CHILDHOOD DREAMS

“A child’s mind is not a container to be filled but rather a fire to be kindled.” - Dorothea Brande

Think back to your first memories as a kid.

How did you feel about the world?

What did you want to be when you grew up?

How did you feel about what others thought of you?

It’s so interesting to observe little kids. Toddlers who just want to get into everything, run around and play, and mimic everything that their parents do.

I find it fascinating.

Honestly the best thing about children is their unique ability to not give fuck about what others think of them. They do what they do and if you don’t like it, that’s not their problem.

So why as adults do we care so much about the perception of those around us? Especially people we don’t even know?

Somewhere along the way, we changed. We began to do what we thought others wanted us to do. Started living our lives in a way that would make those around us happy. We learned to sacrifice our own happiness for that of our family, friends and colleagues.

I can remember being a little boy, running around the yard playing. I’m not sure how normal it is, but I spent a lot of time thinking about what I wanted to be when I got older. More than anything, I wanted to be a professional baseball player.

I wanted to make it to the big leagues, hit home runs, and come back to my hometown to sign autographs. Inspire young kids like myself to follow in those same footsteps and if that plan didn’t work out… I wanted to help people… Influence them. Be the role model that I always looked for in my own life.

Though I was, honestly, a dog shit baseball player, the adults in my life started telling me that I needed to be more realistic about who I wanted to become. I needed to find a “real job” and live like everyone else.

I was never ok with that. I never fucked with that mentality.

No matter what career I thought about pursuing, or what constituted a “real job” in my mind, it was never going to be enough for me.

I know many people, like you, have felt this same way.

When did it all change for you?

Can you remember?

What was the moment when you gave up on your childhood dream to focus on the reality created by those around you?

That child version of yourself understood something that you as an adult don’t.

You can be anything you want to be.

You can do anything you want to do.

We are only limited by our minds; minds that have been developed and conditioned by the perceptions of others. That’s our only limiting factor.

The ONLY THING holding you back from being exactly who you want to become is OTHER PEOPLE’S FUCKING OPINIONS!

It doesn’t have to be like this forever. While there are adult responsibilities that we have to tend to, there is something about finding that kid from your past, and pursuing that kid’s dream. Living the life that you always wanted to live, despite what anyone else thinks.

So I leave you with this….

When your child tells you that they want to be a professional baseball player when they grow up, how do you respond?

Do you crush their hopes and dreams before they ever begin?

Or do you support them and encourage them to pursue those dreams until they make them come true?

I think you know the answer.