Dream Again

Editor's Notes

• #2 When people talk about dreams they want to achieve they’re usually talking about money and houses and cars and material things. But the dreams I come across are different to the ones that you see on MTV. I travel around the world working with people who dream of making the world a better place. All the change we aim for starts with a dream. A vision of a different future, where people face no hardship. My specific goal in the work that I do is to help make these dreams a reality, so I’ve learned a little about dreams and how to achieve them. I’ll try and share some of it with you in this presentation.
• #5 It is important to dream because dreams need imagination, and imagination involves creativity, and creativity helps you solve the problems that life throws at you. Everything we imagine we create. We dreamed of flying. We can. We dreamed of being connected. We are. We dream of saving the world. We will
• #7 Dreaming helps define who you are. One day I want to be. One day I will be. One day...
• #9 Dream big. If you reach for the sky maybe you'll touch the ceiling but that still means something. If you dream small it won’t motivate you to put the effort in. If you have no dreams, create them, and keep creating them until you find the ones that stick. Those are the ones you really care about. (Picture courtesy Stephanie Morehead’s presentation Dream Big - http://www.slideshare.net/smorehead/dream-big-2848147)
• #10 Your dreams should be about the things you care enough to take action over. Not simply the things you want but aren’t willing to work for. Those end up being wishes. The things that people just sit and wait for. And not just the things that society says you must have, like money, cars and big houses. There are many other dreams. Smaller ones and bigger ones. Of better opportunities for your families, better lives for other people, happiness, stability.
• #11 Dream in detail. Make them vivid. If you can't figure out the detail, go find out more. Ask questions. Explore. For example if you dream of being a doctor, then what kind of doctor, which hospital, where, what type of patients? Maybe after picturing your dream in detail, you'll realise it’s not really what you wanted. That’s fine. Dream again. In colour. And again. Until you find the one that sticks.
• #12 Don’t listen to the people who tell you cannot do it. That your dreams are impossible. They don’t realise that even just the journey alone will be your achievement, regardless of the end outcome. Dreams need encouragement and support. Encourage each other. Remember to encourage your children. They will get closer to their dreams through your support.
• #14 A dream is like a seed. If you do nothing about it. It remains a seed. Dream. Work out the details. Then take action. Take the first step. Dreams are useless by themselves. That way we're back to wishes. And luck alone. That’s why you have to choose the dreams you really care about. They're the ones that make you take action. The actions we take also evolve our dreams. Because we learn from action. We learn that our chosen dreams may not really be the ones we care about. We learn our strengths and our potential. We learn the things that are really important to us because those are the actions we persevere with
• #15 Use your strengths. Everyone has some. Apply your strengths to the things you care about and you will achieve your dreams.
• #16 Dreams are achieved through a combination of effort and luck. However it is often the case that effort makes luck. Samuel Goldwyn said, “The harder I work, the luckier I seem to get.” Einstein said “It's not that I'm smarter than others. It's just that I persevere longer.” There is no rush. Some dreams take lifetime to achieve. Some dreams only your children see. The fact that you dreamt and tried is a success in itself. An achievement to be proud of. Dreams often involve sacrifices, but here’s my advice. The only sacrifices worth making are those involving effort. Stepping on people, cutting corners, destroying things to achieve your dreams only result in successes that bring no happiness.
• #17 Just because you don’t achieve your dreams immediately does not mean that you have failed. It is the journey that is important. If the plan isn't working, no problem. Review it and learn. Then plan again. And persevere. There is no rush. Some dreams take lifetime to achieve. Some dreams only your children see. The fact that you dreamt and tried is a success in itself. An achievement to be proud of.
• #18 Dreams are for everyone. Here are some stories of people who have faced many challenges and difficulties but never given up on their dreams
• #19 Shanti was forced into marriage when she was 13 and faced domestic violence from day one. She had to give up her education and all her childhood dreams. She dreams that other children from her slum will not suffer the same problems, and has spent most of her adult life starting schools and ensuring education and support is available for other children in her situation. Many NGOs have come and gone and failed her and her community, but she has not given up. This is a picture of her sitting in the Youth Venture office in Mumbai discussing her dreams of introducing the program for both adults and youth in her slum, and committing to setting up a parents group to support the dreams of the young people who go through the program.
• #20 These women in rural Maharashtra dream of freedom from subjugation; of running their own businesses; being independent. They have chosen to take on group micro loans from an organisation and are achieving their dreams. This picture is from a meeting where they were discussing how to ensure that the next generation of girls from their communities are taught to dream bigger and start earlier.
• #21 Khusboo dreams of rehabilitating girls like her who’ve grown up in Indian state institutions, and leave without support when they reach 18. They are hugely vulnerable to group trafficking and struggle to find their way because they lack life skills. She has already started a project that helps 42 girls like her. This is a picture of her standing next to her plans for achieving her dream.