I am in London right now celebrating one of me dearest friend’s (sister’s) upcoming nuptials. She and her fiancé are speaking loudly…read (about to argue) about the sitting arrangements for their guests. They make it through the potential argument and finish the task at hand. They began working on finalizing the seating charts at 7:00 pm and now it’s 12:00 am. They’re good to go and now will continue finishing the final details of their wedding.
My friend comes from a large and loving family. Like most of us she has dreamed of meeting that special someone and moving towards the next part of her life. Did I mention she met this guy online? She kept trying and finally met an amazing guy. They are a wonderful couple and compliment one another well.
As I write this blog and read other people’s blogs I notice a couple of things. I notice that some people have this idea that there are strict timelines for certain dreams to come true. That we should all aspire to reach certain goals by certain ages. I also notice that some of us, myself included fall into believing that there are certain dreams that should have reached and completed by certain times/moments in our lives. For example: We should be married by our late 20’s, early 30’s. We should go to college at 18. That we should travel the world in our 20’s. That we should have children no later than 33. That we should find our life’s calling sometime in our 20’s. If we haven’t done that then we should stop working towards those goals because we have passed the threshold and it’s “too late” to do and have these things that we dream of.
Who said that everyone’s life’s path should go along the same trajectory? Aren’t there curveballs, obstacles, and life that happens along the way? The dreams that we have are fuel to sustain us on this journey called life. Life is so unpredictable wouldn’t it be fun to go against the grain? I like to write down my goals and dreams. I revisit them through out the year and tweak them along the way. Dream in ways that are audacious and honest. Maybe you want 15 minutes of fame. Why not try out for America’s Got Talent? Maybe you want to be in a music video. Why not make one and edit the hell out of it so it’s super cool and post it on Facebook. Or, do a remake of hit song and make it funny. Maybe you want to travel the world. Start by making connections with people from the place that you would like to visit -save money, make a basic plan, and go from there. A three week trip abroad can be just as amazing and life-changing for some people as a 1 year trip abroad for others. If you want a family, a spouse, or child-keep trying until you create the right fit and family for you. Maybe you meet someone in the park, Meet-Up, or Match.com. Don’t give up.
There are so many dreams that one can have. There is no limit. But if you have lack of vision, the willingness to work hard towards your goals, courage, determination, and the profoundly deep belief that you deserve what you’re looking for-nothing will happen for you.
Your dreams don’t have a shelf-life. If you put them away for awhile nothing says that you can’t take them off the shelf and dust them off. Revisit what didn’t work and try again. You are your best and worst enemy.
Personal finance bloggers in my opinion not only are writing about debt, they also are writing about their vision for themselves and dusting off, revisiting, or being honest about what they dream for themselves. They are getting raw, and getting real and looking what they need to do to get them to where they would like to be. Isn’t that part of dreaming? Creating a vision and working towards it? It’s not selfish to want what you want for yourself. Regardless of age, sex, and whatever barrier you can think of to keep you from working towards what will make you happy, remove that obstacle and start working towards your dreams. Be honest with yourself. Go for a walk and be HONEST. What do you want for yourself? What are you willing to do that is audacious (and responsible) to move you towards where you want to be?
Examples of “dreams” or defying what people said could be done in a certain time frame:
Going to college:
Gail Brant 87 years old graduated in 2010 with honors with a bachelor’s degree.
Carol Strohmetz 70 years old graduate in 2012 with honors with a bachelor’s degree.
Running a Marathon:
Fauja Singh 101 years old. Ran his last race this year (2013). He began running marathons at 89 years old.
Became a parent over 40 years old (had a baby)
Susan Sarandon- 46 years old
Iman (supermodel)-44 years old
Holly Hunter (actress)-47 years old
**acknowledge that this is hard on the body. Just saying it’s possible***
Became a major success after the age of 50
Major Colonel Sanders-the man who founded Kentucky Fried Chicken…at the age of 65
Laura Ingalls Wilder (writer)-65 years old when she wrote Little House on the Prairie.
Grandma Moses (painter)-started painting at 76 years old
Now that I’ve eliminated age as the reason why you’re not doing something. Could you please go out there and dream big dreams and work hard to achieve them! Create a support group of people who will believe in you.I do. From now on I don’t want to hear how old you are and that you’re too old to dream the dreams that you would really like to achieve. What’s the point of a life without risk, challenge, and reward? Think about it.
Good luck, kick a@@, and dream big.
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I think I really needed to hear this today! Either I’m tired, sore, a bit sunburned from yesterday, or all of the above, it must have touched a nerve because it made me cry. 🙂 Hope you’re having a great time in London!
Awww Tonya! Didn’t mean to make you cry 🙁 But,I had been thinking about this subject a lot and felt it was important to remind other people AND myself that we should keep dreaming big and not get caught up in timeframes. Things will happen for us as long as we stay focused, work hard, and believe.
<3
Tread your own path, never think it's too late to change.
I think that we forget that sometimes! Have fun on your world tour 🙂