10 Lies You Will Hear Before You Pursue Your Dreams

From Marc and Angel Hack Life | Aug 30, 2010

Unfortunately, just before you take your first step on the righteous
journey to pursue your dreams, people around you, even the ones who
deeply care for you, will give you awful advice.  It’s not because they
have evil intentions.  It’s because they don’t understand the big
picture – what your dreams, passions, and life goals mean to you.  They
don’t understand that, to you, the reward is worth the risk.

So they try to protect you by shielding you from the possibility of
failure, which, in effect, also shields you from the possibility of
making your dreams a reality.

As our friend Steve Jobs says:

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s
life.  Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of
other people’s thinking.  Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown
out your own inner voice, heart and intuition.  They somehow already
know what you truly want to become.  Everything else is secondary.”

Here are 10 ill-advised tips (lies) people will likely tell you when
you decide to pursue your dreams, and why they are dreadfully mistaken.

1. You can follow your dreams someday, but right now you need
   to buckle down and be responsible. – Someday?  When is
   ‘someday?’  Someday is not a day at all.  It’s a foggy generalization of
   a time that will likely never come.  Today is the only day guaranteed
   to you.  Today is the only day you can begin to make a difference in
   your life.  And pursuing your dreams is what life is all about.  So
   don’t be irresponsible.  Don’t wait until ‘someday.’  Make today the
   first day of the rest of your new life.


2. You’re totally screwed if it doesn’t work out. –
   Wrong!  This is a giant, lame load of BS.  You’re not even close to
   being screwed.  In fact, the worst case scenario is that things don’t
   work out and you have to go back to doing exactly what you are doing
   right now.


3. It’s safer to stay at your day job. – Sure, I
   suppose.  But you know what’s even safer than that?  Going home, locking
   yourself in your bedroom, and never, ever coming out.  And just like
   that you will have flushed your entire life and your dreams down the
   toilet.  Remember, safer doesn’t always mean better.


4. That’s impossible! – It’s only impossible if you
   never do anything about it.  The reason certain things seem impossible
   is simply because nobody has achieved them yet.  But this doesn’t mean
   that with your help these things won’t become possible in the future. 
   If you truly dedicate yourself to an end result, almost anything is possible.  You
   just have to want it bad enough.


5. Only a lucky few “make it.” – That’s because those
   lucky few got off their rear ends and did something about it!  They had
   the drive, determination, and willpower that you have right now.  You
   can be one of them.  It’s up to you, and only you.


6. You might fail.  And failing is bad. – Failures are
   simply stepping stones to success.  No matter how it turns out, it
   always ends up just the way it should be.  Either you succeed or you
   learn something.  Win-Win.  The biggest mistake you can make is doing
   nothing because you’re too scared to make a mistake.  If you can’t
   handle failure, then you can’t handle success either.


7. You don’t have access to the right resources. –
   It’s not about having the right resources; it’s about exploiting the
   resources you do have access to.  Stevie Wonder couldn’t see, so he
   exploited his sense of hearing into a passion for music, and he now has
   25 Grammy Awards to prove it.  Get it?


8. You need more money saved before you can take the first
   step. – You don’t need more money.  You need a plan.  You need a
   budget.  Eliminate ALL the nonessential costs in your life.  If
   pursuing your dream requires you to leave your day job, figure out the
   absolute minimum amount of income that you require to realistically
   live.  Studying those who have succeeded with similar ventures also
   helps.  But above all, take baby steps.  Don’t be foolish and assume
   that you must have a certain amount of money saved right now, or that
   you must quit your day job today in order to pursue your dreams. 
   Instead, ask yourself, “What actions can I take right now with the money
   and resources I have right now that will bring me closer to desired
   goal?”


9. You don’t need any help.  It’s smarter to go after it alone.
   – You are the sum of the people you spend the most time with.  If you
   hang with the wrong people, they will negatively affect you.  But if you
   hang with the right people, you will be far more capable and powerful
   than you ever could have been alone.  Find
   your tribe and work together to make a difference in all of your
   lives.


10. That sounds like a lot of hard work. – You’re darn
    right it does!  But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth it.  I think
    success in life hinges on one key point: Finding hard work you love
    doing.  As long as you remain true to yourself and follow your own
    interests, values and dreams, you can find success through passion. 
    Perhaps most importantly, you won’t wake up a few years from now working
    in a career field you despise, wondering “How the heck am I going to do
    this for the next 30 years?”  So if you catch yourself working hard and
    loving every minute of it, don’t stop.  You’re on to something big. 
    Because hard work ain’t hard when you concentrate on your passions
    and dreams.

Disregard these misguided bits of nonsense and you’ll be well on your
way to fulfilling your dreams.

Now get out there and make a splash!