SOME DREAMS WILL NEVER BECOME REALITY!

Anybody can have [or own] a dream, it cost nothing, absolutely nothing. In fact, it is the freest commodity on planet earth... I once said in one of my articles that the challenge of this generation is actually not the lack of dreams [or ideas], but lack of focus. Focus is the major prerequisite for the realization of any dream.... Every young kid on the street has dreams, but most of these dreams are still in the category of WISHES.

As I travelled around Nigeria during the month of October to honour several speaking engagements, I had the privilege of meeting a number of young Nigerians; the [supposed] hope and determinant of the beauty of the future of this nation.

I was really astounded with the discovery that most of these young ones may end up living the kind of sorry lives their parents had lived, if not worse! One of the core reasons for this conviction is that most of these young ones have very impractical dreams/ideas about the future, their approach and attitude to life and their dreams are not any different. The truth is, our parents had dreams of and for their future... But, where did they end up? Isn't it clear through their lives that having a dream is not the only basis/criterion for greatness? There is more to what success demands than just dreams.

Dreams can’t and don’t fulfil itself. While it is your responsibility to develop dream for yourself, it is also your responsibility to work it out. God’s responsibility is to reward you for fulfilling your responsibility. This is apparent in His word: “I will bless the labour of your hands....... Whatever you lay your hands to do, it shall prosper.........”

I have discovered that many young people in our generation have very lofty dreams, great and fantastic dreams. But, most of these dreams have no ladders. There is no [concrete] plan on how they intend to fulfil it; most of these dreams would finally end up in the trash can of wishes or in the comfort of their graves when they finally exit this earth! Someone once said: “If wishes were horses, everybody would own one!” The question is: “what is a wish?” A wish is a plan-less aspiration. Simply put, a wish is a desire without plans/strategies to meet its actualization. If only we could just think and ask ourselves why our fathers failed!!!

God had to CREATE planet earth... He went beyond dreaming; He constructed a ladder [plan] to the actualization of the dream. Developing a personal dream/vision is the first phase, but most people make it look like the only phase!

In one of my recent meetings, a young lady told me how she has dreams of owning one of the biggest schools in Abuja, she told me how the school would look like and lots of other fantastic things. I was so enthused by this great dream that I asked her: “what are you currently doing to ensure that this great dream become a reality....?” She had no answer, none! All she stopped at was the dreaming aspect of success actualization. I wonder how she hoped it will ever come true! It was obvious she was already thinking like many religious folks who always shy away from responsibility by saying: “God will do it....”

Truth is, every great man who is presently at an enviable height had to begin from where he was... he had to act on whatever dreams he had.... any man who got to the mountain top had to CLIMB there, not JUMP!

At another meeting I had recently, a young man said his dream is to become a presenter on CNN in the next three months... While his case looks in some way ‘nice’, this is because he has given himself a time frame... Yet, the laughable angle is that at present he has nothing to do with any media house in Nigeria.... He’s never had! But, he his dream is to become a top-notch presenter for CNN within a year!

Nothing wrong with the dream, but he needs to create a ladder! I told him CNN is like a ‘destination’. He needs to have bus-stops; places where he needs to horn and refine his skills – he just may need to start out as a co-presenter with any of our local TV/radio station, gradually he would build his confidence and know-how of the job.... A 'height' like CNN is not for amateurs. They don’t give starters the opportunity to learn there. They don’t groom starters, at least his kind.

You may want to conclude that these two folks are really dumb. I beg to disagree! I see folks like these ones everyday... Theirs is quite reasonable, compared to others who can’t even explain their dreams, but they know they have one. This is the challenge of our generation.

Many of our university graduates either have no dreams of where they are taking their lives to, while others have some ludicrous and unworkable dreams. I believe this is one reason why the spirit of entrepreneurship is gradually dying in Africa; the spirit of responsibility! I have interacted with lots of university graduates who just stay in life to grow older – nothing more, nothing less and nothing else!

While I am a strong believer in having big dreams, what however makes a dreamer and his dream look daft and dippy is when there is no ladder to the actualization of his dream.

Success is a product of planning. Success is a product of strategies. Every dreamer must learn how to create plans. You must have a structure/plan of HOW you hope to achieve whatever great dream you have. Most probably, it will require you to start somewhere. Your plan will also tell you where you should start from, how and why.......... A dreamer without a plan is actually playing. He is but a joke, and his life may also end up same way.

In addition, you must learn, understand and appreciate the power of action. The difference between a failure and a success story is that one effectively used the gift called: “NOW!” Any man who truly wants to live his dream must first wake-up and if you will ever make progress, you have to first get started!

A conventional dreamer may know what to do, but the wise ones know what to do next. They don't just hope on their dreams, they ACT on them! They don’t squander their present, hoping miracles will happen! They know that success comes in bits. Thus, they look at their dreams and ask themselves: “What can/must I do now? How can I maximize my present so that my future will appreciate?” They create a plan ---- short term, midterm and long term strategies that will see them getting to top of their game............... These are the few ones that slowly but surely become the celebrities and success stories amongst us.

Folks, it is not enough to dream. Create plans. Start from somewhere. Align yourself with folks who have what you don’t have but what your dream needs. Access your strengths and your weakness. Start strengthening your strengths and look away from your weaknesses; the quality of people you connect with will help cover your areas of vulnerability and deficiencies.

You must happen!