A dream is not what you see while you are asleep but rather, it’s what keeps you from sleeping. A dream is not an illusion, but it is the power to visualize who you want to become in the near future. So many people have dreams but they are just snoozing on them, hoping one day they will come true. It’s time we stop living a ‘movie life’ that is, being poor at the beginning and hoping to become rich at the end of the movie. The popular ‘happily ever after.'
1. Don’t just believe, Act!
Belief is not the way to succeed here, practice is the way. Ralph Waldo Emerson said “shallow people believe in luck. Wise and strong people believe in cause and effect.” So, it’s time for you do something today which will bring pride and honor to your future.
Set goals which are both short and long-term goals. They should not be too high nor too low. The human heart gets so much discouraged and disappointed, if you set goals which are too high and you fail to accomplish them. Thus, it is of utmost importance that one dreams ‘reasonably.’ Similarly, when you set goals which are too low, you will end up doing nothing, since its simple you will say “I will do it” but you won’t do it. Set goals and challenges which are meaningful and captivating.
2. Success is not a matter of Luck!
Success is a result of consistent and dedicated input and not just a matter of luck. One’s life should be marked by tireless labors, dedication, determination, creativity, sweat, late nights, early mornings, time management, risk taking and the biggest of all hard work.
My history teacher, Mr. Richard Sejjungo once told us in class “Do not allow other people’s failures to become your own failure” When you have a dream similar to a failure’s dream; that should not discourage or disappoint you, it is them not you. Had it been the case, Ben Carson could not have separated the twins since other surgeons before him had failed. Thomas Edison would not have invented the bulb.
3. Learn and follow your own path
Everyone is unique and therefore has a different path towards his or a dream. Therefore, stick to your dreams. Give it all you have, talk to positive people on the way, read books to expand your knowledge and follow people, who are undertaking what you want to achieve. In this manner, you will both improve and accomplish it.
Indeed, it has been rightly said that “The first law of success is concentration, to bend all energies to one point and to go directly to that point looking neither to the right nor the left.”
Make your dream your motivation. Its either you work hard to accomplish your dreams or simply give up and work for others. The choice is yours. As long as you have faith, the right mind set and attitude, life can go so fast from nothing to greatness.
4. Background is not an obstacle
There are so many hardships in life, your back ground should not be an obstacle towards accomplishing our dreams, but whenever you think about where you come from, the hard life you have lived, the poverty you have experienced and the people who said “You can’t make it.” Let it be your fuel to work harder towards your goal and to prove them wrong.
Great minds have already observed that “To be born poor is not your mistake, but to die poor is definitely your mistake.” It does not matter the family from which you come from, the poverty you have been through, what your critics have said about you. (The people who talk behind your back they belong there (at the back). You just need to believe in the beauty of your dreams, the power of your goals and the splendor of your vision.
5. Let Other Great People Inspire You
Most people fail in life because they fuel their life because they fuel their lives by negative comments from people. You just need to select good role models who have made it from zero to hero, such as Oprah Winfrey and Ben Carson. Whenever you feel like giving up look at what they have been through and where they are now. It will give you hope, courage, determination and the power to move on.
Your days will certainly come, all that you imagined and have worked hard for will come to be concrete reality; you too will be a role model and an inspiration for so many youngsters, the savior of your family, and the hero of your society, a person your friends and enemies will be looking up to with admiration. Then you will look up towards the skies and humbly praise God for your dreams would have come true.
6. Set Your Priorities right
Give priorities to the things which matter most and not things which will consume your income and time without you benefiting from them. The biggest difference between the rich and the poor is that, the poor tend to buy the luxurious first with their own sweat, while the rich tend to buy their luxurious last after buying asserts which can generate income for buying the luxurious goods.
7. Step up and make the right choice
Now it’s time for you to step up from your bed, say yes, I can! Take actions and be a go getter. Remember no one is born a winner likewise no one is born a looser. Rather, we are all born choosers so make the right choice for your life.
Conclusion
God has given each man the power and capacity to be everything that God has made him to be. Have faith and trust in his unconditional love.
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The author
William Munishi is a Tanzanian youth passionate about changing the lives of other young people through the power of golden words.
He also engages in different youth movements. The main aim is to bring self reliance and proper utilization of the African resources.
