, technical workers, and trade workers. It doesn’t need another author, musician, or even psychologist.

Follow opportunities, not your dreams. But never stop dreaming, because one day, you could strike it lucky.