Following Your Dreams Can Change Your Life
Start working toward your dream today
“If you were independently wealthy and didn’t have to work, what would you do with your time?”
I asked my team members this ice breaker question at one of our morning meetings. For context, I am a manager and we will ask ice breaker questions to try and uplift everyone before we open for the day. The question brought out answers that surprised me. Some of my co-workers I have worked with for years but I had no idea they had these dreams tucked away in the back of their heads. As each person expressed their answers to the question the only thing I could think was “Do it!” which I expressed to all of them.
Some of their answers might have been out of the box but all were achievable.
One said that they would be a motivational speaker.
Another wanted to open a food truck.
Someone wanted to create a fashion line.
Those were just a few of the answers, but they got me thinking. These people that I spend almost every day with at this corporate retail job have these big dreams but they only thought they could go after them if they already had themselves set up.
Don’t wait until you think you are ready. Then you will be waiting forever.
All of the dreams that they expressed were achievable and have the potential to make them more money then what they make at their current job. Not only that but they would be doing something that they loved every day.
Now I am not writing this to bring anyone down, I am still working this job right along with them. However, it makes me sad that they aren’t going after their dreams. That they can only go after them if they are set up financially. We as humans want to play it safe. That is how our brains are hardwired; they want to protect us. So, going after the unknown will be scary but in the end, it will be worth it.
What is your dream?
Here is the point where I ask you to think about the question above. Is there something that if you didn’t have to worry about the money you would go do every day? Is there a business idea that has been trapped in the back of your mind, but you have never entertained the idea because it felt too risky?
I am here to tell you to go for it.
Do the thing that you have always wanted to do. Even if the thing you dream of is something you do on the side of your full-time job, I believe as humans we have to have an outlet for our creativity and that we should do more in life than just work.
Make a plan and Execute it
If you want to open up a food truck like one of my co-workers, start saving up your money and look into how much a food truck costs. Work on recipes in your free time to perfect your menu. Look into any local festivals or events that you could be involved in. Research the best areas of your city you could park to maximize your profit.
Say you want to be a motivational speaker like my other co-worker. Start a podcast. Market yourself on social media. Start a Tik Tok where you can post short reels of your podcast and post the entire podcast in video form on YouTube to reach more people.
For a fashion line, start designing. Learn to sew (if you don’t know already). Post your work on social media and the process of making your designs. Show how you would style each item. Open up an online shop to sell your creations. Eventually, you could grow big enough to hire more help and to get into a brick-and-mortar store.
The possibilities are endless.
And all of these ideas can grow on the side while you work your normal 9–5. I would never want anyone to quit and put themselves in a bad spot financially. Even if you only work on your dream for 10, 20 or 30 minutes a day those will start to add up.
If you are looking for a sign to go after the dream that has been brewing in your head for years, I’m here to tell you to go for it. No one wants to live with regret and you never know, the leap to go after what you want might be the best decision you have ever made.
