Dreaming and Doing

by Raymund Tamayo

You have dreams.

Sitting silently. There in remote corners of your heart.

Some big dreams when you were younger (I’d liked to be the president of the Philippines when I was in primary school) but didn’t go the way you may have planned.

So you put them in sidewalks and settled for status quo.

Sometimes, people around you help quench them.

Remember that old friend or relative who told you that your dream is unreasonable, too big, and will not be able to support you financially?

Those sting.

And so you believe that putting your dreams in the sidewalk is safe.

They win. You lose.

But it’s good to dream big dreams.

I’ve been playing it safe for many years.

I was a boy who constantly chased the affirmation of others: parents, teachers, mentors, peers, bosses.

I’ve always taken into account what they say, what they want me to do with my own life.

So I went the safe route, the average route: finish college, get a degree, find a job, and work my way up in a big company.

My outer life’s working well.

But on the inside, I feel stressed, battered, and bruised.

I feel like I’m living someone else’s life.

I feel like an eagle unable to spread its wings.

In my heart, I know I have a message for the world, I have something important to contribute, I have a difference to make.

But following the safe path is holding me back from fulfilling my purpose.

Then I began finding the courage to take risks.

There was this unknown force that’s been hovering at the back of my mind that told me, “It’s time.”

Last October, I resigned from my job of ten years.

It was the scariest thing I’ve ever done.

But also the most liberating.

Believe it or not, it was the only risk I’ve ever done in my life.

I’m finding myself excited to learn that this is how it feels to take a risk.

It’s empowering!

Now, step by step, I’m moving closer to my dreams.

However unreasonable, too big, or uneconomical they may be.

I’m shutting down these voices in my head saying that I can’t and it’s impossible.

I only have so much time in this world, and I want to spend it where it counts.

On being the person I was born to be. Bent on fulfilling my purpose, and living a life of lasting impact.

Now, with all the opportunities God placed in front of me, I’m doing.

Dreams are only dreams unless you do.

So you have dreams? Then do.

Don’t just dream. Start doing.

You are not an accident. You were born to accomplish something. You were made for a purpose.

You aren’t here just to please other people and live the way they want you to live.

You are here to please your Creator and live the way He meant you to live.

You are created to do something the world needs. If you forever play it safe, then we all lose.

You only have one life to live and you don’t want to regret how you’ve lived it.

What happens between living your dreams and today is up to you.

 “Your life is a quest to create something the world needs. If you fail, we all lose.” – Jeff Goins