Indians invented the idea of Dream Catchers to snatch up the nightmares roaming during the night. But what will protect us from the thieves that try to steal our dreams?
Part one – The boy that protected his dream and left others to their opinion
In the Far West, horse thieves, when caught, were hung high-and-dry. Because without his horse a man had no means to make a living, to travel, and survive in a hostile environment. The horse made him a real « Man ». Do you hear the mocking laughter when the cowboy walks into the town on foot after having lost his horse?
But there is a much worse situation!
Do you see that man or woman who believed in his/her dream but saw their faith worn down with phrases like:
“Let’s get realistic !” (insulting tone)
“Who do you think you are ?” or “At your age you need to stop dreaming and get a job!”
And sure enough, he starts to think it is not normal to dream. He no longer works in the direction of his own dream but scrambles for the rest of his life to try and meet other people’s expectations!
Here is the story of someone who protected his dream from dream-stealers.
A man called Jacky had a horse ranch in the west of the United States. He made it available for education therapy for teenagers in difficulty. One day, he explained why he allowed them to use his premises.
He told the story of a young man who was the son of an itinerant horse trainer. They went from ranch to ranch and from racetrack to racetrack. So schooling was often interrupted for the boy.
When the boy was in Grade 8, his teacher asked him to write an essay on what he wanted to do later in life.
He spent the night writing up 7 pages about his dream on having his own horse ranch. He described it in much detail. He even drew up a plan of how he would organize his 500-acre ranch with the stables and racing track. Plus he designed the floor plans of 4800 square foot house he would build on his dream ranch.
He put all his effort into this project and handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received it back with a red circle around the “F” the teacher gave him. And the note said, « Come see me after class ».
Part 2 – The boy that decided his dream was more realistic than the opinions of others.
The young boy with a big dream but a bad mark went to see the teacher.
The teacher said, « your dream is not realistic for a young guy like you. Your family doesn’t have money and are always on the road ».
“You need a lot of money to own a ranch. You need to buy up the land, the horses and also to build your house. You’ll never make it”. Then the teacher said, « If you rewrite the essay with a more realistic goal, I will give you a better mark.
The boy went home and thought about it for a long time. He asked his father what he should do. His father answers, “You decide but I see this is going to be a big life-changing decision for you”.
Finally after thinking about it for one week, he handed in the paper with no modification. He said, “You can keep the ”F”. I’ll keep my dream! »
The Dream come True
The owner of the ranch with a gesture, had the teenagers admire the countryside and the horses. He added this : « I’m telling you this story because you are seated in the 4800 sq foot house build on a 500-acre ranch. I still have the essay I wrote which I framed and hangs on my chimney”.
Then he added : « The best part of this story is two years ago this teacher came with a group of 30 teenagers to go camping for one week on my ranch. While he was leaving, he said « Look Jacky, when I was your teacher, I was a kind of dream stealer. I stole the dream of many children. Thankfully you had enough characteur not to abandon yours. »
Do not let anyone steal your dream. That is what makes you unique and distinguishes you from others. Others feel threatened because they have not given themselves the means to reach their dreams. So they do everything to stop you from accomplishing your dream. If you succeed that will take away their excuses.
Conclusion
Follow the dream you have in your heart. That is what makes you a “real man or woman”.