If You Have a Dream, Be Careful of These 5 Types of People.
If you have a dream.
And I don’t just mean a vague goal of ‘giving back to society’ or ‘being rich’.
Or aspirations of being famous and successful.
I mean clearly defined milestones that will draw you closer to where you want to be in life.
Short term goals & Long term Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAG)
— kind of dream
You’ve got to protect it fiercely, like a hawk.
But you’ve also got to be mindful of who you share it with.
Because if you tell your dreams to the wrong kind of people,
They will wear you out.
They will make you believe that your mission is impossible.
Here is the list of people who would do more harm than good in your mission of achieving your final goals.
- Pessimistic People.
These are the people who always view the glass as half empty rather than half full. They will always find a way to convince you of 99 reasons why it wouldn’t work rather than cheer you on to find that 1 reason why it would.
2. Tunnel Vision People.
These are the people who focus on short term profitability rather than long term gains. They usually skate to where the puck is, not where the puck is going.
3. Inexperienced People.
It doesn’t make sense to explain your goals to someone who has not seen what you’ve seen and expect them to understand. Everybody has their own opinions, and these people are quick to subject their beliefs onto you, knowing full well that they have not given it as much thought as you did.
4. Complacent People.
These people enjoy their comfort zones so much, they are easily intimidated by the scope of your vision & goals. Expressing your enthusiasm undermines their own confidence and jeopardizes their sense of self-worth. To defend their self-esteem, they are quick to write you off and be unsupportive of your ventures, not because they hate it, but because it protects them and their ego.
5. Play-It-Safe People.
These people naturally gravitate toward safety and stability. Rarely do they take the path less traveled and go big on poker. They might take the occasional risk, but if you have a daring ambition that challenges their belief, it is only normal for them to arch an eyebrow rather than cheer you on your mission.
Why Am I Writing This Now?
It’s because COVID has seen the birth of many many small businesses popping up on my Instagram. Some of these business owners might be doing it as a quick way to generate pocket money during their free time, while others might have a dedicated dream of remaining self-employed given the tricky circumstances in the job economy riddled with entrenchment and instability.
Therefore if you have…
1) a roof over your head
2) food on the table
3) a dream you want to achieve
Now is the best time to try, take risks, fail, learn, and go through that feedback loop many times over.
Do anything you can to get you closer to your milestones.
Now is the time for optimism.
You need cheerleaders, not naysayers.
You need believers, not non-believers.
Funny enough — I’m writing this from my personal experience.
Over the course of the past 2 years, I’ve been blessed with the chance to talk to, meet, and pick the brains of the smartest people around me.
I’ve also tried many more things in my undergraduate life than the people I shared my goals and dreams have.
But I can’t tell you how many times my sense of optimism has been shot down by friends and family who meant good intentions.
Energy radiates. Negative energy is contagious. It spreads to every cell of your body until you lose the slightest hope of ever being extraordinary in life.
That was why I decided to take a long stint away from social media.
I needed to create a bulletproof internal system.
I needed to instill myself the belief that ‘anything could be made possible’ as long as you believed in it, and executed diligently on it.
Of course, it still bothers me the fact that people only start believing once they see the results with their own eyes, But during the process, many tend to call us dreamers with ambitions as delusional misfits as if we’re an obstruction to society.
So, if you aspire to, or already have a dream that intimidates the people around you, that is a good sign that you might be onto something.
Seek advice from those who have been there before you or you think can genuinely fast track your way to your goals, and don’t wallow in the mud-filled with opinions of non-believers that would never have supported you in the first place.
This life is way too precious and way too short to not be taking any big hairy audacious risks.
This is a reminder that if no one claps for you, it can be really difficult — but you’re gonna have to clap for yourself until you find a close-knitted group ready to sacrifice because they share the same beliefs as you do.
P.S. Please reach out if you felt the slightest sense of inspiration. Knowing that my words have encouraged you in any manner really means the world to me. Let’s empower people to take more risks, and be supportive of their ventures instead.
