Many people give up too quickly on their dreams, under the guise of being pragmatic. Not that pragmatism is wrong, but it must never be taken out of context. Pragmatism is not an escape hatch for avoiding the hard work dream-making requires. It is an essential dream-making process, which helps us recognize what is important, worthwhile, and fulfilling about our dreams. It is pragmatism that separates the fanciful from the doable, then plans out the best available route to success (dream realization). Whether its Mother Theresa, Bill Gates, or Oprah Winfrey, dreams remain dreams until the pragmatist awakened within them.
However, people still avoid their dreams under the guise of pragmatism. I hear people say, “I’ll become a (fill-in the blank), because it gives me (fill-in the blank). It is generally some practical pursuit based on sound reasoning, but lacks heart, vision, or passion. People, circumstances, and experiences trick us into becoming doctors, engineers, or entreprenuers, because it sounds practical and pays well, instead of pragmatically examining our dreams and gifts for clarity of execution. Being a pragmatic dreamer will provides insight into what gives us fulfillment, helps others, and brings about radical change in the world (Mother Theresa, Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey). Unless you are filling in the blanks with something meaningful, well, life’s just one big blank!
Thousands, maybe millions, are experiencing a gaping hole in their existence, because they took pragmatism out of context. They may even gaze up at the stars and wonder,”Why am I unfulfilled.” The stars remark, “Because you’ve left your hopes and dreams up here. Instead of distilling your dreams and gifts into a workable plan, you’ve abandoned them for a practical life of servitude that brings you nothing but a safe, joyless bubble of near meaningless activity afloat in life’s doldrums. Awaken pragmatist and give structure to the dreams that will give you life.”
When you think about it, many of today’s inventions were built by pragmatic dreamers. Consider the services and products we regularly consume that give us joy, comfort, or fulfillment. They all began as fanciful, silly, or risky endeavors, such as flight, electricity, automobiles, etc. Dreams are the essence of life. However, a dream is just a dream without a healthy does of pragmatism, too. As the children’s song goes, “… Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream.” Become a pragmatic dreamer and give substance to your dreams.
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