Achieving Your Dream is a Curious Thing

Posted by Tisha Tolar on February 23, 2009

When I first started out as a freelancer, I was aiming to be a virtual assistant because that is what I knew best. I became a paid writer by circumstance, not completely understanding at the time that the road I did take would eventually lead to my fulfilling one of my biggest dreams. In fact, things have happened so seamlessly, it is only when I have a minute to reflect do I realize what I have accomplished.

As the title of this post suggest, achieving your dream is a curious thing. I always knew I wanted to own my own business. I didn’t want to answer to anyone for the rest of my life and I sure as heck was sick of working my tail off to make money for someone else. I spent countless hours, months, and years planning, dreaming and trying to orchestrate the perfect situation for me. I did this for a long time but it wasn’t until I actually took the ultimate risk and went out on my own did I truly find happiness in a career.

Happiness with what you do day in and day out is obviously very important. But interestingly, it creates a different set of circumstances. I no longer had the freedom to dream about the “what if’s”; instead I actually had to follow through with my thoughts and ideas each and every time to keep things going. For me, there was a huge learning curve between thinking about what I could be doing and thinking about what I needed to keep doing. I can no longer just sit back and daydream, i have to continually get up and do something about it.

I find now that when I have the ultimate freedom to be creative, it is now harder than ever. It seems that it was much easier to think about the “what if’s” on my weekends off from work. For the last several years, I haven’t truly had a weekend off in a long time. There is always email to check, always articles to write, always schedules to try and stick with in some capacity. My office is virtual – virtually everywhere I am.

I wouldn’t exactly say that the grass is not greener on this side of life but it is a wierd new universe living in a place I always wanted to be. Of course I have other dreams I am ready to tackle – most of them financial at this point. But in my overall life, I have a wonderful family, my own company, incredible business partners that I think sometimes I find it hard to deal with the success of it all. It’s because on some level it still seems unreal to me. I am grateful for everything that I have without a doubt but I never imagined that life and thoughts would change so dramatically and powerfully now that I am were I always wanted to be.

It has been such a blessing to be a dreamer. I still go to bed every night envisioning the dream home I have built on my mind over the years. I still fantasize about the line of autograph seekers at my first book signing. I still struggle to make ends meet some days but for the most part, I think the biggest act of courage I have ever expressed in my life lead to this wonderful life today. I have no regrets.

For all you dreamers out there – your dreams are essential to your life. Let no one take them away from you. They are perfectly reasonable and attainable. As Barry Manilow so eloquently sang to me last week “We dreamers have our way, of facing rainy days and somehow we survive”. Keep surviving, dreamers. It is our dreams that ultimately make us what we are. Dreams are were true happiness can be found. But know that having dreams is only half of the battle. You have to do something with and about those dreams and motivations you hold so dear – otherwise they are nothing more than fantasies in your own mind.

Dream on….dreamer  – then figure out how to make it happen.

Related Posts

• What I’ve Learned During 7 Years Working From Home
• Living Life to the Fullest because Life Will Continue to Live Without You
• So, what’s your plan?
• Where Is Your Happiness?