Are You Living Out Your Dreams?

I had the privilege of interviewing Jim Hodges for a teleseminar titled, 30-Second Commute: Working from Home.  Jim reads history books, making audio recordings that make history come alive for students young and old. He travels to home-schooling conferences and other educational events to share his products. And now book publishers are coming to him to ask him to produce their audio recordings.  So how did Jim find this line of work?  Several years ago, while out on a dinner date, Jim’s wife asked him, “If you could do whatever you wanted to, what would that be?” Jim immediately replied, “I’d read history books.”

So how do you take that kind of dream and turn it into a real income-producing outcome? Most people would have finished dinner and gone back to the drudgery of real life. However, with Jim, the seed was somehow planted.

In submitting his work description to me, Jim said, “Honestly, I never work anymore. The entire business, from recording to marketing to traveling to conventions, all of it, is immensely pleasurable for me.”  (You can listen to a sample of Jim’s enthusiastic reading here: http://www.hentybooksontape.com/)

What could you do if you acted on your real dreams rather than squashing them?
The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is, which he can do, nor does he know until he’s tried.
 —  Ralph Waldo Emerson

For years I have scratched my head at the people who hate their jobs but do nothing. Or those who, even when it's obvious the company is closing, freeze like a deer in the headlights.  Why is it often only upon being fired that they take any action at all?  Where have their “dreams” been hibernating while they lived a life of comfortable misery?

I've always emphasized the importance of seeing what you're going to over knowing what you're going from.  Here’s an important point.  If your current daily actions are not moving you toward your dreams, then you are probably moving away from your dreams.  Our daily actions are never neutral.  What you are doing now is either moving you toward the things you want to accomplish in life, toward becoming the person you want to be, toward fulfilling the ultimate purpose for your life – or away from those same things?  What actions are actually moving you away from your dreams and your purpose?  Everything counts – either for or against your desired direction.  And the research shows that most of the time, it's better to create a radical change than to just attempt tiny adjustments.  Hey, moving to Tahiti to open that windsurfing shop may be the best path to your success after all.  Commit to radical change to improve your life and give expression to your dreams!

Dan Miller is the author of the best-selling book, 48 Days to the Work You Love.  In his book, Dan shows how work can be a meaningful, fulfilling part of an authentic life.  As co-host of 48 Days to the Work You Love online radio show, Dan shares his process for developing a focused, balanced and truly successful life.  Dan’s principles have been clarified in his books, 48 Days To The Work You Love, The Rudder of the Day, 48 Days To Creative Income and the upcoming No More Mondays.