Are Dreams Achievable?

We often think our dreams are in some obscure place, far away, locked away in a castle keep, behind bolted doors, up a steep hill, sitting on a cloud.

It's why we call them dreams. They feel like fantasies. They feel unrealistic and crazy. Perhaps we shouldn't call them dreams at all, as the vernacular is telling us they're ethereal, ungrabbable, unobtainable.

Perhaps we should call them goals, targets, or even better, our destiny.

I remember doing my second-ever stand-up comedy gig. I was terrified, it was a packed house. I texted a friend asking why I'm doing this to myself and he wrote back "Because it's your destiny."

Holy moly, those words shot into me like a bolt out of the blue. I went from terrified to mentally ready in one sentence.

Kaboom, you don't have dreams, you have a destiny.

And your destiny is just a simple walk away from where you are today. All you have to do is take the steps. 

Your destiny is waiting for you

Your destiny is down the road less travelled, the harder road, the road covered in brambles and steep climbs, the road where it is out of sight, over the horizon. You have to feel its pull, you have to know its there even though you can't see it.

There is no map for this road, and no one walks it with you. In fact, most people will think you're crazy. They can't feel your destiny, only you can.

In contrast, the ordinary road, the road most travelled, is smooth and concrete. It's a road shown to us by employers and risk-averse family and friends, they wave a set of car keys in our faces and show us cruise control options and the heated seats.

The ordinary road is easy. It's tempting. It's sensible.

But here's what they don't tell you, these two roads are the same length and the same journey time. The road less travelled is more intimidating, but it's the same length. The road less travelled is harder, but it's more rewarding, the road less travelled you have to find, it isn't shown to you. That is all.

You might look a the road less travelled and not want to tackle it. You'll tell yourself a million lies; you'll get lost, it's too risky, maybe your destiny calling isn't real and you're imagining it.

But the biggest risk, the real risk, is taking no risk at all.

The only outcome of not taking a risk is guaranteed disappointment. You'll hate yourself for not trying and you won't be able to look at yourself in the mirror.

Then you will be angry with the world when really you're angry with yourself. 

The road most travelled looks easier but is actually much, much harder. In the long run.

I read somewhere that everyone tells you how hard it is to be an artist, but no one tells you how hard it is to not be an artist.

Life is hardest when you're fighting against yourself, against who you really are. Your destiny will keep calling, and you can ignore it as much as you like, but it will never go away. You were born to fulfil it, and every moment you're moving away from your destiny is a moment of incongruence. It grates, it hurts, and it makes life hard. That's your smooth open road, one full of pain and regret.

So don't worry about taking a leap of faith and getting lost in the brambles of the road less travelled. Besides, you don't even need a map for this road, you already have an internal compass within you, a guiding light, an inner voice that will never lead you astray. Follow the calling.

You don't need a map because you are the map. 

Sure, there will be many intersections along the way, and many temptations to get out of the jungle and onto that smooth asphalt. Every time you step off that hard road, onto the comfort of the road most travelled, you know you're not doing the right thing. You'll feel it inside, that voice will tell you, the gut twist, the tight chest, the feeling of shame, they are all instructions. Listen to them.

Follow the voice through the thick brambles, over the rocky slopes, over the horizon. Your dreams are right there, your destiny is waiting, just waiting for you, no one else. It's not in some impossible, mystical Shangri-La, it’s just a walk away from where you are now.

It's not too late to start. Step off the sleek concrete and into the wilds to meet your destiny. It's a shorter journey than you think. All you've got to do is start.