Some of the most successful people in the world are dreamers. Or should I say, dreamers who succeeded. It is not easy to be a dreamer and chase a dream. Many people are dreamers but few follow their dreams. Education has a lot to do with it. How your parents raised you, for the most part, dictates whether or not you will pursue your dreams. Many parents will tell their children that they can become anything they want in life, but then criticize their children when they feel that their children express an interest in pursuing some dream that has an unlikely chance of being realized. The fact is that most dreamers who chase their dreams fail. They fail because they give up. They give up their dream. They are influenced by those around them to take the well-marked path of life, trodden by the masses, rather than the path that has no markers and, worse, leads you to other paths that also have no markers. You see, being a dreamer means that you are one of those oddities in life. You’re on the outside looking at everyone else who’s playing it safe. Being a dreamer is filled with so many risks, so many variables. It is, frankly, a miracle that we have dreamers who chase their dreams. So, you see, being a dream chaser is a very rare thing.

Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich, was a dreamer. He spent years, without compensation, interviewing Andrew Carnegie (founder of Bethlehem Steel, at one time the world’s largest steelmaker). Mr. Carnegie agreed to share with Mr. Hill, in detail, his secrets to financial success. There were many secrets and many lessons to teach. During this very long and exhausting process of interviewing Mr. Carnegie, Mr. Hill’s family and friends urged him to stop wasting his valuable uncompensated time with Mr. Carnegie and get a job like everyone else. Mr. Hill acknowledges that he considered quitting many times. Only through sheer force of will and a fanatical desire to pursue his dream of discovering the secrets to success, Mr. Hill was able to continue. Although he wavered, and often, he stuck to it. He continued to pursue his dream. It wasn’t easy, but we all know how the story ends. Think and Grow Rich is still a best-selling self-help book today. To date, it has sold over 30 million copies. Simply amazing! What would have happened if Mr. Hill had listened to his family and friends and resigned?

The downside of being a dream chaser

There is a cost to being a dream chaser. It takes a time commitment to pursue a dream. There may also be a financial commitment. What you lose by pursuing a dream is potential compensation for time “lost” in pursuing your dream. You can also lose the money invested in pursuing your dream. There is also the emotional turmoil imposed on the dream chaser that exacts a price. The ups and downs of chasing a dream are enough to drive you crazy. One minute you feel like your dream is coming true only to have the rug pulled out from under you. The next minute, her dream appears to have been ruined, only for some event to occur that reignites the potential realization of her dream. Dream chasers know very well what I am talking about here. When your investment of time and money begins to take a toll on your family and perhaps your friends, that’s when your pursuit of your dream is challenged. That’s when everyone around you will start telling you that it’s time to stop chasing your dream; that you’re just wasting your time. He will be told to get his head out of the clouds and stop chasing after the brass ring. And these people are all correct. Being a dream chaser means that you are not living your life like everyone else. You are outside looking in. Most dreamers end their quest when the relationship with their immediate family begins to crumble and fall apart. That’s when most dream chasers cut the bait. Losing your family is simply not worth the realization of the dream. It just isn’t. The dream dies and the dreamer jumps onto the well traveled road; intact family.

The good thing about being a dream chaser

Successful dream chasers (dream makers) change the world. They are the reason we have TV, radio, airplanes, computers, cell phones, software applications, frozen foods, toys, no more black death. Dream makers change the world we live in and reap untold financial rewards. Rewards that cannot be spent in five generations, let alone one generation. Dream makers alter the course of humanity. They prove everyone else wrong and the masses jump off the path they were on to jump onto the path trodden by the dream maker. They are risk-averse followers of the crowd. Therefore, when a dream chaser is successful, he acquires a new status. He becomes like a god.

If you have a dream that you are chasing, congratulations. I applaud you. You will most likely stop at some point. Almost everyone does. But I hope not. I hope this article inspires you to continue; love yourself to continue chasing your dream. The world depends on dream chasers. Without them we would still be living in caves and painting on walls.