Dream Year 2012

An elderly man, in the final days of his life, is lying in bed alone. He awakens to see a large group of people clustered around his bed. Their faces are loving, but sad. Confused, the old man smiles weakly and whispers, “You must be my childhood friends come to say good-bye. I am so grateful.”Moving closer, the tallest figure gently grasps the old man’s hand and replies, “Yes, we are your best and oldest friends, but long ago you abandoned us. For we are the unfulfilled promises of your youth. We are the unrealized hopes, dreams and plans that you once felt deeply in your heart, but never pursued. We are the unique talents that you never refined, the special gifts that you never discovered. Old friend, we have not come to comfort you, but to die with you.”

The above passage gets to me every time I read it.  How many of us will have our dreams buried with us? I don’t want to measure my life by the numbers in my bank account, but instead by the number of people I helped and the number of ideas I give birth to. I always carry with me a Moleskine journal. It contains my ideas, hopes, observations, and sometimes frustrations. It is my dream book.

I always start the new year by buying a new Moleskin. It symbolizes a fresh start. This year I opted for the Star Wars limited edition (pictured above). It’s pages are pregnant with possibility.

I recently read an article by Ben Arment entitled Your Idea vs. The World. It is a great read about brining your idea to life — but what really stood out was the following line:

At one job, my boss mockingly referred to my Molekine as my “happy book.” My livelihood is now being sustained, by God’s grace, by what’s in my “happy book.”

It is a wonderful feeling when you realize you are not alone in the world. Ben has an amazing idea called Dream Year where, according to the site:

Each year, a group of audacious people goes through a process to achieve a larger than life dream in one year.

That sounds like the me I dream about. My kindred brother David Messner (who happens to be a mutual friend of Ben) and I applied as a team (a first for Dream Year). We were accepted into the class of 2012 and today had our first coaching with Ben. I am looking forward to each of the remaining 365 days (thankfully a leap year), and even more for my Moleskine to come to life.

Here is hoping your 2012 is audacious and that you have a dream come true.

~ John-Erik : @johnerikthinks
1-2-12
Orlando, FL

Acknowledgements: The beginning quote was from “I Believe in You” via: The 5 Book.

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