What are your hopes and dreams? Do you often find reality crashing those hopes and dreams? I think many of us often wonder as we live our lives – what exactly is the distinction between hopes, dreams and reality – but finally – does it really matter? Each word comes loaded with its own heavy meaning depending on your reality. Hope might be the most ethereal, rising or falling depending on the day. Dreams are stronger. They’re the things you want so badly that you won’t even admit them to anyone for fear of diminishing that dream. You hold onto them tightly. And reality, it can often be what’s standing right in front of you, seemingly unavoidable obstacles that try and derail your hopes and dreams.

I heard a quote from a physicist working for many years on what has been and, for now, continues to be, an unsolvable riddle about the universe. He said – Jumping from failure to failure with undiminished enthusiasm is the big secret to success. I took him to mean that when it comes to success at anything – you must continue to try, fail, try, fail – with equal enthusiasm each time until you finally reach your goal. Now the final goal may not be anything like what you started hoping to accomplish but the goal gradually becomes clearer as you journey through all those failures. Most importantly, don’t lose the joy you get from the journey. Sometimes whole lives can be made up of only the journey, never reaching the goal but often finding all the reward in the living. It’s important to get where you’re going with as much enthusiasm as possible – I’d even say joy.

Sometimes, if you’re too focused on the goal you miss noticing things that might show you something better, more useful – even that your original goal isn’t right for you. One thing I’ve learned by talking to people who follow their dreams is while they may doggedly pursue their goal, they’ve also kept themselves open to serendipity – those happy accidents – that often propelled them beyond their original dream. Now, you say, what about reality? Reality intruding on your dream can be money, family, even friends who don’t support you. You know what I say about reality –it’s what you make it – ask anyone I’ve interviewed. All of them had obstacles to overcome, financial insecurity, terrible injury, age – told they were too young or too old, and sometimes doubt or outright failure. What do they all have in common? Failure did not deter them from their dream. How do you get past failures? It’s different for everyone. One thing that does remain the same for all who reach their dream is to never give up.

Live enthusiastically, whatever your journey.

For inspiration – listen to Tori, Douglas, Michelle, Kelly, Kimba, or Lester…

Comments, questions? – now it’s your turn