I almost didn't write my blog today because I was feeling so ill, but then I realized that I am the one in control of my life and I would beat the sickness by doing what makes me happy - writing.
So, In today's blog I want to touch on something that has so much meaning for me - following your dreams.
Up until around four years ago, I like countless millions of people, was meandering through life with little or no direction. Life it seemed to me was nothing more than a trial to be gotten through. I had no great dreams, no great aspirations - all I really wanted to do was to make those years of my life pass quickly and comfortably.
Yet, when we were children, we did have such great dreams about our future, about our lives. It seemed that nothing was impossible to us - so what happened? Some would say what happened was life? But for me that is too simplistic and shallow. What happened in reality was we allowed well-meaning parents, teachers, friends, and society in general to squash those dreams. We were told that dreaming was for "wasters", that dreaming wouldn't pay the rent, that it wouldn't put food on the table - so we conformed, we got a "normal" job so that we would fit into this society.
Well, I say enough is enough - It's time to reclaim those dreams of your youth. It's time to follow your dream!
So, In today's blog I want to touch on something that has so much meaning for me - following your dreams.
Up until around four years ago, I like countless millions of people, was meandering through life with little or no direction. Life it seemed to me was nothing more than a trial to be gotten through. I had no great dreams, no great aspirations - all I really wanted to do was to make those years of my life pass quickly and comfortably.
Yet, when we were children, we did have such great dreams about our future, about our lives. It seemed that nothing was impossible to us - so what happened? Some would say what happened was life? But for me that is too simplistic and shallow. What happened in reality was we allowed well-meaning parents, teachers, friends, and society in general to squash those dreams. We were told that dreaming was for "wasters", that dreaming wouldn't pay the rent, that it wouldn't put food on the table - so we conformed, we got a "normal" job so that we would fit into this society.
Well, I say enough is enough - It's time to reclaim those dreams of your youth. It's time to follow your dream!
On average, every human being on this planet has around 23,000 days to live; for some it will be less and for some it will be more. How many of those days are we going to waste on something that doesn't give us pleasure, that doesn't fill us with passion? It took me just over 18,000 of those days to realize that there was more to this life than the hum-drum existence that I had always believed was all I was entitled to. Four years ago, I took the enormous step of walking away from my life and beginning a brand, new adventure on the other side of the world. I haven't regretted a single second of a day since. It wasn't easy to break those ties that had been built up over the years, but it was something that I absolutely had to do, or I would have spent the remaining 5,000 odd days growing older and more disillusioned until one day I would be sitting in a nursing home somewhere asking myself; "What if?" and "What was it all for?"
I have real purpose in life now. My days are filled with the joy and passion of doing something I absolutely love. I have become a much better person than I ever was before for one reason, and one reason alone. I am living a purpose-filled life.
I have real purpose in life now. My days are filled with the joy and passion of doing something I absolutely love. I have become a much better person than I ever was before for one reason, and one reason alone. I am living a purpose-filled life.
So what is that purpose?
My life now has two distinct purposes. Firstly, I want to give as much pleasure as I can through my writing. You see, I always knew I could write - I always wanted to write, it was one of those childhood dreams that I talked about earlier. As a child, I absolutely knew I was going to be an author one day, I absolutely knew that this was my calling; yet somewhere along the way I got distracted, diverted and my dreams were suborned by a society that suggested to me that writing wasn't a "real job" and what I needed was a "real job". Well, those who know me, know exactly how well that worked out!
So, now I am a full-time writer, I am living a live that makes me want to jump out of bed in the morning and get on the computer and simply write. Every day, new and exciting ideas are swirling around my head. Suddenly, I am excited about life, I am excited about every single second of every day. I no longer sit and mindlessly watch television all day, or trawl the internet - I have a real purpose in life now - why? Because I followed my dream!
My life now has two distinct purposes. Firstly, I want to give as much pleasure as I can through my writing. You see, I always knew I could write - I always wanted to write, it was one of those childhood dreams that I talked about earlier. As a child, I absolutely knew I was going to be an author one day, I absolutely knew that this was my calling; yet somewhere along the way I got distracted, diverted and my dreams were suborned by a society that suggested to me that writing wasn't a "real job" and what I needed was a "real job". Well, those who know me, know exactly how well that worked out!
So, now I am a full-time writer, I am living a live that makes me want to jump out of bed in the morning and get on the computer and simply write. Every day, new and exciting ideas are swirling around my head. Suddenly, I am excited about life, I am excited about every single second of every day. I no longer sit and mindlessly watch television all day, or trawl the internet - I have a real purpose in life now - why? Because I followed my dream!
The second purpose of my life now is simple - I want to be the very best human being I can possibly be. Now, I realize that might just sound a bit idealistic or perhaps even a tad "wishy-washy" but what I'm getting at here is that I no longer want to waste time, energy or precious days left feeling sad, miserable, angry or resentful. I have made a conscious decision to be happy and trust me on this - that is all you actually have to do. I used to think happiness and fulfillment were only for the lucky ones, but that's a crock of bulls**t. Happiness is our birthright. We all deserve to be happy and all we have to do is to make that choice.
I used to be a surly, grumpy old man who blamed everyone and everything for what went wrong in my life. What I have learnt is that there is only one thing in this world we can change - and that is ourselves. We can choose to be happy - we can choose to not engage in negative thoughts and we can choose to approach every situation from a positive perspective. You know, I can't stop the war in Iraq, I can't stop ISIS terrorists from beheading people, I can't cure Ebola - there are so many horrible things happening in the world that I can't control or influence - but I can control me. I choose to be happy, despite the current state of the world.
I used to be a surly, grumpy old man who blamed everyone and everything for what went wrong in my life. What I have learnt is that there is only one thing in this world we can change - and that is ourselves. We can choose to be happy - we can choose to not engage in negative thoughts and we can choose to approach every situation from a positive perspective. You know, I can't stop the war in Iraq, I can't stop ISIS terrorists from beheading people, I can't cure Ebola - there are so many horrible things happening in the world that I can't control or influence - but I can control me. I choose to be happy, despite the current state of the world.
My beautiful wife said something to me the other day that absolutely melted my heart and made me realize just how much I had changed in the past few years. She said; "You know what, you are just so wonderful now - you are always positive and full of joy." That meant more to me than I can describe. It summed up in just one sentence everything I have been striving to achieve. I am making a difference - and making a difference in my life; is making a difference in other people's lives. That to me is the key. We can't change the horrors of the world - but we can change our own personal environment. My new mantra is rapidly becoming; "Changing the world - one life at a time"
Now, I'm not suggesting that you have to travel half-way around the world and uproot your life, as I chose to do, to follow your dream. What I am saying is you need to re-examine what you are doing with your life - what makes you happy. If you are doing something that makes you stressed, irritable, angry, or depressed, then ask yourself; "why am I doing this?" Revisit your child-hood dreams. Ask yourself; what is it that I really wanted to do when nothing was an obstacle - when anything was possible? In there somewhere you may find that which will give you your "bliss". When you find it, start to lay plans on how to work toward achieving it. It doesn't have to be overnight; you don't have to drop everything and take up a new path - as I did. All you have to do is work toward incorporating that into your life today. It will give a whole new perspective on your day.
Now, I'm not suggesting that you have to travel half-way around the world and uproot your life, as I chose to do, to follow your dream. What I am saying is you need to re-examine what you are doing with your life - what makes you happy. If you are doing something that makes you stressed, irritable, angry, or depressed, then ask yourself; "why am I doing this?" Revisit your child-hood dreams. Ask yourself; what is it that I really wanted to do when nothing was an obstacle - when anything was possible? In there somewhere you may find that which will give you your "bliss". When you find it, start to lay plans on how to work toward achieving it. It doesn't have to be overnight; you don't have to drop everything and take up a new path - as I did. All you have to do is work toward incorporating that into your life today. It will give a whole new perspective on your day.
I want to leave you today with a couple of thoughts to ponder:
1/ Are successful and wealthy people happy because they are successful and wealthy or are they successful and wealthy, because they are happy. I firmly believe the latter to be the case.
2/ The most powerful tool we have to effect change in this world is our own mind. The power of our thoughts should never be underestimated. We are what we think! The most important thing we can do is to love ourselves and to be happy with who and what we are. Once we have mastered self-love, we can begin to "change the world - one life at a time."
1/ Are successful and wealthy people happy because they are successful and wealthy or are they successful and wealthy, because they are happy. I firmly believe the latter to be the case.
2/ The most powerful tool we have to effect change in this world is our own mind. The power of our thoughts should never be underestimated. We are what we think! The most important thing we can do is to love ourselves and to be happy with who and what we are. Once we have mastered self-love, we can begin to "change the world - one life at a time."
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