As we say goodbye to one year and we welcome a new year, it is appropriate to review
our life and to dream, set goals and plan for the future. To help you with this
exercise, I write here about dreams and the value of dreaming. Most great things have
happened because someone had a dream.
Some Examples
Indeed, because of dreams the world is constantly changing. In 1492
when the rest of the world and his own crew believed that, the world was flat,
Christopher Columbus had a dream that the world was round. He set sail across
the Atlantic Ocean to find a route to India and he discovered America.
Mother Theresa’s dream and mission to help suffering people live or die with
dignity was formed one day after trying to get help for an ill woman in Kolkata.
The hospitals to which she took the poor woman would not treat her because she was
poor and of the lower caste. Mother Theresa took her back to her home and looked
after her. Mother Theresa then worked on realizing her dream to ease the pain of the
suffering. With increasing recognition for her work she received more financial support.
The Missionaries of Charity which she set up soon expanded. By 1979 when she
received the Nobel Prize for Peace, she and her affiliated groups had more than 200
different operations in over 25 countries around the world.
We all need to dream. We should give ourselves time to dream and we should not
neglect our dreams. We should persevere with them through difficult moments.
As Woodrow Wilson said, “We grow through our dreams. All great men and
women are dreamers.” In fact I will add to this by saying that all successful
people regardless of race or gender are dreamers. In 1920, against her family’s wishes
and with just a dream to motivate her, Amelia Earhart learned to fly a plane and 12
years later, became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
What Is A Dream?
A dream is defined as an aspiration, a goal, an aim. Hence, to dream is to conceive of
something. The poet Carl Sandburg says, “Nothing happens unless first a dream.”
The writer, Gloria Steinem once said that “Without leaps of imagination, or dreams,
we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all” she says, “is a form of
planning.” And she is right for the greatest success stories in this world have been
preceded by dreams…dreams of change, dreams of progress, dreams of what could be.
In 1926 when he successfully tested the first liquid fuel rocket, Robert Goddard had a
dream that man could go to the moon. The press at that time ridiculed him. They
thought it was something impossible. However, history has shown that human beings set foot on
the moon in 1969. Today Goddard is recognized as the father of modern space
exploration and NASA has named its space centre in Maryland after him. At the
NASA museum, they have inscribed the following words of Dr Goddard that are
most significant: “It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of
yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow.” Therefore, we should
always dream about what is possible and hope for what is possible…so that it will
become a reality tomorrow.
Dreams Are Powerful
Dreams come alive. Dreams are phenomenal in the effect they can create. With
dreams you can overcome all limits, smash all records and break through your own
success barriers. Wilma Rudolph, the first American woman runner to win three gold
medals at a single Olympics, offered this advice, “Never underestimate the power of
dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion.
The potential for greatness lives within each of us.”
Therefore, we need to dream and we need BIG Dreams. Make your dreams large
enough to absorb all your energy, command all your imagination, use all your resources
and impact the world in a significant way!
Dream First
Every accomplishment starts with a dream. We must be dreamers who are willing to
chart new courses, to accept new challenges, to use the obstacles as a foundation for
change. Our power to achieve is limited only by our imagination. Our ability to succeed
comes from the desire within. And it starts with a dream.
To accomplish great things, we must not only dream but act as well. We must translate
our dreams into effective action and we must vitalize them with our drive and
dedication. We must love and desire our dream intently for our dream to come true.
Think about your dream all the time, no matter what else you’re doing. Live your dream
in your imagination. Become obsessed by it. Love it. Be passionate about it.
If you are fully committed to living your dream, you will be working harder than
ever before, enjoying it more, and having more fun than you ever dreamed was
possible. By pursuing any one of our dreams we can find fulfillment. By living
our dream we can contribute to everyone and everything around us.
Dreams are capable of lifting us to new heights and overcoming self-imposed
limitations. A dream can be an expression of optimism, hope, and values lofty enough
to capture the imagination and engage the spirit. Go with your dreams; give them a
chance to happen. Dreaming of how things can be better can raise new questions and
endless possibilities.
John F Kennedy said, “We need men and women who can dream of things that
never were.” Don’t just dream but dream Big because we don’t have to live a small life. Average dreams produce an average life. We have the power to choose. We
can Dream BIG!
Thank you Zaibun – Dreams are powerful; they can make things happen.