Be Bold Enough to Dream

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Over the last few months, I have dared myself to dream again. One man opined that the dreams you had at the age of 16 are more likely the dreams that you will achieve, if you put your focus to them. I, however, take the school of thought that “young men can see visions, and old men can dream dreams”. Dreams are not age-restricted. Dreams can be conceptualized at any given age, but they can be actualized at various capacities, depending on the individual dreamer.

Be brave enough to dream. It is with the heart of courage that the most hidden dreams can be brought out of the shadows and implemented, for greater impacts. When I was younger, in my teens actually, I used to dream of owning a multiple chain of businesses, dealing with various automobile products. I mean, my love for cars was just crazy! I remember one day, during one of our many frequent road trips (well to be honest, back then we didn’t use to call it road trips. It was less fun and severely tiresome!) I would watch my dad change those gears systematically, eyes on the road. I formed a picture in my head- seeing myself in a James Bond-like movie performing certain crazy badass stunts with a sportscar that made terrifying exhaust noises on the road. I even pictured my best friend being my co-driver. And it was okay. It was a wonderful picture that influenced my teen years. I kept reassuring myself that I could be that crazy driver that I saw in my dad. I encouraged myself that I could be even more. I could dream more. I could act more.

When I was in my 2^nd year of high school, one of my teachers asked me, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” I have to be honest though; I never ever, even in the least bit, liked this question. It was taunting. It always reminded me that there is a lot to be done. That growing up was inevitable, and the way I loved my childhood. It beckoned me to utter responsibility and some ounce of maturity was required of me even in my childhood. Answering that question would even mean you would be held accountable, and maybe someday, the one who asked would sarcastically be like “I knew it… I knew you won’t amount to what you were dreaming of. Haha!” That scared me as a kid. I did not want to end up being the screw up of our village, our estate, our school, or even our clique of friends. That is why I seriously loathed that question.

“A businessman,” I answered my teacher. “Oh, wonderful. What area exactly would you like to do business in?” There she goes again. These questions were really draining. This would be the end of me, I thought. “Automobiles. I love cars; I would love to have a company that has multiple showrooms here in Kenya where quality vehicles would be sold at a reasonable price.” At that point, I felt surer about my dream, talking about it rather than conceptualizing it in my head. “Aah wonderful,” was my teacher’s reaction. “You ARE a businessman. Alright, go back to class now, businessman.” That statement alone reassured me that it was possible. That I can do anything, be anything, eat anything, laugh at anything (hehe okay, I got carried away there, but you get my point). Since that day to date, the teacher still calls me a businessman. I haven’t exactly realized that specific dream but I have been on course; still laying bricks to the foundation of the dream. I have had my hands on a couple of businesses, and several ideas have been birthed over the years but the statement ““You ARE a businessman…” always holds me accountable.

Life has always been dynamic. That is why change is inevitable and we a times fall victims of the hands of time. The dynamism of life, however, must never negatively affect the stability of our dreams. Life throws rocks at you? Build mansions with them. And no matter what, keep dreaming. Keep figuring out what you want out of your life. Keep desiring more- there is a reason why it is called a dream, and not simply a thought. It is a preconceived idea, a peep into the future, a crazy imagination of how else life could be if only you took the appropriate steps. Courage is a pre-requisite in the process of dream implementation. How so? Your dream may be crazily expensive to attain. Courage says. ‘yes you can’. You dream, more often than not, gives you goose bumps when you picture it. Cold thrills run up your spine when you think about it. This is due to the intensity and uniqueness of your dream. You feel like you will fail because no one has ever accomplished it before. But courage says, ‘it can be done.’ In fact, courage will be straightforward with you and tell you, “If you don’t do it, someone else will. And I will help them.” And then you will start saying, “I thought we were friends” hehee!

My point is made: let courage spearhead the activation and implementation of your dream. Age, budget, resources, time, and other factors are just circumstantial milestones that you can cover. One constant factor should be this: be bold enough to dream [I had to put that in bold, pun intended ;)]. 

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Learn to Give-up...Sometime.

These two memes from quickmeme.com and www.funnymeme.com are two of the best memes I have ever come across. I think the reason is the fact that they are simple yet really articulate in regards to the message they convey: never give up. The prey in these images are relentless in their quest for freedom (well, that sounded like some political jargon used in the anti-colonial times). 

The thing is, in most cases our freedom is on the line; our careers are on the line; our relationships are on the line; our friendships, survival, and even lives are always on the line. We may lose- no scratch that. We LOSE a lot. More often than not, we fail more than we succeed. Ask Michael Jordan, one of the best basketball players of all time (if not the best). That guy was just phenomenal. He was once quoted saying "I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

Generally, our mentors, parents, partners, associates, and peers encourage us to push on even when times seem to be bleak and hopelessness creeps in. Personally, I am an advocate of relentless and resilient aggressiveness. I believe we have a tough spirit embedded inside us- you can feel it. You wake up in the morning and feel like going back to sleep for the rest of your life, or until the moment comes when you won't have to face the bleakness of your extant circumstances. Yet you still deliberately choose to face the new day with enthusiasm of the 300 Spartans, on their deadliest quest for victory. Our spirit man is wired in such a way that its tenacity can not be broken. 

Nonetheless, a time comes when giving up is the only option, for posterity to be realized. Before I delve further into this, a quote from the Kenyan Eastlands would do hehe. Well not really a representation of the whole area but just a belief held by one Ekodydda who says in one of his raps "..God, nataka ku-give up in fact nime-give up juu najua kuna mtu juu atachukua that is YOU." (God, I wanna give up, in fact, I have given up because I know someone UP will take over, that is YOU.) That just did it for me. The fact that we at times demonize giving up yet it might be the only option one has. 

Now, what I mean is simply this: there are situations that seem entirely hopeless. Relationships that are bound to fail, if not failing already. There are associations whose very existence is a breath of destruction and despair. There are careers that we may choose, which kill our very beings, destroy our very hopes and castrate our long-term dreams. Life gives you one hard blow and destabilizes your grip and we run to the nearest and easily accessible corner, like in a boxing ring, to seek support and stability. These corners include relationship/marriage partners, businesses and careers, amongst other choices that we often opt for during such tough times. We end up forming circumstantial habits that are a product of our despair and hopelessness. You hear someone saying "I had to steal. I had no other option." Or "I had to hang in there, after all who's gonna pay my rent?" 

GIVE-UP! Our only limitation is us. Your greatest enemy is yourself. I mean life hits you on one cheek, but that doesn't mean you should turn the other cheek and allow life to mutilate your face multiple times. Give life a "Give-up" knockout punch, only when you are sure you are fighting a wrong battle. What if the problem is that academic course you're pursuing? What if it's your girlfriend/boyfriend? What if all this time you were meant to be an athlete like the Kipkemimis we know, and yet you are busy herding cattle? (not that herding is bad, but is that all your life will amount to?) What if your purpose is encapsulated in offering timely solutions to entities, organizations, institutions, the government, and communities, and yet all you do is parading your social drinking prowess and what I call "puff puff expertise"? You were meant for something higher than yourself, something greater than your current setbacks. You were created for greatness. But first, you need to give up those habits, that relationship that is killing you, that career that is strangling your dreams, those buddies that are messing your life. Soon as you are fearless enough to quit all these, the bleak situations in your life will definitely brighten and give you a sense of accomplishment.