Image by David Paul Ohmer via Flickr
I think a lot about how to find and follow our dreams. At times, I feel like a self-help writer, and I wonder if I am really saying anything that matters.
The Problem with Self-help
American society is rooted in the idea of picking ourselves up by our bootstraps and achieving impossible dreams. We are a frontier nation, young enough to remember the struggles of our founders and frontiers men and women, but finally old enough to start grappling with some of the realities of forging a new world out of one that existed long before we got here.
Our real problem is the stories we grew up with about people who set out on their own to create a life for themselves. It was all a lie. None of these people did anything alone. They only accomplished what they did with the help and support of their community.
Unfortunately, this self-made person myth infiltrated every part of our cultural psyche to the point where we have entire industries built on the lie that if you get your act together, then you will be able to do anything. The truth is, only when we build a community around ourselves will be we able to accomplish anything.
Dreams Unify
While many of us believe we are alone in our dreams or that we have to achieve our dreams on our own, we are never really alone.
Thousands of people want to write a book, or make a movie. The trick is to find other people who share your specific dream.
Blogs and podcasts have helped a many people, but the means is not important. What is important is the connections we make to keep our spirits up, share our knowledge, and support us through the lows and the highs.
Without a strong connection with like minded people, it is difficult to navigate the treacherous waters between us and our goal.
Never Alone
The path to our dream starts with us sharing:
What do you want to accomplish?
What steps do you see between where you are to where you want to be?
What mistakes have you made, and what have you learned from them?
What are you doing right now to achieve your goals.
When you start to share, you will find others willing to share with you their experiences.
Following your dream
Now, you need to make you steps know, continue to share your experience, and work with others to achieve your goals.
Start a Blog over at Project: Shadow, and let’s get the community together. As a group, nothing can stand in our way!