Get out paper and pencil… Now make this assumption:

If money were no object what are the top five things or experiences you would have right now.

Once you’ve written your list, ask yourself how close you are to achieving anything you’ve written. Are any of the things on your list what you’re actually working toward in your day-to-day life? Or are they fantasies?

Anything we achieve in our lives usually starts as a “what if”. Then we imagine scenarios about how our lives would be if the thing or experience we desired was a part of it. Over time if we keep the fire of desire burning we find that opportunities, to bring what we want into our lives, begin to appear. It usually happens in a manner which is easy and comfortable for us to take the necessary action.

What separates a dream from a fantasy is that you can make a dream come true.

A fantasy on the other hand remains something you never act upon or actually pursue. The reason is a fantasy always requires someone else to do the “heavy lifting”… A lot of frustration and unhappiness is caused by fantasies being confused with dreams.

During the years I spend as a Producer, I had many star-crossed wanna-be rock stars approach me with the same line: “If you produce me, you’ll make a ton of money when I make it.” It was always difficult for them to hear me tell them that “making it” was a fantasy. On the other hand, recording a first-class demo or album was a dream that was very possible and doable.

My message to them: “Expecting me to pay for your production is a fantasy because I have no control over what you are going to do with it after it leaves here…but this is what it’s going to cost if you want me to produce you”.

A fantasy always assumes someone else is going to swoop down and take care of your needs…

A dream is the desire for a thing or experience which begins within your current day-to-day reality . You are able to take steps yourself that gets the ball rolling. By the time the help of other people is needed you will have already created the sufficient value necessary for their participation.

You can make a dream happen. A fantasy is waiting for someone else to make your dream come true.

-Bob Baran