Adebola A. Oni
“While growing up, one habit I love engaging in happens to be day dreaming.
Often times, I walk home from school and what I do for nearly all the time spent on the road is getting lost in my dreams because I have so many.
After doing this for a while, it always dawn on me that all my dreams are just mere wishes that may NEVER come to pass. I had NEVER been told at that time that it was possible to build castles in the air and complete it by building its foundation on the ground.”
The above lines were extracted from my book, The Lessons of Life, a book that arose out of the numerous dreams I had as a young man. I decided to share this with you because it resonates with everyone living on this planet. People think of so many things but they never believe it is possible to achieve them.
How many times have you been told not to deceive yourself whenever you share a dream with people close to you? How many times have you been coerced to submission when you decide to be different and people make jest of you?
I learnt my first lesson in using dreams to transform one’s life while in the University. I saw a book with a friend titled, “Unleashing The Tremendous Potentials Within You” by Bill Wayman, Up till that moment, I have NEVER read an inspirational and it was indeed an eye-opener.
The only dream I used to know is the one we have while sleeping. It appeared strange to me that it is indeed possible to dream with one’s eyes open! I just couldn’t believe what I was exposed to and my mind was given a lift that made me decide I will, from then onward, use dreams to transform my life.
At that point in time, I was virtually at the lower rung of the ladder of life. A young chap being raised by a single parent along with two other sisters. Life was so challenging then. I took out my pen and jotter there and then and wrote out all I wish to become. I wrote down my five-year and 10-year dreams, which included things I wanted to do, my type of business, etc. At the point of dropping the pen, it dawned on me that I was ready for life.
The dreams I wrote down became a compass for my life and guided the path of my life. It is impossible for you to hit a target that you cannot see same as becoming what you didn’t even envisage. One of my major dreams is to be an expert on the Internet, something that was coming newly into the country then. I didn’t only want to be an expert, I wrote that I will be running a business along the line and also train people on all I have discovered about the Internet.
Two years after I wrote down my dreams, I started a web designing business. Let me make it clear: at the point of writing the dreams, I didn’t know anything about computing or the Internet! I had no personal computer of mine and couldn’t afford one at that time as well. The fact that I wrote those dreams down provided an additional impetus for me to get things done.
I had to endure so many things to make this dream come true. I did some jobs that a graduate shouldn’t do, passed through a lot of challenges but the fact is that everything I dreamt about became a reality. I still run my Web Designing business up till this moment and it has been a wonderful experience. I have been training on how to use the Internet and also design websites for over five years now and I am regarded as one of the Internet Experts around.
The book I quoted from also came as a result of the dreams I wrote down on that fateful day. I became addicted to reading books and I started reading about different people from different backgrounds and all the numerous experiences they went through. I told myself that I will experience life and all that it has to offer and one day it will all culminate in a book. The Lessons of Life is the reality of that dream.
“Whatsoever the mind of man can conceive, if he believes, he can achieve.” That was said by Napoleon Hill close to a century ago and the truth in that statement is still as true today as it was then. To achieve greatness in life, you must first conceive it. See it with your inner eyes before anyone else. Once you see it, then you believe and achieving won’t be an issue.
Our dreams, goals, visions or whatever you choose to call it, represent guidelines on how our lives will turn out. Life is not meant to be lived by chance but by design. Have you designed your life? It doesn’t matter who you are today, SIT DOWN and start planning your life because five, 10 years from today you will be somewhere and only you can determine where it will be.
I am sharing this with you because I dreamt of this years back. When the future arrives, where will you find yourself? Who will you blame for not been where you are supposed to be? No one, but yourself, my friend. Use this article as a wakeup call to DESIGN YOUR LIFE and use dreams as the springboard to a better tomorrow.
This is to your success as you become a creative dreamer.
Adebola Oni is a young Nigerian passionate about touching lives using his speeches, trainings and writings. He runs an Empowerment and Motivational platform, Naija Motivation with his inspirational website at: http://www.naijamotivation.com. Hundreds of articles are available for your upliftment on the website.
