Hi all,
So Christmas is almost upon us. One of the tropes of the season is the idea that “dreams do come true,” and yes, to some extent, that is true, but only if you put the work in and get lucky along the way.
Thanks to everybody who requested I discuss this topic. You can suggest and vote for topics here.
We all have dreams for our lives. Things we want to do or achieve. But often, if we are honest, those “dreams” are more like vague aspirations we have in passing. So instead, we tend to drift through life, accepting what it throws at us in an opportunistic kind of way.
I know I did for the longest time. My career, for instance, wasn’t planned. It just happened. Opportunities arose, and I grasped them. There is nothing wrong with that; indeed, spotting and grabbing opportunities is a skill that can take you a long way.
However, if you want something specific out of life, you’ll have to work out how to make it happen, especially if that dream involves making changes in your career.
Work to live. Never live to work.
Many people seem to live to work rather than work to live. In other words, they allow their work to dictate how they live. But if you have dreams you want to achieve, you cannot let that happen.
For the longest time, my dream has been to travel the states in an RV. Not just a holiday, but for a good chunk of every year. I knew I didn’t want to wait until retirement because who knows what the future would hold. I wanted to make it happen as soon as I could.
I am fortunate to find myself now living that dream. But it didn’t just happen. An opportunity did not just arise. I had to make it happen.
How I made my dream happen
When I first had that dream, I ran an agency. I had responsibilities, employees, and partners. I couldn’t disappear for big chunks of the year. Even remote working would have been complicated because of time differences and the fact I spent a lot of time visiting clients.
To achieve my dream, I had to change all of that. I had to leave agency life behind, start my consultancy and build it so that I could work almost exclusively remotely with my clients.
I also had to shape that new business to allow me time to enjoy the states. There was no point traveling around in an RV if I was stuck in front of a computer eight hours a day.
Have a vision and create a plan
All of this took the best part of a decade to build. First, I had to have a clear vision of what I wanted and build a systematic plan to get there.
I had to be patient. For a long time, connectivity in the states wasn’t good enough. So I had to wait until the mobile infrastructure was in place.
I also got lucky. Just after we started traveling, Starlink became a feasible option, and now I have faster internet on the road than I have at home.
Finally, I didn’t wait for perfect. Too many people put off their dreams because they cannot have precisely what they want. In my case, I have to get up ridiculously early to do Zoom calls with European clients, and we have to go back to the UK every few months because of limitations in the US visas and to replenish our funds.
Think about your dream
I am sharing this to encourage you to think about your dreams over this festive period. First, ask yourself what you want from life instead of coasting along. Then, no matter how impossible that dream may seem, start planning how you can get there. Be realistic, be pragmatic, but explore how to make it a reality.
Not every dream is possible, but don’t settle too quickly.
Look, I am not naive. I know my privilege was a massive part of my ability to live this lifestyle.
Unfortunately, not everybody has had the luck or great start in life that I have had. However, living to work is no way to live a life. Instead, I would encourage you to decide what life you want and seek a job to help you make that a reality.
Leverage the flexibility of our sector
Also, remember, we work in a sector that offers enormous flexibility in our working conditions. We can, in theory, work where and when we want. As we build our dream lives, that is a huge asset for all of us, and we need to use it.
You don’t need a Christmas miracle to live your dreams.
