Peter Persona

    I’d like to talk about dreams today. Not the type of dreams that we have at night when we sleep. I’d like to touch on the goal kind of dreams. The dreams we have today about where we want to be in the future. 

    I like dreams. Dreaming is fun. It gives us a hint of what our lives could look like. In some ways dreams also allow us to create ideas about how to make the world a better place. 

    Do you have a dream and a vision for your life? I know that I do and am certain that you have some too.

    Dreaming is a healthy activity as long as it is followed up with actions to make that dream a reality. I should probably say that every single dream doesn’t necessarily need to come into the real world. I once wanted to live in a castle, then I learned about property taxes and the amount of money one of those things would cost. I haven’t been pursuing that dream lately and I’m okay with that decision. Some dreams simply aren’t practical. In spite of this, dreams still need careful attention or they will remain no more than a figment of the imagination. 

    Sometimes I find myself falling back into the security of dreams. 

    What do I mean by this? 

    Let me explain. 

    Dreams, like daydreams are fun; they make me feel good. It’s like a warm fuzzy feeling inside. Unfortunately, sitting around and daydreaming for hours doesn't help to accomplish anything in the long run. It won’t make anything tangible and real on planet Earth. There are days when I don’t accomplish as much as I could have, because I hesitate to get up and do something.

    Dreams without actions are like blossoms that never bare fruit. They’re pretty to look at, but never provide substance. They never grow to their full potential and are constantly in a state of fruitlessness or dormancy. 

    A blossom on an apple tree doesn’t taste as good as an apple. (I’ve never actually ate an apple blossom. I’m guessing  that they aren’t very filling.)

    Looks like I’m on a role with agricultural analogies. I grew up on a farm in rural Ontario, so please bear with me. 

    A dream that is never cultivated is like a field that has been plowed and then never planted. Do you know what is going to grow on that field?

    Weeds will grow up and before long the entire field, (or dream in our case) will be choked out. 

    I’m going to assume that your dream isn’t to grow vegetables and am going to try to get off of this track of farming parallels.

    Let’s think of some examples of figurative weeds that attack our dreams. For me it can be little time wasters like social media. Sometimes I go to check my Instagram page for a just a second and then end up scrolling through pictures for a half hour. This can waste tons of time when I should have been working on more important things like writing new material for my shows. 

Here’s a few ideas that you can implement and work in your dreams today.

1. Make a list of things that you want to accomplish tomorrow, next week and next month. Written lists are a great way to break large projects into smaller pieces and keep everything on track. Who doesn’t love putting check marks on things? It’s satisfying.

2. Set time aside to work on your dreams everyday. Procrastination can attack more than just homework. 

3. Create the content now that you want to work on in the future. This is especially key if you are like me and work in entertainment. We live in an age of information and it’s crucial to optimize the tools that we have. Want to write? Start a blog. Like acting? Join a community theatre or open a YouTube channel. 

   (By the way, Speaking of creating content. I have some exciting updates planned for my YouTube channel this year. You may have noticed that it’s pretty barren at the moment.) 

   Now let’s wrap this up and let you get back on track to achieve your dreams. 

   It’s time to plant your dream. Water it, care for it and nurture it into it bears fruit. You’ll thank yourself in the future. 

   What are you going to do today in order to achieve your dream?