What Happened To Living My Dream

This post was inspired by my good friend David Risley who wrote a great post about Lifestyle Design yesterday morning. I suggest you go read it after you’re done here. He gives you some great insights and what I call “hope in action” to move forward and live your life on dream street. In the mean time I get to be the bad guy 🙂

We were born as big thinkers, big dreamers and people who followed their hearts desire. Somewhere along the way for the vast majority of people that got shit canned.

So what happened?

The problem is somewhere along the way we compromised.

I’ve done it. I can admit that many times in my later adult life I compromised living my dreams for being responsible. I can’t say I’m tickled about it but that’s most certainly what happened. Many times I was even conscious I did it. UGH.

When I was a teenager and desired to play music full time, I knew nothing was going to get in my way. I was going to live on my dream street even if it wasn’t that big and gorgeous of a house. It was what was most important to me and that was all that mattered. Not the tax man, not what a woman thought of me, not if people were going to like me and where I lived. None of it it mattered.

Where Did It Go Wrong

I can tell you it went wrong and many times it starts with parents.

Now I know I’m going to get a lot of shit for what I’m about to say and it will be taken out of context but so be it. Much like David’s 7 point check list (Read his post and you’ll see what I’m talking about) there is a cycle that happens and it’s why most peoples realities are the way they are.

As a child you’re told no by your parents how many times? The ratio is nearly 10 to 1 of No’s to Yes’s. You’re born as an infinite being with no mental limits. Yea, that gets beat up on right away.
You go to kindergarten, grade school, high school and college. Through an average of 13 years or so you’re conditioned to memorize the answers, get a good grade, impress your teachers and you will get rewarded.
You then go to get your first real job. But wait you need a resume, a great outfit and your best behavior in order to impress them so you can get a salary which provides you with stability.
You then find your spouse who you fall madly in love with, get a mortgage, 2 cars lots of credit, have children and the cycle repeats.

I could go on in detail but I think you get the point. We are conditioned to compromise from birth because this is how the cycle has ran for years. Many people are still under the impression they will work for a company for 30 years and retire with a pension or the money they get from their 401k….right.

Now before you go trying to blow back at me with “holy cow Tony you you must be the anti Christ of education and order.”

Not hardly. We do need doctors, attorneys, architects, machinists, teachers, servers, dishwashers and ditch diggers etc. I’m just saying it doesn’t have to be you. My issue is that the current system in place doesn’t support, teach or nurture creativity & entrepreneurship 101.

Parents weren’t taught it and they can’t teach what they don’t know.

I can tell you that it is changing because we’re in a huge shift in awareness as a culture right now. Especially as you read this article on the way we live in relation to parenting.

So Am I Screwed, What Do I Do

Of course you’re not screwed.

However your awareness of the fact is critical as you’ve heard me talk about here many times. The key is to be aware, think outside of the box and then do something about it. Trust in your inner wisdom, not what your teacher told you 15 years ago. Think for yourself then do.

Personally I believe you have to understand what happened and where you’ve been in order to truly let it go, live & love freely. Running from this stuff doesn’t help. It WILL manifest itself in your life one way or another down the road so confront it, embrace and move through it.

As Seth Godin states don’t be a sheep walker. It takes courage to be a leader.

So What Can You Do

Allow yourself to dream and educate yourself on a way to do it. This is the secret of self taught millionaires. Now I know that sounds counter intuitive of what I mentioned above. Believe it or not, I’m NOT bashing education. I’m just very critical of the one size fits all way that it’s taught and how it teaches us to take direction from others rather than take it upon ourselves.

How many kids have taken SAT’s and didn’t meet the criteria but were gifted in other areas. Or could be taught in ways that were more in tune with their personality. They are told “your numbers don’t add up so you’re not good enough.” This is really what’s implied and self esteem issues ensure.

In my opinion we’re taught to be good employees, not leaders of movements or companies.

Oh and if you think I’m saying being a millionaire is what’s important, It’s not. Generally being fulfilled in life with your mission or purpose leads you to enjoying the results of following that dream or passion, which could be a million dollars. It may not be a million dollars but it doesn’t mean it can’t be financially lucrative either.

So here is my question:

What are you reading right now that inspires, educates & supports you to live your desired lifestyle?
What audio, video courses are you investing in?
What groups are you a part of such as masterminds and local groups.

I can’t tell you how many people on a weekly basis I asked that question and the answers still shock me.

The answer is almost always, not much. Or it’s reading and listening to brain candy in order to escape the daily grind the person feels locked into.

Not everyone desires to be a millionaire and I’m quite clear on that. It seems everyone does want the freedom that is perceived from being one though. Even those who say money is the root of all evil, even thought it isn’t, still desire freedom of doing what they want, when they want and how they want.

Hard to do that if you’re boot strapped to a job you dislike.

So my point is to start the journey of finding your true desire. David Risley puts in a great effort in his post on how to finance your dream and just how obtainable it really is. It’s one reason I’m working on some of the projects I’m working on right now. (And will share soon)

It’s not just all about MTV Cribs or the Life Style’s of the Rich and Famous. I’ve heard of people living their dream life style with only $50,000 a year that comes in whether they work or not. That amount with no debt and only a few hours a weeks effort can truly make a difference int he quality of your life.

There is a dream lifestyle awaiting you and it’s completely in your grasp. Dream, educate and take action and it will be yours. This is why I shot the video I did and shared it with you. I read, I educate and I take action. I’m not saying you have to read what I read or be on the same mission I am either.

Identify Your Dream

There are many vehicles that can get you to your dream or dream lifestyle. It’s the one you believe in the most, with the most passion that will get you there with the most joy.

What’s your dream?

Are you living it?

Are you compromising?

And why?

And most importantly what can you do starting today to either identify it or take action towards it? 🙂

What Happened To Living My Dream