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Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Opening the Door


Over the years, people have revealed various wishes to me; items that they would like at some point in life if - so they say - they had enough funds or time:
  1. A voyage around the world
  2. A Jaguar (The car, not the animal)
  3. A sports car
  4. A villa in Italy
  5. Political office
  6. A new career
  7. Their own business
  8. A boat
  9. A house on the beach
  10. Fluency in French or Spanish
  11. A slim body
  12. Writing a book
  13. Becoming a tango dancer
  14. A trip on the Orient Express
  15. An apartment in Paris
  16. A farm
  17. A cabin
  18. Service in the Peace Corps
  19. Going on safari
  20. A doctorate (the topics vary)
  21. A teaching job
  22. Learning to scuba dive
  23. Running a small art gallery
  24. Taking a trip through all 50 states
What strikes me about so many of these is how attainable they are if the people seriously try to achieve them. The fact that years pass without even minor progress may indicate that the thought of doing something can be so much more appealing than taking concrete steps to achieve it.

So the questions should be: "Is that a mere wish or a dream that will get solid and sustained action?" and "If not now, when?"
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3 comments:

  1. Bob1:19 PM

    Having lived my life as just going out and doing things, treating the world as an adventure, and making things happen. When you start talking to people you get comments like "how do you find the time" I don't see it like that, I have lots of time and could have fitted more in, I like relaxing too. So I don't really understand their comments. I more see it as people do things they really want to do, if they don't do them then they didn't really want too, if somebody says they don't have time they are usually saying they don't think it's important enough. It remind me of a saying...

    Something like "If you want something done ask a busy person"

    Somebody I knew of a similar age, died unexpectedly on the weekend, unsure how, but it's quite sad.
    Life is a fantastic journey and you only get one ticket, better make the most of it.

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  2. Aaron Drake5:49 PM

    I think that is the difference between dreamers and achievers. Most dreamers are in love with the idea of something more than actually want it. It's not always a bad thing. Usually dreamers are just trying to escape their current reality, but don't have the discipline to pursue it.

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  3. Michael Wade4:04 PM

    Bob,

    Well said.

    Aaron,

    I like that dreamers and achievers distinction. There are too many people who think that dreaming up an item is 90 percent of achieving it.

    Michael

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