Why Today Is The Day You Need To Pursue Your Dreams

What do you believe is the single greatest reason that most people decide to never pursue their dreams? I personally believe that failure is the single greatest fear that most people have. For whatever reason, people are embarrassed of failure. It leaves them in paralysis with fear. They defer their dreams because maybe other people don't support their dreams, and they need that support. Perhaps you have a dieting goal, a fitness goal, a goal to start a blog, or to achieve financial independence. Whatever it may be, there's no logical reason to keep deferring your dream. There will never be a better time to start pursuing your dreams than today. If you keep waiting for the "perfect time," you'll never take action. I'm going to provide you with 3 reasons to pursue your dreams, regardless of if they are FIRE related.

First Reason: Avoiding Regret

It's understandable that people are afraid of failure. It's difficult to put yourself out there, giving everything you have only to come up short. What you have to remember about failure is that it doesn't have to be the end. Failure is just the beginning. As Thomas Edison said to a reporter of his 1,000 failures to invent the light bulb, "I didn't fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps." When you reframe your failure as Thomas Edison did, you continue to keep trying until you eventually find success in whatever goal it is you are pursuing. Another inspirational story is the story of Abraham Lincoln. Born into poverty, Lincoln endured a life of failure. He lost 8 elections, failed twice in business, suffered a nervous breakdown...oh yeah, and then became arguably the single greatest president in American history. The incredible thing about dreams is that you never really know what could happen until you take massive action towards fulfilling them. Imagine if Thomas Edison gave up on the light bulb. How much longer would it have taken to illuminate the world? What if Abraham Lincoln gave up before he lost 8 elections, failed twice in business, and before he suffered a nervous breakdown? Would the United States have survived the Civil War to achieve its place in history among greatest countries had it not been for Lincoln? Thankfully, we'll never know because Lincoln pushed through the adversity in his life to cement his legacy as an all time great president. It's not the failure that defines you, unless you quit. It's the success that comes despite all of your failures that defines you. The definition of a winner is a loser that never quits. Many never even knew that Lincoln failed as much as he did. We all remember him for his success.

Second Reason: You Are The Author Of Your Life

You are the director, producer, writer, and main protagonist in your life. Before you can achieve great things, you need to let this fact of life soak in. Because you are the author of your life, you must decide the life that you want to live. Do NOT let anyone else tell you how you are supposed to live your life. If you surrender your life to the whims of society, you will lead a life unfulfilled. Societal norms are not a one size fits all solution to life. Perhaps some people are apt to work at jobs they dislike for the best decades of their lives, to purchase items they don't need with money they don't have to impress people they don't even like. If you're reading this blog, I'm very willing to bet that you are not one of those people. If you want to break away from the mindset that the majority of people have, you need to develop the "minority mindset" as Jaspreet Singh puts it on his Youtube channel. If you don't want to live like the majority live, you need to stop thinking similar to how the majority thinks.

Third Reason: You Can Be An Inspiration to Others

Dreams come in many different shapes and sizes. Jason Fieber is one such person that is an inspiration to me and many others in the FIRE community. His story of going from a 27 year old below broke college dropout to financially independent at 33 is so empowering because Jason proves that just about anyone can achieve financial independence at a relatively young age with discipline and determination. There are also more well known figures that have endured quite a bit of adversity on the arduous journey to success. JK Rowling is one such figure that comes to mind. After she suffered a miscarriage in Portugal and gave birth to her daughter, Jessica, Rowling moved back to England as a divorced and destitute single parent living off welfare benefits. As we all know, JK Rowling went on to publish Harry Potter, subsequently becoming a billionaire. She is an inspiration to aspiring writers around the world. No matter the size or scope of your dreams, you can be an inspiration to others just as Jason Fieber and JK Rowling are.

Takeaways: 

If you never take action towards your dreams, you'll never really know what you could have been. The feeling of regret is not a feeling you want to experience. I'd rather fail than never try. Ultimately, you are the author of your life. Do not conform to societal norms as they are not a one size fits all approach to life. Live your life the way you design it, rather than how society thinks you should live it. Lastly, you can be an inspiration to others. Chasing your dreams takes courage. You'll probably be ridiculed along the way, but just remember that when you succeed, you will pave the way for countless others to forge their own path.

Discussion:

Because I've only provided 3 reasons to chase your dreams, I'm certain that I've missed several great reasons to pursue your dreams. Are you able to think of any additional compelling reasons to chase your dreams?