MANY OF US GREW UP AS KIDS WITH DREAMS OF BECOMING RICH AND FAMOUS. WE THOUGHT THAT ENTERTAINERS AND ATHLETES WERE THE COOLEST PEOPLE ALIVE. FOR ONE, CELEBRITIES SEEMED SO FAR REMOVED FROM US THEN, WHILE NOW, WITH SOCIAL MEDIA THEY ARE UP-CLOSE AND PERSONAL. WE WEREN’T MATURE AS CHILDREN TO UNDERSTAND THE WORK THAT WENT INTO THE DREAMS OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS WE FOLLOWED.
THIS MAY NOT REFER TO YOU, BUT SOME OF US TOOK THE SLOGAN “I WANT TO BE LIKE MIKE” TO ENCOURAGE US TO TURN A DREAM INTO OUR OWN REALITY, WHILE OTHERS MADE THE SLOGAN A MOMENT TO JUST BECOME A DREAMER. THAT IS WHERE THE PROBLEM LIES EVEN TODAY. TEENAGERS WHO DON’T DEVELOP THEIR DREAMS ARE USUALLY THE ONES WHO’S MINDS ARE CAUGHT UP IN THE BENEFITS OF A DREAM AND NOT IN THE DREAM ITSELF. SOME TEENAGERS FOCUS ON THE POSSESSIONS OF CELEBRITIES AND NOT THE HARD WORK DONE BY THEM.
THE IRONIC THING IS THAT MANY ADULTS HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM NOW AS OUR YOUTH. ADULTS ARE ALSO FIXATED ON THE LIFESTYLES OF CELEBRITIES… THEIR HOMES, THEIR CARS, THEIR APPEARANCES, THEIR SHOE COLLECTIONS, ETC. WHEN YOU TAKE ON THIS BEHAVIOR YOU BECOME AN ADULT WITH A CHILD’S MIND. THE WORST PROBLEM FOR AN ADULT IS TO HAVE A DREAM AND BE STUCK WITH IT.
THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO TRY TO LIVE THE CELEBRITY LIFE WITH AN UNDEVELOPED DREAM OR WITHOUT ONE AT ALL. IN OTHER WORDS, THEY END UP WITH HARDLY NO MONEY BECAUSE THEY TRY TO PURCHASE EVERYTHING THEY SEE THEIR IDOL PURCHASE IN ORDER TO BE THE ISH IN THEIR CIRCLE AND NEVER INVEST IN THEIR OWN DREAMS. ALL THE MONEY THEY PUT INTO BEING WHO THEY WANT TO MIRROR DETRACTS FROM INVESTING INTO A CAREER OR BUSINESS WHICH COULD PROVIDE THEM WITH THE LIFESTYLE THEY WISH TO HAD IN THE FIRST PLACE. IT’S A BAD FEELING WHEN GOD GIVES YOU A VISION THAT CAN HAVE YOU SET FOR LIFE, BUT YOU CAN’T EVEN INVEST IN YOUR OWN SITUATION. I KNOW BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN THERE.
THE TAKEAWAY: FIRST THING FIRST. BE A DREAMER AND DEVELOP IT! SECOND, I KNOW THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO RAISE MONEY TO FUND A VENTURE aka YOUR DREAM. I’M NOT SAYING THAT IT’S A BAD IDEA TO SEEK INVESTORS, BUT YOU SHOULD ALWAYS BE ABLE TO BE THE FIRST TO INVEST IN SOMETHING YOU WANT TO CREATE. EVEN IF YOU DON’T HAVE A CLEAR DREAM NOW; PUT A PORTION OF YOUR MONEY ASIDE BECAUSE THERE WILL BE A TIME THAT YOU DISCOVER THAT DREAM AND IT WILL NEED YOUR INVESTMENT AND NOT JUST YOUR HOPE.
Harold “The Encourager”