Dreaming is for Dreamers: The Danger of Dreaming Big
Disclaimer: This is article is an elaboration of the writer’s thoughts that aims to inspire positively, as many as can relate to the subject matter. Any controversies or disagreements caused were not intended, and the writer is not liable for misinterpretations or states of confusion. Lol.
“Aha” moment: A moment of sudden realization, inspiration, insight, recognition, or comprehension.
I was snaking through typical closing time traffic on Awolowo Road, Ikeja, heading home, stomach growling about my decision to skip our normal lunch break. The voice of the radio presenter kept me company, ensuring I didn’t fall asleep at the wheels. It was then I had an “aha” moment; insight that was until now, not apparent to me.
“There is danger in dreaming big…”
Hear me out… Let me provide a brief story of the circumstances that led to this my moment of insight as I call it. That morning, while scrolling through my BBM feed as the creature of habit that I am, I saw the display picture of one of my contacts; you know the type (every average BBM user has at least one on his/her list), the person who always changes DP (display picture) from one inspirational quote to another which just gets boring after a while. However, this particular picture caught my eye because it had a photo of Aliko Dangote, and then I read the lengthy quote from which I am extracting just the part particularly relevant to my present rambling: “…To build a successful business, you must start small and dream big.” That’s kind of a cliché, hardly a revelation!” You may say. That’s what I thought as well; I heard that a thousand times before. Fast forward a few hours to my commute back home, my companion the radio presenter was interviewing a guest live on air. On closing the segment, she asked the guest, a life coach, to give a word of advice to the listeners. The guest made a statement: “be ready to start small, but dream big!” Aha! The scales fell from my eyes! Dreaming big is the problem.
Everyone has big dreams or at least nursed one at some point in his/her life, so I believe there is at least one reader who can relate to the situation I am about to describe. It is natural for humans to dream. Many books, teachers and motivators tell you to dream big and make sure your dream “scares you” or “stretches you”. Most people have not really had a problem dreaming, although there are times when belief, rather lack, struggles to rein in those lofty desires and goals. The problem with a subset of these dreamers is taking the steps towards the actualization of those dreams. For these people, it may be because their dreams and goals are so big, they are too scared to start, or they are waiting for the “perfect” opportunity, moment and weather conditions to embark on their journeys to the place of fulfilled dreams. This results in endless procrastination as the perfect conditions will never come, the big opportunities will go somewhere else, and the dreams will never be realized.
Most aspiring entrepreneurs and business people dream of owning conglomerates worth several million dollars. For some of them, they just cannot imagine how a little drop can become such a mighty ocean, or how their meagre income and funds can possibly build the enterprise they imagined, so they end up waiting for that big grant or capital investment, wishing and thinking of what they could achieve if they had access to a million naira (or dollars), failing to start with the little in their hands. It is an inertia some never overcome. Some are able to start, but are rather too ambitious; lacking the required skill and ability to manage much, they start too big and end up with big failures. Many successful people started unbelievably small; with patience, persistence and the right opportunities, they realized their goals.
The danger in dreaming big, therefore, is not in the size of the dream, but in the failure to realize that one has to start small. Take those little steps towards your big goal, keep the big picture in mind, but do not hesitate to start building that picture with the few pixels presently available to you. The journey of a million miles begins with a single step.
“It took me 30 years to get to where I am today. Youths of today aspire to be like me but they want to achieve it overnight. It’s not going to work. To build a successful business, you must start small and dream big. In the journey of entrepreneurship, the tenacity of purpose is supreme.”
Alh Aliko Dangote.
***
Written by Dr. Adeola Dare
Let me know what you think about
this article 👍
Want your article to be featured on www.shalomtruthsmag.com? Send your article(s) to stm@shalomtruths.com to get featured.
Great piece… “The danger in dreaming big therefore, is not in the size of the dream, but in the failure to realize that one has to start small.” In addition, a head full of fears of failure can’t venture into dream fulfilment.