Anatomy of a Dreamer

We're born with a head, two arms, two legs, two eyes, a nose and so on. As my thoughts and experiences poured out in preparation for my book, I noticed they fitted into a structure something like the parts that make up the human body.

Thinking about them in this way helps me interpret and understand what I have learned. A body without legs won't run far. A body without a mind can't operate. In the same way, a dreamer without a work ethic or without imagination and planning won't get ahead. A body needs all of its components to function as it was intended. A dreamer needs all of the characteristics to move ahead.

How have I identified these characteristics? I've seen them in the lives of other people who are pursuing their dreams. Not just the well-known personalities you read about in motivational books, but also the unheard-of people like those I meet in my travels. They are my inspiration.

It's a big list but don't be daunted by it. In the same way that a dream is conceived and born, it must also go through 'infancy' to 'childhood' to 'adulthood'. We don't expect kids to make adult decisions and run a home or a business.

If you're in the early stages of thinking about your life purpose and where you'd like to go, don't think you have to achieve it by next month. Allow yourself to know what qualities are important, then be patient with yourself and help them mature bit by bit as you move ahead.