Do you have a dream? Is there something that you really wish you could have or do? I remember as a child looking up at the stars and making a wish. I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.
So much of our lives are wrapped up in wishes and dreams and hopes and wants… yet, for many of us, those things never come to pass. We settle for much less and the dreams fade away, leaving us feeling somewhat blah. We are probably happy with our lives, but there may just be a sense of missing out on something — even if we don’t know what that something might be. When asked what’s your dream, if you’re like me, you don’t really even know. It’s been a long time since I even allowed myself to to think about the might bes, the possibilities, and the big old what ifs.| I used to know about dreams. I knew from early on that I wanted to own a business — to be there to teach and support others — helping them to gain their own dreams. Yet, for the past couple of years I’ve allowed myself to sit in the dark (literally) without ever having the faintest hope of doing something valuable for myself or someone else. You see, I was in a hit and run 2.5 years ago and got hurt pretty badly. Since then, I’ve allowed myself (understanding that I have not been able to walk and have been in great pain all that time) to lose all my dreams and hopes. There have been a lot of other life events going on and through it all I’ve found myself sinking lower and lower. But today, watching a tv show I’ve seen many times in the past I realized that there is always hope and that dreams DO come true. As a business person, I have used the phrase from Walt Disney “if you dream it, you can do it” for many years. I do believe that. But on that television show today, a woman sang “To Dream The Impossible Dream” from Man of La Mancha and listening to the words, knew that that was going to be what got me up and going. You need to have a dream, and no matter how far, no matter how weary I get, I need to follow that star to my dream. What has that got to do really with business? The United States has been based on small entrepreneurial businesses from the beginning of time. Sure, we have been living in the industrial era for many years, but even then those men and women who started those companies had ideas, dreams, things they wanted to accomplish. And now, more than ever, we find ourselves back in the age of hand crafts. small businesses that help to build the small town, the neighborhood, the region. It is through these hard working men and women that our economy is coming back and we are becoming successful. It is through dreams and hopes and wanting something more than what we have that is making the world go round. I am sure that I’m not the only one out there that has had live events stop them in their tracks, turned them away from one direction and headed them in another. Have you lost your dreams and goals? Have you settled without even really knowing it, but are feeling somewhat lost and forlorn? How about taking a few minutes to sit back, close your eyes and think about the things you used to wish you had, did or wanted “when you grew up?” There are many small business people out there these days and I think that’s fantastic, but I also know and have seen repeatedly the difference between an entrepreneur and a small business owner. A while ago I happened to see an article in Entrepreneur Magazine that addressed the differences between the two. A small business owner, in their terms, was someone that went to work at 9 and left to go home at 5. They worked hard, but they continued to think like employees. They did what was required but nothing more. They had no passion, no excitement, and just got by. They had lost their ability to dream. On the other hand, an entrepreneur often was running or thinking about creating several businesses all at the same time. They were excited, wanting more and more. They looked to the future and wanted to fulfill all their dreams and had goals that were far reaching and many faceted. They couldn’t wait to get going in the morning, and often found themselves still up and going with only a couple of hours before time to go back to work. Passion was their middle name and they ate, breathed and in general LIVED their business. The other day, while talking to a couple of entrepreneurs, they gave me the perfect definition of an entrepreneur — someone who was exhausted, but determined to do whatever was necessary to get to the next level. They knew what they wanted and where they were headed but they might not have all the answers to get them there. They weren’t afraid to look for those answers: to seek them out by talking with others who had been there, done that. They were willing to continue training, go through educational programs, listen to the experts and keep open minds. That was a true entrepreneur. Now, there’s nothing wrong with being a small business owner. We need them, and would be in trouble without them. Yet, if we didn’t have entrepreneurs among us the world would be much less exciting. And for those who know their dreams and want to reach them, they are NOT impossible. So dream away folks. And reach for that impossible dream!!!!!The Impossible Dream-Man of La Mancha
So much of our lives are wrapped up in wishes and dreams and hopes and wants… yet, for many of us, those things never come to pass. We settle for much less and the dreams fade away, leaving us feeling somewhat blah. We are probably happy with our lives, but there may just be a sense of missing out on something — even if we don’t know what that something might be. When asked what’s your dream, if you’re like me, you don’t really even know. It’s been a long time since I even allowed myself to to think about the might bes, the possibilities, and the big old what ifs.| I used to know about dreams. I knew from early on that I wanted to own a business — to be there to teach and support others — helping them to gain their own dreams. Yet, for the past couple of years I’ve allowed myself to sit in the dark (literally) without ever having the faintest hope of doing something valuable for myself or someone else. You see, I was in a hit and run 2.5 years ago and got hurt pretty badly. Since then, I’ve allowed myself (understanding that I have not been able to walk and have been in great pain all that time) to lose all my dreams and hopes. There have been a lot of other life events going on and through it all I’ve found myself sinking lower and lower. But today, watching a tv show I’ve seen many times in the past I realized that there is always hope and that dreams DO come true. As a business person, I have used the phrase from Walt Disney “if you dream it, you can do it” for many years. I do believe that. But on that television show today, a woman sang “To Dream The Impossible Dream” from Man of La Mancha and listening to the words, knew that that was going to be what got me up and going. You need to have a dream, and no matter how far, no matter how weary I get, I need to follow that star to my dream. What has that got to do really with business? The United States has been based on small entrepreneurial businesses from the beginning of time. Sure, we have been living in the industrial era for many years, but even then those men and women who started those companies had ideas, dreams, things they wanted to accomplish. And now, more than ever, we find ourselves back in the age of hand crafts. small businesses that help to build the small town, the neighborhood, the region. It is through these hard working men and women that our economy is coming back and we are becoming successful. It is through dreams and hopes and wanting something more than what we have that is making the world go round. I am sure that I’m not the only one out there that has had live events stop them in their tracks, turned them away from one direction and headed them in another. Have you lost your dreams and goals? Have you settled without even really knowing it, but are feeling somewhat lost and forlorn? How about taking a few minutes to sit back, close your eyes and think about the things you used to wish you had, did or wanted “when you grew up?” There are many small business people out there these days and I think that’s fantastic, but I also know and have seen repeatedly the difference between an entrepreneur and a small business owner. A while ago I happened to see an article in Entrepreneur Magazine that addressed the differences between the two. A small business owner, in their terms, was someone that went to work at 9 and left to go home at 5. They worked hard, but they continued to think like employees. They did what was required but nothing more. They had no passion, no excitement, and just got by. They had lost their ability to dream. On the other hand, an entrepreneur often was running or thinking about creating several businesses all at the same time. They were excited, wanting more and more. They looked to the future and wanted to fulfill all their dreams and had goals that were far reaching and many faceted. They couldn’t wait to get going in the morning, and often found themselves still up and going with only a couple of hours before time to go back to work. Passion was their middle name and they ate, breathed and in general LIVED their business. The other day, while talking to a couple of entrepreneurs, they gave me the perfect definition of an entrepreneur — someone who was exhausted, but determined to do whatever was necessary to get to the next level. They knew what they wanted and where they were headed but they might not have all the answers to get them there. They weren’t afraid to look for those answers: to seek them out by talking with others who had been there, done that. They were willing to continue training, go through educational programs, listen to the experts and keep open minds. That was a true entrepreneur. Now, there’s nothing wrong with being a small business owner. We need them, and would be in trouble without them. Yet, if we didn’t have entrepreneurs among us the world would be much less exciting. And for those who know their dreams and want to reach them, they are NOT impossible. So dream away folks. And reach for that impossible dream!!!!!The Impossible Dream-Man of La Mancha
