15 Reasons to Start Following Your Dream Today 1

“One day, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it’s worth watching.” unknown

Do you have a dream? A wish? A desire?

Do you ever wake up and wonder: What would it be like to love life?

People can tell you “follow your dream,” but is anyone doing it?

Not someone in a TV show or movie—a real, living, breathing human, just like you?

 

Following Your Dream TodayIs it possible?
The Depression

Three years ago, I couldn’t sleep. Night after night, I’d lie awake at 2 am. My heart would pound in my chest.

The anxiety overtook me. I welcomed it. If I fell back asleep, I would head back to that place the next time I woke. The place I despised was My Update Studio.

Fifty hours a week to a job slowly, inch by inch, sucking my life out.

I was twenty-six years old, but I didn’t feel twenty-six. I felt old, tired, and overwhelmed.

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As I write this post, I remember that night. Staring in the mirror. I could barely look at myself. The breathing in my chest pushes in and out rapidly. Tears rushing down my face. I was a grown man, or at least I was supposed to be.
Allowing Fear to Stop You

I was so scared. I’d put all my work experience, degrees, and life into my career. Yet, I wouldn’t say I liked it.

I had gone all in—and I was losing.

I couldn’t argue with the tears flowing down my cheeks. Something needed to change.
Follow The Dream

I know what it’s like to feel depressed, lost, and burned out. But I also know what it’s like to follow a dream.

I’m thirty years old, and my life is a lot different from four years ago.

Soon after that experience, I committed to discover and follow my dream.

What’s my dream? I want to become a ninja.

Not a ninja in the traditional sense. It’s a childhood dream.

Over four years, I quit my job in America and moved to Japan, and now I train extensively in martial arts.

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I arrive at the dojo at 7:30 am Monday through Friday. Over the next year, I will train for over 1,000 hours in Aikido (a martial art).

I’m living, breathing proof that it’s possible to follow a dream.

I’m thrilled to wake up each morning. I love my life in a manner I never knew possible. But this post isn’t about me but all of us. More importantly, it’s about all of our dreams.

I hope with all my heart; today is the day you begin the journey to turn your dream into a reality.
15 Reasons to Start Following Your Dream Today
1. You’ve always wanted to do this.

When do I think about the question: What would you do with your life if you had a million dollars? I can now say, “Exactly what I’m doing.”

You’ve always wanted to follow your dream—so start today!
2. You’ll experience things you could never have imagined.

I’ve taken Japanese tea lessons with a fifty-year-old woman. I’m learning a new language. I eat foods that I never knew existed.

The pursuit of a dream will give you experiences you never thought possible.
3. You will become courageous.

At some point, your dream will mean so much to you that you will stop at nothing. When the invention overtakes you, you will not allow it to stop you, no matter your fears.

You will stare your fears in the face. You will become a courageous person.
4. You will become an inspiration to those around you.

By doing what I want to do instead of what others want from me, I have inspired others to follow their dreams.

Focus on your dreams, not what others want you to do, and you will do the same.
5. You will realize the incredible things you are capable of doing.

When you pursue your dream, you will face challenges you could never have anticipated. You will allow nothing to stop you. You will shock yourself at your ability to plow through any situation.
6. You will like yourself more.

You will feel excited and energized by the life you are choosing to live. You will feel proud of what you are doing. And you will like yourself more for it.
7. Life will become beautiful.

As you realize your potential, you will learn the potential in others. You will start to recognize the beauty of life, you, and others.
8. Your joy and happiness will become contagious.

People around you will feel better about themselves and life because you prove it is possible to live a dream!
9. You will connect on a deeper level with the force of the universe.

The pursuit of a dream requires an act of faith. You step forward and take action. When you do this, you will face experiences that will bring you closer to the force of the universe.
10. You will smile more.

Life is better when you smile more. If you follow your dream, you will enjoy yourself, and this will happen!
11. It will give meaning to everything you do.

Before I started following my dream, I often wondered, “What’s the point?”

Now, I know the answer: Every action brings me closer to my dream.
12. The food will taste better.

Yup, you read that right! When you step forward with your dream, you will feel more alive and better appreciate all the beauty life has to offer. So, yes! Even the food tastes better.
13. Every day, you will learn new things.

Every day I learn more Japanese, martial arts, and about myself. I’m challenged and excited. The deeper I get into my dream, the more I know.
14. Your happiness will show on your face.

It’s true! When you are optimistic, excited, and happy, guess what? You are drastically more attractive.

At twenty-six, I looked stressed out and overwhelmed. At thirty, I look happy and excited because I am happy and excited.
15. You will love being around you.

When we pursue a dream, we connect with our heart’s desires. It’s a way of telling our soul, “I love you.”

It’s pretty great to hang out with people you love—especially when it’s yourself!

What has stopped you from following your dream?