Hey this is Mike Ambassador Bruny.
In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I’m sharing a few of my favorite lyrics around Dreams.
Listen in:
I’d like to believe we all have dreams, but that may not be true. A better statement is that we all had dreams. I mention that because some of us have become so beat down that we have given up on dreaming. What’s the point, right?
If you fall in that camp I’d like to invite you to look at the way you go about getting your dreams in a different light or perspective if you will. Sometimes we only know one way to go about chasing a dream so we get attached to that method. There may be an opportunity to learn, grow and build relationships with those who can help us realize that dream.
Take for example my homie Joel who was working as a technician but wanted to become a manager. At first he was told, “sorry dude you need more leadership skills.”
Some may have seen it as a sign that becoming a manager wasn’t meant to be; not Joel. He took on leadership roles, made sure people knew his name and then he went back after that dream of becoming a manager. Guess want, he got it.
That’s just one example of someone who didn’t let go of the dream; he adjusted as needed to make it happen.
On to the lyrics and a few lessons that you may find helpful as you move forward in dreaming.
Here we go:
“Couldn’t do it without Dreaming I did it first.” ~Kidz in the Hall
I’ve had a hard time visualizing things that I’m not familiar with. If I had no exposure to a thing it becomes difficult to know what I’m supposed to see when I visualize.
One way to overcome this is to expose yourself to different situations. Let’s say you have a clear dream of becoming a regional manager. Well start connecting with folks who are regional managers so you have a sense of what the qualifications are, what the job is like and what it really takes to be successful. That information makes it easier for you to visualize where you want to be.
“I could let these dream killers kill my self esteem or use my arrogance as the steam to power my dreams.” ~Kanye West
You will run into people who will tell you that you are crazy, “I’ve been there,” but the important thing is for you to believe. It’s important to understand that we all have different perspectives. The person who is calling you crazy; are they someone who has walked the path you want to travel? If the answer is, “no,” then thank them for their concern and move on.
If you do find someone who has gone down the path you want to travel and they are telling you that you are crazy, then maybe there are some adjustments you need to make.
The one thing I would bet on however is that the person who has traveled the path will not call you crazy. They will recognize a fellow traveler who is in need of some direction or guidance and try to help instead of discourage you.
Play on Playa
“Cause I don’t like to dream about getting paid.” ~Rakim
Ok, this is the part where I tell you my philosophy on dreams and why we shouldn’t spend too much time there.
Here’s the deal, dreams are things that we tend to forget. We dream while we are sleeping, we wake up and the dreams stay in la-la land.
I want to encourage you to take your dream and advance it into a vision. Something you can see, if only out of focus at the moment, but something that you can write down and look at every single day. Something you can adjust in focus as new people and information come into the picture (pun intended).
After the vision, comes planning. That’s giving that bad boy some legs. And potentially testing to see if what you are working on is something that is needed.
Next Lyric:
“Go For Yours cause dreams come true.” ~Slick Rick
Now it’s time to Run the Point (take action) from where you are, with what you have. The truth is, that’s all you can ever do; act from where you are. Not where you wish you were or where someone else is.
Action comes in many different forms:
- Asking a question
- Doing research
- Making space to think
- Creating something to move your vision forward
- Building a network and / or team
Move forward with whatever action is needed at the time.
“Some dreams stay dreams, some dreams come true.” ~Kanye
Just like the person who isn’t feeling well but doesn’t go to the doctor because they don’t want to hear the bad news; you can run into the same thing with your dreams.
Do you love your dream so much that you don’t want to take action and risk failure? If you fail there is no more dream to talk about, right?
Thing is you would have learned something and you opening yourself up for the next dream which is probably even bigger because you have new capabilities.
Don’t get caught up in the thought of your dream and not the execution of your dream. To dream is to open yourself up to the possibility of failure; but wait it’s also to open yourself up to the possibility of success.
A combination of Russell Simmons book, “Do You,” and Chris Brogan‘s philosophy of “Love the grind,” reminds us that it’s about the journey. Learn to love it.
And Lastly…
“It was all a dream.” ~Notorious B.I.G [remember where it started, as a dream, and use it as fuel for the next thing]
So what’s your dream? Grab a blank piece of paper out of the copier, take your smoothest writing pen or pencil and dream for 10 minutes.
What did you want to be as a kid?
What dreams do you have for your place of work?
What dreams do you have for your family, your community, etc.?
Suspend the thought, “oh that will never happen,” for the next 10 minutes.
Your dream may come out as words. It may come out as pictures. It may be linear bullet points or it may be a mind map. Whatever it is, please let it out.
I’d love to hear about your dream. Your secret is safe with me.
As always, my goal is to help you run the point (that’s take action) from where you are, with what you have.
Signing out. Your Ambassador.
Mike Ambassador Bruny
