Making dreams come true

Everybody wants to make it big in life. But most of them cannot make it happen for the simple reason that they cannot express themselves in daytime language. All successful men and women have been known to be big dreamers. They imagined what their future could have been, ultimate in every value. Then they laboured hard every day and headed towards their far-off visualization that was their very goal.

 How can everybody make it big in life?

“Have the courage to follow your dreams. It's the first step towards attaining your destiny”; thus was expressed the philosophy of making dreams come true by Nikita Koloff (born Nelson Scott Simpson), the famous American wrestler.

Most of the people put their dreams in a bag and then utter, “I have dreams, let us see if I can attain them or not.” Thereafter, the bag is put in a dark cupboard. Occasionally, it may see light and that is the only time perhaps its weight and consequence are re-assessed. But the dreams never get out of the bag.

The lot of brave people is few who have the courage to put their dreams on the line or hold them high and make efforts to attain them. There are several essentials, constraints and obligations upon which making-dreams-come-true is contingent upon. Amongst others, these are: -

·         Unambiguous objectives and feeling of certainty with regard to their attainment.

·         Explicit perceptual visualization of the goals intended to be achieved.

·         Passion and yearning.

·         Refutation and denunciation of qualms related to flops and failures.

·         Degree of will to persevere in face of odds and difficulties.

Not many people are able to meet the above qualitative requirements. It is also a regrettable fact that a large majority of the people are unaware of the fact that success is also regulated by certain tenets and that their adherence is inescapable.

Reverie and musing are easy propositions. And remarks like “Dreams are fantasies that don’t come true” are easier to make. Should that be so, tenacity suffers. People thus admit defeat without ever making an attempt to contest an odd. Throwing in the towel is the last thing any person ought to do.

Attaining one’s objectives is a trial alright, but it isn’t a nightmare or a tribulation. The road that leads to achievement has enjoyment and excitement, contentment and gratification, provided the road selected is correct. A point to be noted is that success is not brought about by toiling day in and day out. One needs to be mentally robust to apply own knowledge to prevailing situations and derive advantages.

Picturing and conception together with reiteration of avowals and assertions constitute mental exertions. They are important steps forward towards success. Whenever you imagine anything, the focus of attention is invariably on your objective. The mind thus gets mobilized towards finding a key to make your goal a reality.

Positive thinking with regard to your goal has positive fallouts. If there are no qualms and uncertainties in the mind, sixth sense starts prevailing. And with it windows of opportunities are perceptible. Dynamism and vigour automatically register an increase and one is armed better to pursue own objectives.

There are quite a few men and women who take note of subconscious communications; such posts are utilized to train their mental faculties for accomplishments. With a media revolution already having taken place, there is plethora of ways and means like cassettes and CDs available to lodge subconscious communications in any mind. Such lodgment facilitates setting into motion appropriate faculties. While quite a few people may not subscribe to such an assistance there are some who do so, primarily on account of its effortless attribute. It is believed that such messages get embedded in the subconscious mind and lead to quicker results. But despite the consequences, one is left with no command over what enters the mind.

Whenever objectives are imagined and avowed, the outcome transcends much more vis-à-vis simple, inert training with unintentional communications. Latent potencies, attentiveness, resolution and self-will tend to register an immense boost if interest, purpose and vigour are displayed.

The greatest benefit that accrues from imagination and avowal is that they can be used at a time and place of own choosing. Outside influences and considerations are rendered null and void and the single item required is one’s brainpower.

Like an opportunity, success does not follow a candid methodology. It surfaces in various forms, some astounding and the others run-of-the mill. Occasionally, success appears as a simple notch, wherein a gate opens; it is up to the individual concerned to gain an access and derive benefits. A proper comprehension and pursuit of the foregoing leads to greater aspirations, greater stimulation and greater inspiration, which all boost success probabilities. It should not be forgotten that there are both gigantic and minute objectives, the latter also encompassing daily goals; both these categories stand better chances of success if visualized and avowed.

More often than not, but mistakenly though, people tend to assume that objectives imply big objectives only, like possessing immense wealth, acquiring assets and enlarging businesses. The fact is that punctuality, striking a balance between personal and professional lives, pursuing hobbies, entertainment and good health, just to name some of them, are equally significant.

But how does one conceptualize and avow? There are, for certain some dogmas that need to be followed. But these cannot be codified. One has to be more than ready to brave trouble and discomfort. It is only if you are plagued with these that you would be trouble-free and comfortable. The going can be tough but then it is a small price to pay to achieve a dream. And when the going gets tough, it is the tough who get going.

All dreams are visions. Visions, if worthy of achievement, are well worth the effort and pain that may be involved to make them come true. Dreams may initially appear impractical and unfeasible, thereafter unlikely and implausible but eventually foreseeable and unavoidable. This is so because inside dreams and contained in aspirations are prospects and opportunities that can be seized any time. 

The fact is that if a person can dream, he can act. And if he can act, he can become. Hence the golden rule ought to be to never give up on a dream just because it will take time to realize it. Remember that in any case, time will go by. The crux of the matter is that an aim in life is the only fortune worth finding.

In the light of the above, the advice is to keep your head and heart going in the right direction. The feet will automatically take care of themselves and be in tune with everything that goes in to make dreams come true.   

Giving wings to your career passion

At workplace, seniors, peers and subordinates would always smile and greet. But one thing that they will never attempt to do is getting a feel if your career provides any direction or meaning. This leads to a very important inference. An acknowledgement that something is either failing or being lost or lacking on the career front per force has to be an individual effort. Likewise, all initiatory actions to deal with them also need to originate from within the person concerned.

Take the case of Sivaraman, a budding computer engineer. He always desired a career that would treasure and promote his amiability. The IT industry was perhaps curbing his personality. So he bid adieu to the world of technology and set up a small eatery. Today, his is one of the most popular joints in town, known for its warmth and congeniality.

Another illustration that is pertinent. Varun had joined a bank and rose up to become a manager. But deep within him was always this feeling that he was cut out to be teacher. In fact, the dream to teach English was always on his priority list. So after putting in over a decade and a half of service, a promotion required a change of location, he quitted and set up a soft skills training institute, primarily in the art of conversation. The project paid and today his institute is a name to reckon with.   

There is also this case of Geeta who wasn’t keeping good health for long. She was armed with an MBA but frequent sick leaves prompted her employers to hire somebody else. She set sail on a new voyage and volunteered to work with an NGO providing encouragement and assistance to diabetics and high BP patients.

There are some unexceptionally common attributes amongst all high-fliers and these are:

·   There is no link between their profession and issues that they are otherwise passionate about. In their context, their work is more of an impediment rather than a facilitator for satisfaction.

·   They may be excelling in their profession alright, but that is not exactly what they actually seek. A feeling of an absence of self-accomplishment perhaps runs strong within their inner self. Resultantly, they are unable to make even their capabilities and concerns.

·   Their hitherto fore career graph invariably manifested a lack of any long-term planning arrangement that could goad them to a more satisfying occupational schedule. In such cases, objectives are either lacking or do not extend much into the future.

·   It is sometimes when the mid-career stage has been crossed that attempts to identify directions are made. That is the time when realization dawns that something is amiss and exasperation, weariness and dissatisfaction set in. These negative experiences have a tendency to increase because most of the organizations have no inherent mechanisms to offer remedial measures.

There are several Sivaramans, Varuns and Geetas who want to be masters of their lives and occupations alike. Whatever be the prompting factors, mid-lifers like them make blueprints to rejuvenate their lives. They embark upon a journey of a thousand miles, each plagued with peculiarities. But the fact is that the reins are held tight by them and they take bold decisions with regard to making life changes.

Do you desire to give wings to your passions?  To be able to do so, the onus of taking a decision is yours alone.

The procedure for re-igniting fervour and enthusiasm is not as difficult as it appears. Simply by practicing the following techniques one would be able to achieve significant results:

·   Identification:  The maiden step is to figure out what is vital for you and it is then that a road map to reach there ought to be charted. It is essential that the road map incorporates short-term aspirations, attainment of which, pave the way to long-term goals. As in the case of Sivaraman who came to terms with the redundancy of the IT field in his individual context, corporate tenets were applied to his small restaurant. Sivaraman learnt everything possible about managing eating joints and even took assistance of specialists. It was only his painstaking and methodical attitude and dispositions that boosted his chances of success.

·   Catalouging:  The next step is to make an inventory of your strengths and weaknesses on one side and concerns and interests on the other. It is important to discern how they complement one another as also whether such balancing out is harmonious or not. There could be instances when you are engaged in a work that is easy to perform. But the fact that it is not interesting cannot be ruled out. Varun’s case is one in point. He spent some time in training friends and their kith and kin; most of the times there was hardly any remuneration. Gradually he realized that teaching communication skills were not just a simple pursuit, but a career and that too one for which he was ideally cut out.

·   Be bold:  If you have ventured out, there is no point in looking back. One should be unwavering and steadfast with regard to moving towards objectives set. Quite a few people comprehend that changing courses are inescapable but are yet apprehensive to swap and change. When Geeta was relieved from her appointment, she never sought self-sympathy and was quick to make use of her new-found freedom. She peeped inside her inner self and identified an urging voice with her ailments. She was bold in her outlook and transformed possible luckless circumstances into a novel and newfangled mission that ushered in career excitement in her life.

The crux of the matter is that nobody will ever take you on to one side, put hands on your shoulders and make genuine enquiries whether you are content with your life in general and career in particular. The clout and authority to do so is yours and yours alone. Importantly, the prerogative to comprehend what is deficient or nonexistent is also yours. And most importantly, finding ways and means to deal with such dearth is also yours. Therefore, there is only one player in this entire game.

The above calls for taking bold decisions – decisions that can bring about change. If you shirk away from taking such a responsibility the change that you desire in your life and career will always remain a pipedream.