” Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.” - Earl Nightingale
Several years ago, a friend of mine sought my advice. She was in a quandary about taking an extra course of study that would require almost two years of her time and energy and cost quite a bit of money. We talked for a while, and while she wanted the extra certification, she felt she didn’t have the time to work on it. My question to her was ”Two years will pass anyway, do you want to be in the position of having the certification and extra pay or do you want to remain where you are in your career?
Not only did she pursue and complete the certification, but the real twist was what happened after the certification. She was so accustomed to spending two hours per day studying that once completed she now had time on her hands and had no idea how to spend it. One day, she picked up a paintbrush and on a large canvas with acrylic paintbrushes painted a beautiful scene with her dog and a favorite toy on a rug. She had a raw talent she didn’t know existed and only found out due to having that extra two hours a day. She told me she felt that the talent came out of nowhere and that her hand was simply an instrument of something else that was using it to create. Since that time many years ago, she has honed her craft and has painted hundreds of nature scenes, and in the past two years has begun selling these gorgeous paintings.
When we follow our visions and pursue what’s within our heart, our true self comes out. We don’t know what we’re capable of or where the journey will take us until we walk down the cobblestone path of our goals and dreams. Yes, it takes time, though, with each bump along the way, we become stronger as that fire within us burns brighter. As we walk the path, we grow, we change, and we see our life differently. Sometimes when we can’t see the end and we know that dream will take years, it can be challenging to continue, challenging even to start.
Yet, we’re here to accomplish, to fulfill, to grow and to expand. Every successful person has begun with a seed of an idea and a desire to create. The most precious thing we have is time and although we’ve been given a lifetime to fulfill our passions and our masterpiece, we must begin, we must take that first tentative stroke of brilliance towards what we most desire. Time marches by with no regard for us and our deepest dreams. Our purpose is to fulfill what lies deepest within us, and we’ve only got a short time to do so.
The future for each of us cannot be foretold, so we must use the present to create our future. When you desire something such as additional learning, more money, or a special person, rather than analyze the idea, understand it’s something that’s important to who you are. Yes, dreams take time to simmer and percolate to a full boil. They require perseverance, determination, and a bit of skill and fortune, but ultimately, as you take a step each day toward them, the reward will be its creation. And in saying yes to your goal or dream, like my friend, you become a different person and find things within you that you were unaware you had.
Exploration opens up and invites more avenues and opportunities to further discover and explore. During the past decade, I’ve had a deep desire to build an online business that inspires others to believe in themselves and to lead joyous, purposeful, and accomplished lives. I’ve invested countless hours in studying the best self-help gurus and getting certified in courses that taught me how the mind works and how to confront and move through fear. I kept putting in the time, looking for a way to make my mark, to create something that spoke to me and that combined my passion for inspiring and motivating others while using my love of research and synthesizing information to make it easier, faster, and more effortless to learn and to grow.
My search, struggle, and time spent this last decade has rewarded me with a beautiful result, a series of audio courses that are a masterful compilation of my learnings and expertise, a course in handling fear, and several additional courses currently in the works. If I had not continued to follow my path, to put in the time even though I couldn’t see the end, my dream would be lost.
Start today to sort out what you want in your life, take tiny steps each day, and realize that every dream of every successful person took time, often years. There is a light, keep focused on that light, your dream, and don’t let the time it takes to get there be a deterrent. The time will pass, will you let it pass as it always does, or will you decide to do accomplish what you most desire while it passes?
