There are way more than “ten steps,” to living your dream life. You won’t find all of the answers you need in a blog post.
Maybe you don’t need to even have a “dream life.” Maybe dreams aren’t meant for everyone. Maybe that’s okay. For those of you who do want more, there’s a long road ahead of you.
You’ve heard the quote about the journey of one thousand miles starting with the first step. While that’s true, you’re still going to have to walk those thousand miles. Maybe it’s not worth the effort. That’s something you need to decide for yourself. When faced with the decision to chase your dreams or not — ask yourself this question.
Are You Willing to Pay The Price?
There’s power in being brutally honest with yourself. Let’s say you’ve found your dream. You know what you want to do and now you have to decide to pursue it or not. Take some time to think about what it will take to get there. Anything worth having comes at the expense of something else.
Your dream life sits at the other end of the bridge right now. You’re going to have to work hard to get to the other side. You’re going to have to make sacrifices. Parts of your journey are going to stuck. You’ll feel like quitting over and over and over and over again. Your friends and family might not support you. You might be the only person who believes in what you’re doing. It can be lonely and scary to follow your dreams.
Is it worth it? That’s what you have to ask yourself. You don’t have to do anything. You could decide to be content with what you have and life a normal life. It’s easier. It’s more comfortable. You don’t have to go through as much pain.
Let’s stop creating the narrative that everyone must follow their dreams. No, actually they can do what they please. I’m certain they will regret it at the end of their life, but it’s not my place, nor is it yours, to instruct them on how they live their own lives.
When you’re faced with this question, consider all of the crappy parts that come with following your dreams.
You can almost be certain things will not go your way right away. You’ll have to go through a period where no one gives a fuck about you or what you’re doing. You might go through years of obscurity. You will have setbacks. Be honest with yourself before you even start. Go into it knowing there aren’t any tips or tricks that will replace the agonizing work you’ll have to do.
Let me tell you my story. It started about 100 steps ago.
A friend of mine owned a website and suggested that I write for it. I had always wanted to become a writer. It was a dream that had been in the back of my mind for as long as I can remember. I wrote poems in middle school and high school. I even attempted to write a book once. It was finally time for me to give it a try.
I wrote one post. Then another. In the span of a year I’ve written more than 100 blog posts and a book (that didn’t make The New York Times list or sell 100,000 copies).
I’ve written more than one hundred thousands words and I still have several hundred thousand more to go before I’m considered a “successful,” write.
I wake up every morning and self-doubt creeps in. This morning I sent out a message to my email subscribers and several of them unsubscribed immediately. Must have been something I said. It sucked – no matter how confident I’ve grown I still hate feeling rejected.
Some days I wake up to write and everything I type looks like rubbish. Moments like those make me question whether or not I should even try. It’s already been difficult and I’ve barely scratched the surface of what I want to achieve. It’s frustrating. It’s anything but fun one hundred percent of the time. But I keep going.
That’s the only way to become “successful.”
Very few people make it to the top quickly. When you see someone who “made it,” you see the final, finished, polished version of that person. You don’t see the mud, shit, and filth they walked through to get to that point.
If you have a cut off point for how long you’ll commit to following your dream — maybe you don’t want it bad enough to pursue it. Maybe it’s not worth the effort.
If someone asks me how long I’ll continue to write before I’m successful my answer is as long as it takes. Not because I’m cocky. Not because I predict the future. But because I love to write.
I love sifting through my emotions while I type. I feel at home in front of the keyboard and it’s worth any amount of time to have the freedom to do it when ever I want to. The love doesn’t mitigate the fear or the negative emotions I feel when I encounter setbacks.
Your self-doubt will never go away. No matter how “successful,” you become you’re at risk of losing everything in any moment. Your dreams might not come true. You can waste years chasing after something that won’t come to fruition. You’re going to be uncomfortable the entire time. And there’s a chance nobody will believe in you except for you.
Let’s change the narrative around following your dreams, goal setting, and being successful. I’m not going to tell you that you must follow your dreams. You can continue to live your life how you’ve been living it. You’re the one who will have to deal with those results when it’s all said and done.
It all comes down to asking yourself if you’re willing to pay the price. Maybe you’re not. Maybe you don’t have to keep kidding yourself. You don’t even have to feel bad about it. Just live your life and have fun. Crazy goals aren’t for everyone.
If you’re looking for “10 Quick Steps to Get Rich and Live on a Beach by the End of Next Week,” give up now. Maybe you can revisit your dreams when you’re mature enough to work towards them without looking for shortcuts.
Are you willing to pay the price? If you still want to follow your dream knowing all of the shit that comes with it then you’re ready to get started.
What are you waiting for?