Daydreaming Doers

"There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other."
~ Douglas Everett

Neil is one of the most unforgettable characters you will ever meet. Neil was the finance officer at an automobile dealership when I met him (I am sure by now he is anything he wants to be). For those unaware of this, the finance office is second only (sometimes number one) to the sales department in generating revenue for a dealership. It takes a special individual to man that desk. The good ones can engage a customer, push his or her products, think on their feet, and consistently close the deal. Neil was all that and more. He was one of the most focused and determined individuals I have ever met. My first meeting with Neil was unforgettable. I was at the dealership to work with the senior managers on increasing the overall performance of the company, kind of tighten things up a bit. So as you might expect, to many I wasn’t the most popular person in the world. Not Neil though, he seemed open, friendly, eager to hear what I had to say and willing to try anything that would improve the “bottom line,” as he said.

When I first went into Neil’s office to talk I couldn’t help but notice he rarely sat with his feet under his desk, instead he chose to sit sideways or backed away somewhat. After a few minutes of conversation Neil paused and said, “check this out.” He motioned me to come around the desk and look underneath. To my amazement Neil had a full size tire under his desk, wheel and all, just sitting there. Amusing. “OK,” I said, “I’ll bite, why do you have a tire under your desk?” With all the enthusiasm of a circus barker, Neil excitedly explained that the tire was a real tire to a real car he loves to drive, just one he doesn’t own yet. Neil claims that tire doesn’t allow him, for even a minute, to give up on his dream. And if that wasn’t enough, he pointed to the calendar behind him which had a picture of his “new” car pasted to the date he is going to purchase it. Clearly, Neil is a driven man, somewhat obsessive maybe, but definitely a person who will get what he wants out of life.

I share this story with you in an attempt to convince you that people who have not given up on their dreams are more than likely to achieve them.

I am convinced many adults have given up because they have been brainwashed into thinking most dreams are unrealistic. To those I say, shame on you. Think back to when you were a child and try and remember how much fun it was to dream and role play all kinds of fantastic things. I know at 11 years old I was one of the best pilots to ever fly. In fact, there was a stretch one summer, of weeks and weeks, when everyday my buddies, Steve and Harold, climbed the same old big pine tree, settled into the pilot seats (big fat limbs), took the controls of our bomber (weird shaped limbs sticking up from the big fat limbs), and flew in total bliss for hours on hours. You know, although I never did actually fly, all that play acting did make me think about all the things I needed to know if I ever decided to actually do it. For a while there I had a plan, at least in my mind, for actually becoming a pilot. Yup, a plan to be a pilot, that is, until my neighbor, Bobby, brought his cousin, Gloria, with him over to play. I never did think much about flying after that but that’s OK, my daydreaming abilities grew even stronger.

But anyway, I know the power of dreams. I have seen it over and over, both personally and in people like Neil. If for no other reason than its fun, take a few minutes and allow yourself to dream. Be selfish about it, dream big. No one will know what you’re doing and I bet while you’re dreaming you’ll enjoy it. That should be reward enough, but if your fear of facing reality, after the dream, prevents you from even trying, please reply under comments and I will tell you ways to overcome those fears.

Speaking of daydreaming, I find myself doing it a lot when driving. The other day I’m in “my own little world,” tooling down the highway, when behind me a gorgeous new Mercedes pulls out to pass me. But instead of cruising by, it pulls up alongside, toots, and sure enough, sitting there behind the wheel is Neil with a grin on his face that would bring tears to a mother’s eyes.

Email me at stu@simplegrowth.com for some great planning tools.

Poetic license runs rampant, but all in the spirit of the message.