So I talked to my older sister recently. She was talking about wanting to change careers, possibly start her own business. Currently she is a registered nurse and makes very good money. However, it was never her dream to become a nurse. In fact it was our parent’s dream. My parents instilled in her the notion of pragmatism when it came to careers. “Be a nurse or be a doctor or something in the medical field because it is a sure route to making good money.” I think they said something along those lines. I for one ditched their belief and went on my own path… a creative path that has yet to see monetary rewards. Yet, I think I’m happier than her. She told me during our conversation that she didn’t really know her passion. I asked her did she still have some burning childhood desire/dream within her. She replied, “no.” Okay… “What gets you going right now and makes you excited,” I asked. No response. Wow was it really possible for someone to not have a dream?! I guess I’ve been in this entertainment town called Los Angeles far too long (b/c here everyone and I mean EVERYONE’s got a dream). After much probing, my sister did mention her fiance wanted to open up a Greek restaurant (the guy is Greek so it’s quite fitting). But then I thought isn’t that his dream? Anyway, she finally revealed that her dream is to be ridiculously rich and have a good life. Okay fair enough. And I told her: Your Dreams Are Worthy! So are everyone else’s dreams really. So going back to this idea of attaining the good life and her fiance wanting to open up a restaurant. I asked her do you know anything about running a restaurant??? Or a business? She’s a nurse so I know she can take good care of her clients 
. But seriously, if she wants to achieve her dreams she’s got to have a game plan. So that’s when I told her it’s time to take action. And I’m not saying to achieve that goal within a week. I’m talking baby steps. I told her to pick up or buy a book on running a business and/or running a restaurant. I felt she needed to start expanding her mind first because all she knows is nursing and also listening to mom and dad. See, to be a successful entrepreneur (or successful anything) you gotta have the guts, drive and resolve to go against the status quo to realize your dreams. You can dream but sooner or later you gotta take that action towards it. And again it doesn’t have to be all done by next week. One step at a time. Anyway, my sister thanked me profusely on giving her the idea to read a book on starting a business. Funny though, I would think that would be the first logical step someone would take in her position — research. And if after researching through books, magazines, or the internet you are still convinced that’s the path you should take then the I would recommend interviewing people who have made it successfully in that particular field. I have talked to many successful people in my field and it’s only inspired me and pushed me to become better at my craft and finish projects. So yeah talking to people in the field really helps motivate oneself. To find these people, you can attend seminars, panels, networking events, go though your career center at school, asking your own network for referrals, etc. The possibilities are endless. Really, if you’re serious and you put it out there and take action when the inspiration occurs, the universe will bring the right people and opportunities at you. No sweat. It’s up to you to grab them. Just remember: Your Dreams Are Worthy!!!
Archive for the 'Dreams' Category
I was at the gym yesterday when I watched an interesting little show on CNBC entitled, “The Big Idea.” Anyways, it’s about normal people getting their big break when they come up with an invention. These aren’t Edison-like inventions, either. After seeing these inventions, you ask yourself, “Why didn’t I think of that?!” Yeah, I had that exact thought in my mind. For instance, there is this young woman who invented a deodorant remover for clothes. Actually, she found a sponge in her house that does the trick and marketed it as a product that takes off the white marks. And guess what she’s making now??? The host of the show said her salary was $2 MM!! Wowwww. There were more interesting “inventions” such as a baby/apron/towel and beach pockets—a set of pockets that slide unto your beach umbrella which you fill with sand so that it becomes a weight for the pole.
Anyway, I noted something interesting about all this. First, they all had issues of their own that they were sick and tired of dealing with. Second, they all incurred INSPIRED THOUGHT! Yes, inspired thought. One of the ladies mentioned that the idea just came to her head. Another said that she prayed for better to happen, and not much later, her invention came to her in a dream. Third, they took that inspired thought and made something (or found something).
Now, I’ve learned that you have to act upon inspired thought. You have to go with your gut instinct and believe that it will answer your prayers. These inspired thoughts or ideas that come in a dream all came from the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind knows all. Seriously, it does. Every million dollar invention or business (or nowadays billion) that exists today had to have come from somebody’s head. The car you drive, the button on your microwave, the website that has all your friends neatly stored away…. Yeah believe it or not, those big ideas came from someone’s head. Hence, idea in “big idea.”
The reason why only a few succeed in attaining their dream is because those few believed in their idea unconditionally. They didn’t care what hurdles or obstacles that stood in the way (and believe me they do appear!), or if someone they encountered laughed at the idea and said, “Why would you want to do that?” Instead, those nay-sayers just fueled them to go even further. Those people had perseverance.
Okay now some of us can’t think of a product. Well a big idea doesn’t necessarily need to be some sort of invention or gadget. It can simply be a service, a business, a Hollywood script, a book, or literally whatever you can think of! I know that there are thoughts like, “But there’s too much out there, there’s no room for my product or service.” Think again. Throughout time, things are remade, tweaked better, or just looked slightly different and still sold. There’s no such thing as competition. You could waste your time comparing yourself to other similar products or services (which many companies do unfortunately in order to fill their competitive analysis research) or you could enlighten yourself with their good qualities and be inspired to add to theirs or create even better qualities for your product or service. For instance, there are tons of different types of toothpaste out there. And there is still room for more (I’ve been a Colgate user but recently switched to a smaller brand called Tom’s of Maine). There are tons of designer jeans too. And somehow Fred Segal is still coming up with more.
Therefore, pray to your subconscious, look within you …the answers are within. If you are short of ideas, ask your brilliant mind. Your mind teems with new ideas–all you need is to tune in. Okay, okay I know a thing or two about writers’ block or creative block or whatever you want to call it. But as long as you passionately want to create something then it’ll come naturally. Just don’t force it.
But remember, the thing that will make you a fortune is going to be a big idea. So dream big
