I have often told people over the years to go out and find their dream and make it a reality, no matter what their age might be. I've said in no uncertain terms that it won't be easy. The effort might at times be fun and even very enjoyable, but more often what it is, is frustrating and anguishing and painful, and even depressing. It will appear that other heavy issues keep popping up in your life that stymie you on that dream fulfillment, that reality, and that success. Life doesn't stop and make way when you are out trying to find your dream. It moves, it changes, and it blocks, and interferes. That is life.
You cannot wait for your dream to find you. You have to force the effort to make your dream a reality. It is adversarial to do that: It is you against the world; A world filled with other people who have dreams of their own, many that conflict with your dream, or your success.
The primary adversary to you making your dream a reality is always yourself.
The problem with reality, is often that it is not as nice and comfy or as satisfying as the dream. That is because the dream is the success of the hope and of a wish. It does not take into account the long and winding road to reach the end. The end, by the way, is often not the end, but the beginning... of a cliff.
Every single artistic person that I have engaged with in my life, be they writers, or photographers, or actors, painters, sculptors, or general life celebrities, all have had rough times getting to the level of success that they have, or once had. If they managed to succeed to a degree, that was never enough for them. If they had a big success, it was never that great for more than a few days, because once you have a success, you must follow that up with another one. And another one. One success does not fill a life, and it will never satisfy the dream.
As you try for your dream you must realize and accept that things will not go smoothly. They never do. You will face family issues, pet issues, health issues, people who think you won't succeed, and other people who cheer you on, but really don't do anything else. Most of your "cheer squad" won't lift a finger to help you succeed. They are just hoping you will remember them cheering you on if you do make it. And of course, there are always those who latch on to you in hopes of making a personal payday for themselves.
How do you focus on reaching your dream when there is all of that and more to consider and concern yourself with? It is impossible. You can never succeed alone. There is too much going on around you that needs to be minded, filtered, protected, and secured.
All of the above sounds heavy, and it is. It can be disheartening. But it doesn't only apply to those seeking their dream, it applies to every single person on the planet, whether they are trying for their dream or just living a daily life. The same applies to an aspiring artist, musician, actor, writer, and every tradesman, waiter or waitress, or that guy filing for unemployment.
Once you realize that, you can realize that you are not special. What you are is a person trying to create something special. That is the reality of it. If you don't believe yourself to be special, you won't expect life to treat your kinder than the rest of the people out there. Believe me, it won't.
People in your life will get sick. You will get sick. Your pet will get sick. Your kids, or your relatives will need help and support all the time, usually when you are trying to reach your dream. The car will break down. The buses will go on strike. And a pandemic will hit just when you finally got a big break and a recurring role on a new television series.
What you must do is not become overwhelmed by the moment.
That moment will pass.
When I said before that the primary adversary to you making your dream a reality is always yourself, I mean that. You decide your level of success. You decide if you are special or not. You decide if you believe you deserve special treatment. You decide if you tick off the wrong people and lose your breaks or lose the success you managed to achieve.
You also decide which burdens you will take on, either fully, or partially. You need to look at each burden that is thrust at you and decide what, if any, percentage of your effort you can devote to that burden while also trying to achieve your ambitions, or your dream.
Life will throw things in your path. Learn to side-step.
If you are an actor, or television personality, get 2 phones. One phone you have for friends and family. The other phone, you use for business, managers, contacts. Block all family and friend phone numbers on that second phone. Turn the first phone off when you are working, or at an interview, or doing other work.
Writers, artists, sculptors, do the same thing. Or turn off your phone when you are working if you cannot afford 2 phones. Cover the Caller ID display with a towel. Put it all in the drawer and focus on your writing, painting, or sculpting. Two phones are a better idea because some business calls you don't want to miss. Block friends and family on the 2nd phone.
You have to be there for friends and family, but you do not have to be on-call 24/7. The more people you care about, the more family you have, the more relationships, the more burdens will be thrust at you out of the clear blue sky at the worst possible moments. That is just life. It keeps running on even when you need it to stand still.
Project Management, but containing not only your work, but also your daily life, family, friends, burdens, and responsibilities. Priorities. Percentages. Time allowances. And also, to learn how to say and mean, "No. I can't. I'm busy."
If your dream is to be an artist, then be an artist. If you want to be a musician, be one. You want to be a writer; you need to write. If you want to be a celebrity, then you go all out and become one. Don't consider level of success. Just be what you want to be. Put in the time. Put in the effort. Put in the work. The level success will be what will be, but it will never rise to the level of your dream, because the more you have, the more you want, and the more you dream. The song might remain the same, but the dream never does.
Day after day, set aside the required hours to work towards your dream. Protect those hours. Work those hours. Move forward during those hours. Never ever allow outside burdens to intrude, overlap, or overlay those protected hours. Life WILL try to intrude, as will family and friends, but you have to stand firm. Don't allow them to. Don't answer the phone when they call. Ignore the knock at the door. The dream won't knock, it won't call, it will just wait on you, quietly, and will slip farther away if it doesn't see you soon. You must move towards it.
You might well have a nightmare journey and never reach the goal, but if you want to be an artist, be one, and you are one. That is the reality of it, success or rejection aside. You are what you make yourself. You are not special, but you seek to dream of creating something special.
That is the real hope of the dream, even if you do not realize it.
No comments:
Post a Comment