Collect Hours, Not Titles

There’s virtually no way around it, dreams are very difficult to attain. In order to triumph and one day manifest the greatness resting inside you, you must overcome the arduous mental, physical, and emotional battles with the help of continued personal patience, strength, and persistence. I do not mean to insinuate that you and I aren’t capable of doing or destined to do phenomenal things in our lifetime. One of my more prominent philosophical cornerstones is that we all host a distinct specialty that is begging to be let out of its cage. However, there are external forces currently plaguing the vast majority of people who stand in the way of turning this fantasy into a bona fide reality.

The largest problem currently is our societies many outlets for immediate satisfaction. With the instant satisfaction of text messages and Facebook, to the instant weight loss tactics of dead-end fad diets, and even this misconstrued idea of instant love with television shows like The Bachelor or The Dating Game. This source of speedy stimulation has encouraged people to believe that dreams and positive outcomes can be obtained in a similar immediate nature. We see people like Julia Roberts, Ellen DeGeneres, and LeBron James on television and we are inclined to believe that these sorts of feats occurred overnight and without hours upon hours of hard work and preparation.

Here lies the problem. The sole focus of our exposure to anyone and everyone who is ‘successful’ are their moments in the spotlight instead of the time spent stressing, worrying, staying dedicated, and all the hard work they put themselves through. As a result, we’re misled to believe that dreams are made rather quickly and without tiresome struggle. This is by far the most lethal and poisonous component of us reaching our maximum potential in life. At the first sight of a roadblock or bout with failure, we give up. Roll over. Throw in the towel. Waive the white flag. Turn and run.

Our media and ‘success’ driven culture has caused us to easily accept, as our ultimate fate, what we are given in life without endless hard work. We sit back, become complacent, and bury our true passions deep down until one day in our elder ages we are confronted with the hideous feelings of resentment, remorse, and regret.

The 3 R’s of dream deflation.

We’ve discussed the allocation of time in previous posts and the same thing applies here. I understand it may be easier to get off a 9 hour work shift to go home and veg on the couch. It’s easier to start your diet or workout routine tomorrow instead of getting in the gym for an hour. It’s easier to start working on your book, short story, or novel this weekend when you have more time.

These mentalities of least resistance, little exertion, and lackluster drive towards making this life truly yours rob you entirely of life itself. You must selfishly take time to work towards an ideal future for yourself today. It doesn’t matter if it’s only an hour, a sentence, or a push up. Action must be taken today towards what you want tomorrow. Rome wasn’t built-in a day and dreams are mended in an hour. You have to be willing to sacrifice anything and everything at any given time to obtain the things you truly want. This includes time to party, time for sleep, and time for other hobbies that are impeding your path to enlightenment.

Unfortunately, dreams aren’t handed out at the rate of a dime a dozen. They aren’t granted to anyone who really only want it in their heart but refuse to sprint into action towards a result. If you’re unwilling to risk, compete, and challenge yourself every single day, the ultimate vision you have of yourself will be very hard to obtain. There’s no doubt that if you continue to pursue your passions every day, what you truly desire will eventually come to life. You will be baffled and astonished at how far these efforts will take you and the doors that will magically open.

Success is not defined by the amount of fans, money, possessions, or free time you have. Instead, it is determined by how honestly and valiantly you drudge to transform that ideal future into your reality.