Once upon a time there was an eye surgeon
who decided to live his dreams. His particular dream was to
practice medicine in underdeveloped countries and to sail around
the world on a yacht. Such a radical dream meant he would never
become rich or famous. Because this was such an important
decision, the surgeon knew that he should spend a large amount of
time looking into its pros and cons, and he should closely examine
the impact it would have on his life. Therefore, he totally
dedicated five thought-filled minutes to this decision. Those
five liberating minutes were all he needed to start walking on the
path to his dreams.
The surgeon now knew
where he was going, and what was he was going to do with his
life. But there were still several important lessons he had to
learn, and those lessons focused on security, survival, and stuff.
He learned that when
you travel on the path to your dreams, there is no such thing as
security. It just doesn’t exist, and it makes no sense to worship
at the altar of security, because security is a false god. Life
is inherently risky, and the bigger your dreams, the more risk you
have to take to make them come true.
He also learned that in
the long run, we are all dead. Life has no survivors. Since you
only get one life which is far too short, he decided that he
should make his life into what he wanted it to be, and that it
should count for something good.
Finally, he learned
that no matter how much stuff you accumulate on your journey
through life, you can’t take any of it with you when you die.
Therefore, he decided to not spend a lot of time and effort in
piling up a mountain of money and other acquisitions that would
slip instantly from his grasp at the moment of his death.
Once he realized that
there was no security, that there were no survivors, and that you
can’t take it with you, he became a free man. He was liberated to
live his dreams.
Deciding to live my
dreams was one of the smartest things I ever did. Hmm. Perhaps
it wouldn’t be a bad idea for you to do the same.
