Dream Big

Please raise your hand if you are a dreamer.

We all have something very special in common.  We’re dreamers.  We’ve all lain in a field, stared at the stars and dreamed.  We’ve dreamed at our desks, in the shower.  We dream just about everywhere.  And yet, only some of us make our dreams real.  So few, in fact, it makes you wonder – is there a secret to making dreams come true?

I think there is.  I first discovered the secret to making dreams come true when I was in the 8th grade at St. Denis School.  I was 12.  I became fixated on the dream of driving.  I wanted to drive in the worst way.  But I didn’t just want to drive.  I wanted to drive something special, a 1967 Camaro – a hot rod.

I had four years to make my dream come true, and it dawned on me that I could either hope my dream would come true – or I could plan to make it happen.  I decided I should plan.  So the first thing I did was tell all my friends and all my family about my dream – in as much detail I could. I wasn’t sure why I did this – probably just excitement more than anything else – and I wasn’t sure whether they’d share my excitement or not.  But at least they knew how important it was to me.  I figured that couldn’t hurt.

Next I realized I’d need some cash – so a job was in order.  I asked around and found a paper route in my neighborhood that was available.  I took it.  I put a big steel basket on the front of my bike, and every afternoon for the next couple of years I threw my papers, collected my route and saved my earnings.

The other thing I realized was that a dream that takes years to make real can also be easily forgotten.  I needed to keep my dream close to me at all times so I wouldn’t lose focus.  To focus, I drew pictures of my Camaro, my dream.  I drew pictures in my notebooks, in my textbooks., on my book bag – everywhere I could.  I imagine some people thought I was a little weird, but for me it worked.

In the Fall of 1980, three years into my dream, I saw the ad in the paper that read “Camaro, 1967, partly restored, needs work, $100.”  I remember thinking Wow!  There it is – and at a bargain price, I convinced my dad.  My dad and I jumped into the pick-up truck and headed out to inspect my find.  We found the Camaro sitting under a blue plastic tarp in the seller’s driveway.  “Partly restored” and “needs work” may have been understatements.  She looked really dead. Flat tires, rusty quarter panels, interior removed, engine seized, boxes of parts in the trunk.  Not exactly the dream I’d sketched.  But I had a big smile on my face.  I handed over my hard-earned $100, and with the help of a tow truck, brought my Camaro home.  My dream took a giant step toward being real.

Over the next 12 months, my dad and I transformed the Camaro from a metal shell into the coolest ride in town.  We rebuilt the engine, installed the interior, fixed the body, added headers and exhaust system, fat tires and chrome wheels.  Every day we got closer and closer to my sketches.  It got tedious from time to time – and expensive, but when I got behind the wheel for the firs time, there was no doubt it was worth it.  I was, finally, living my dream.

So what did my Camaro teach me about dreams?  Well, for one, I learned that dreams don’t just come true.  Like a farmer’s field, dreams need to be worked and cultivated before they come to life.  And dreams need to be shared with the people who can help you make them real.  Dreams are fleeting and, without some help, they may just disappear.  And achieving a dream takes action, it takes a plan and it has to stay front of mind.

So please, all of you dreamers, keep dreaming!  Dream big!  Big dreams are the best kind.  But don’t just wish for your dreams to come true.  Share them, cultivate them, take action and do what so many will not – make your dreams real!