- Image by Amin Tabrizi via Flickr
As I grow older, I am even more appreciative of the ability to dream. As adults with miles under our feet, scars from previous battles and the delicate balance that life demands, dreaming takes commitment.
Dreaming, thinking beyond our present circumstances to what could be, is the very essence of hope. Our dreams indicate that we still believe in more and that we are fiercely declaring we are alive as we continue to push past our now to achieve our tomorrow.
I am also aware that our visions and dreams must be guarded with the ferocity of a lioness protecting her cubs.
“Let one of your first decisions be to keep a closed mouth and open ears and eyes.” – Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich
When you are ready to turn your vision into reality, it is natural to want to share your excitement. It is after all momentous to move from dream to audacious belief. However, it is at this critical juncture when the dream killers and vision thieves lie in wait ready to sink your ship before it ever leaves the port.
These slayers are armed with grenades of doubt and swords with poisonous tips of opinions. You unknowingly enter battle without the armor of decisive decision and the attackers level the lethal blow before you leave the gates of desire.
Your greatest weapon against this evil is silence. Share your dreams and visions with a trusted few. You will need the support of your spouse but think carefully who else is allowed into the inner sanctum. Your friends and family, though well meaning can launch the fiercest attacks, knowing your weak spots better than any stranger.
Gather a small but mighty band of support that will hold you accountable for your own belief, even as they cheer you on to victory.
Have you ever faced the dream killers and vision thieves? How did you handle it?
Fred, through the years this advice does seem to hold up. I agree with you too about the fragility, a well meaning word can dash your hopes and keep you from taking action.
Holding back while you work on something seems to be sage advice. An idea that is still in formation is so delicate that a remark meant to be helpful along the lines of ‘did you think of this’ can end up being a dream killer without meaning to be. Trusted associates or steeling yourself against un-intended arrows have been the only defense I’ve really found…
.-= Fred H Schlegel´s last blog ..The 3 P’s of Innovation =-.
A.B., you can’t see me but I am standing up and cheering you on! As you said family members can sometimes mean well or they think they’re protecting you from hurt or sometimes it may be their own fears that cloud their vision – whatever the cause it can be damaging especially to the young dreamer. We have to allow ourselves to dream, to try, and yes even fail or we miss the richness of life. I would rather try and fail than never try at all. My heart breaks for that child who has had his dream squashed. I pray that he is able to overcome and rebound.
Friar, you deal with it by not letting them steal your life! In spite of the dumb place that doesn’t deserve your talent, you have a great well rounded life. You have not allowed them to dull your senses, intellect or joy for life. In my book that makes you the ultimate conqueror!
I’m with Ms. Young, it’s my own doubts and fears which cause me the most trouble. There are lots of dream killers out there, and like you said, the majority of mine are family. From the way some of them talk, you’d think I didn’t have a brain in my head for having the audacity to dream in the first place. Then again, perhaps they’ve simply clued into the fact these types of statements tend to rile me up and send me off on a bent to prove them wrong.
I know one family member in particular tried just that tactic with one of her children and it backfired spectacularly. Instead of pushing him toward his goal, she inadvertently squashed the dream and his vision of himself altogether.
.-= A. B. England´s last blog ..Tomorrow’s Readers =-.
I spend 37.5 hours a week, working for Dreamkiillers and Vision-Thieves.
Don’t ask me how I deal with it.
I don’t.
.-= Friar´s last blog ..Idiot Rodents =-.
Joanna, you raise a great point. I can be my own worst enemy with those naggy voices that try to reason away my dreams. It’s funny though that sometimes when we wrestle internally, the external has the opposite effect. I wonder if it’s that when we hear the doubt outside of our own head, it wakes us up in some way. Hmm…I too am so thankful for the support of good friends like you. There have been so many times that I would never have made it out of the gate without you holding my hand and gently bidding me to come. 🙂
Karen, it’s the naysayers inside my own head who cause me the most grief. External criticism I can deal with – in fact if anything it makes me feel stronger.
A group of inner supporters and friends is equally effective in dealing with those voices though, for which many thanks 🙂
.-= Joanna Young´s last blog ..What Makes Your Writing Fly? =-.
Heather, I have always known you to be strong of purpose, insanely creative and decisive – all traits that are the mark of successful leaders. Your many successes stand as a testament that you know how to get it done. About the vision thief, lol! Ooops! Just goes to show that someone can steal your idea but without you it may not always be successful! 🙂
*sigh*
The sign of an awesome writer is after you read a blog post and think ‘was that advice, a blog, or pure poetry’.
I have had my fair share of interactions with ‘dream killers and vision thieves’. I guess I handle it on a case by case basis. With the ‘dream killers’ – I try to listen with Open Eyes and Ears and look at things from all points of view – however at the end of the day, I follow my gut after taking in all the opinions.
With ‘vision thieves’, every experience I have ever had has made me laugh. For example, I had an idea for an ecourse and mentioned it, a competitor came out with that ecourse before I got mine done, but it was horrible! So even though my vision was stolen, it still backfired. No good comes to those who don’t play on the level.
.-= Heather Villa, CMA, MBA, MSM´s last blog ..More tips on using universities and colleges to help your business =-.
Hi Brad! I completely agree you need to have people around who balance you and are not afraid to disagree. I have seen the danger of being surrounded by raving fans and it is equally damaging.
Hi Karen, Like you, I find it best to tune out the naysayers. The older I get, the less patience I have with arguing for the sake of argument. At the same time, I think it is a good idea to keep people in your inner circle who do have a different point of view, who are willing to be honest even when it’s uncomfortable to do so.