At some point, regardless of your dream, action is required. We have to seize the opportunity. Take the risk. A step of action is required for us to walk through the open door. Action is always needed for dream fulfillment. What separates dreamers from doers is action.
Rachel Morado’s dream had always been to complete her education. At 14, she dropped out of school to care for her younger brothers and sisters. Marriage at 16 and the birth of her six children pushed her dream even further away. Then in 1983, at the age of 52, Rachel became a student at the same Kansas City, MO grade school from which four of her own children had graduated. Two years later, she graduated and is now taking courses for her high school equivalency test. It is never too late to take a step toward your dream.
Goethe said, “What you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Only engage, and then the mind grows heated—begin it, and the work will be completed!”
Rochelle Jones, in her book on career-changes The Big Switch, stresses: “If you can dream it, begin. If you can imagine it, proceed. Commitment and vision form a momentum of their own, which brings about a successful conclusion.”
The late Joe Garagiola offers some timely advice on dreaming, persistence, and risk taking in these excerpts from a commencement address he gave at St. Louis University: “I really believe the Lord gives each one of us two gift certificates when we’re born. One is for a dream. My dream was to be a major league baseball player. Branch Rickey, my general manager in St. Louis, signed me for a $500 bonus; my 1951 bubble gum card is worth $250. So dare to dream.
“The other gift certificate lets you take a chance. If the front door is locked, try the back door. If that’s locked, too, try the window. Just don’t be afraid to try, and don’t be afraid to fail. Take a chance.”
What is your dream? What do you plan to do about it? Will you act upon it? Today?