Did You Follow Your Dreams?

You summed it up perfectly right there.
The only people that believe no normal average joe can achieve a dream goal no matter how much you're shooting for the stars, are the people that (maybe even unwillingly) succumbed to being an average joe. Everyone is built different with different goals, dreams and ideologies of being happy. IMO, chasing a dream is chasing happiness. Whatever makes you eternally happy through taking action. No matter if that is being the next Lady Gaga or being the number one sales representative out of Cypress Houston. It could be something as simple as a steady paying job and a family to support where their father lacked.

In this day and age, you can literally do anything and get paid for it.

No matter what it is, there's an audience for it somewhere. There's a company building around it, or there's a service charged for it. May be in Houston, may be in Sweden, you never know. Point is - if there's a will there's a way. The universe can supply you with a million different routes to take to become successful in anything, you just have to be more than willing to look.

Some people give it a good shot for a year or two but it takes more than years just to blow up over night

That's sad, but just chasing the dream sometimes isn't enough. (obviously i dont know nor am I speaking for your friends situation, Chris, but in general) If your dream is moving a steady 40mph and you're running 39mph, you may be on it's heels now but it's only a matter of time before that dream is down the road and around the block. The way I try to keep it in perspective is "I can run and chase all day, but if I don't set up some acme traps to catch it, I could be running the rest of my life"

The crazier the dream, the crazier your do or die attitude has to be.

 

And the people saying that you settled for well off paying job that allows you to chase your dreams today??? That's perfectly fine. Whatever gets you to your end game.

You know how many people are famous for what they do, but spent the first half of their life doing something completely different???

Forrest Griffin was a teacher before he butt *****ed reality and refused to lose the competition that'd set his dreams off like the 4th of july

Rick Ross the rapper was a *****ing CORRECTIONAL OFFICER lol something that for the most part is frowned upon in the career industry that he's in, and now he's one of the prominent names in that industry

In a nutshell, if your dream doesn't have a due date for age on it (ie: if you're 25, you're probably not going to make the womens olympic gymnastics team) then it's not a measurement of time as when you can achieve your goal but a measurement of will

 

I'm 24 right now. Is there still enough time for me to pursue my dream and fall back onto something if my dreams don't pan out? Or should I consider just settling right now..?

I would definitely say **** it and pursue my ideal lifestyle to the max if I was 3-5 years younger, but right now, I dont know if I have the time to waste/experiment. Why didn't I just do so 3-5 years ago? Cuz I was too ignorant of the world/too sheltered etc..

 

I'm 28. None of my dreams involve working. $ allows me to have fun and see places. That's what I dream of....

I guess my dream is to make as much $ as possible and working reasonable hours. What I do to accomplish that doesn't really matter to me...

 

The problem with most dreams: working in show business, government or high finance, dating the hottest girl you know; is that they're not that unique. Unless your abilities are, then following them is usually a waste.

 

...said everyone who never accomplished any of those things.

 

My story is similar (and also involves playing drums). The only weird thing was, I knew in my 20's that the dream probably wasn't worth it. I wanted my college degree to lead to a career where I could support myself and have some choice as to where I lived. So, when I was an 18-year-old second-semester college sophomore and already had to pick a major, I had been leaning toward a science field and went with that. I was doing as much music as I could on the side.

When I hit my early 30's, though, I got tired of being a "good girl" and wondered if I should have followed my dream after all. I felt like I wasn't a "scientist" by personality. I went back to school to major in music education and - here's the stupid part - actually finished the course of study. I should have just taken a couple of years to try that, gotten it out of my system, and then gone back to my life before I spent any more money on it. Of course, I had to support myself so my old career continued to be a part of my life, even part-time. When it came time, I realized that I would miss my "old" job a lot if I never did it again. It's always been part of my life. And I already knew that education was the only practical thing to do with music, but going to music school never transformed me into this super musician or automatically great teacher/conductor like I had hoped it would. I didn't want to deal with the stress, possible failure, possible continued poverty, and learning curve of starting a new career when it was time to be starting my family.

So I'm in a better version of my "old" job, full-time, like a regular responsible adult and parent. The job is not bad at all. I'm comfortable in it, have very few worries, and some flexibility with my time plus lots of vacation. I do wish there were more opportunities to work with my "dream". Often child care is the limiting factor, but aside from that, there's very little for adult classical musicians to do. Even community bands usually play very unchallenging music.

That's what baffles me. People work to develop these talents through high school and college, love it - then just quit? Or only want to do it in the easiest way possible. What is up with that? Maybe it's not our full time job, but are there not others who want to produce high quality art during our free time? Maybe it was the particular place where I lived, but I had more opportunities before going to music school than I do now. I volunteer with high school musicians twice a week and I'm thankful to do that, but I didn't need that extra college degree.

Anyway, if this wasn't tl;dr for everybody - you can pursue your dream but be aware of the tradeoffs. Be smart and strategic in how you go about it. Possibly find a more realistic version of your dream.

 

Only way to face it IS to face it.

Never live in the "What if?"

 

Up until I was about 19 I wanted to be a garbage collector, so no.

 

Matter of fact, look at our own fellow poster Another Brother

He was neck deep in a career as a cop and quit that to pursuit a life of stand up comedy. Now he's successfully touring the country making a living doing something he truly loves doing. Of course I can't speak for him, but I'm sure he didn't envision doing just that when he was enrolling into the police academy..

Point is, I really don't think age, career, not starting soon enough or anything should be a factor as long as you aren't trying to defy gravity (ie: entering the NBA at the age of 30, or something)

 

Tried following The Dream. Sadly he retired 10 years ago

 

yes, started a male stripper company!

 

Initially I couldn't do my my dream job. Yet after reconsidering, I focused on careers that were peripheral/in the same category. Turned out there were many that fit the initial's description, and I now have one of them.

For me, thinking about dreams relates to defining what an adult is and how we should live. I enjoy this quote on the 'what if' dilemma by David Foster Wallace:

"The really important kind of freedom involves attention and awareness and discipline, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them over and over in myriad petty, unsexy ways every day. That is real freedom. That is being educated, and understanding how to think. The alternative is unconsciousness, the default setting, the rat race, the constant gnawing sense of having had, and lost, some infinite thing."

I think consciously deciding to accept your limitations, taking responsibility for past decisions, and caring for other people are the biggest factors that make an adult. Also, doing what must be done without anyone ordering you, even if it's mundane. I've seen too many people who leave their families and obligations to chase their dreams only to end up failing thus making the world around them worse off. If you can chase your dream without significantly hurting those you care for, you should do it.

 

I followed my dream for years...until she got a restraining order against me.

(Going out to buy some binoculars)

 

I think what many people refer to as "dreams" in reality are merely interests. True "dreams" are hard to come by and few will actually encounter them in their lifetime. We all consciously or subconsciously seek our dreams, and for those who are unlucky(yes, it is a matter of luck) and cannot find their true calling, they mistaken hobbies and interests for it. The problem is, interests do not give you the drive to become great. Interests do not give you the creativity to... create. For an interest, you have to push yourself to work hard. For a dream, working hard comes as naturally as breathing because your dream is your sole being. Interests can eventually be abandoned and forgotten. For those who know true dreams, it is an obsession. Even if they cannot achieve their dream, they will find a way to pursue something relating to it. Because it is impossible not to breath.

With all that said, dreams do not feed your family. The world revolves around money. Unless your dream is to live off the land in some back woods, you will have to monetize it. The key for this is to be realistic, rational, and self-aware. Know your limitations and know your talents. Everyone in the world is talented in some way or fashion. Identify your talent and apply it to your dream. Your drive will turn your talent into a strength. And your obsession will turn your strength into greatness.

The human mind is limitless as long as you discover the right channels to guide it.