Once You Get a Dream

Once you get a dream, it’s hard to stop it. Something hits you. Something somebody told you about, some trip you took to a place you’d never been to, Something you saw on TV or the Internet. A whole new world opens up, and you say to yourself, “I can do that!”

The movie “A Million Miles Away” shows this concept perfectly. A 10 year old migrant farm boy watches the Apollo 17 moon landing on a small black and white TV. He goes outside and looks at the moon, and immediately gets his dream… Be an astronaut!

It’s Hard to Stop a Dream

Once the spark is lit, it’s hard to stop a dream. In my current book, “The Great Idea,” Billy Lyngwood and Joseph Loomis are on a dock in London looking at people eager to board the ships going to Virginia… the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery. Joseph can’t believe so many are willing to risk everything to go to a land no one has ever seen. Billy tells him it’s not just about settling a new colony… it’s about gold. King James wants to compete with the Spanish treasure haul coming out of the Spanish Main.

Joseph said, “That’s a long way to go on a hope and a prayer.”

Billy answered, “It is, indeed, my boy, but it’s ‘ard to stop a dream… especially when that dream is gold plated.”

Life Without a Dream

So many people live a life without a dream. They don’t know what they want to do in life. Like a high school senior who has no idea what he wants his major to be in college. Even if you don’t go to college, without a dream you may stumble around, going from one job to another, plodding along day after day. You could end up drunk in the bars, addicted to drugs, or homeless in Los Angeles.

Sounds pretty depressing, doesn’t it? That’s not unusual, in fact the Bible already tells us,

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18)

Knuckle Down, Buckle Down, Do It, Do It, Do It!!

In 1965, Roger Miller wrote the humorous song, “You Can’t Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd.” His main point was, “but you can be happy if you’ve a mind to” with the exhortation, “knuckle down, buckle down, do it, do it, do it.” No dream is achieved without risk, hard work, and perseverance. NASA turned Jose Hernandez down 11 times from the astronaut program before he was accepted. And yet… He became the first migrant worker to go into space. No one could stop his dream!

See my post, “No Guts No Glory!” for more encouragement,