A fantasy is a dream without “drive”…

Drive is the inspiration and the  personal energy that transforms a dream into reality.

Without drive your dreams remain fantasies you take out once in a while – look at – have a brief jolt of “what if” and then put away and forget about.

So what creates drive?

Trauma. Plain and simple – emotional truama – that point where you are shocked out of your “sleep walking ” and suddenly wake up in a moment of clarity. A phenomenon that can go one of two ways:

It can push you into a new direction that will change and transform your life – or further solidify and cement the “place” where you now reside – maintaining your status quo.

The problem is your dreams do not live in your status quo.  If they did they wouldn’t be dreams they would be your day-to-day life!

What causes the necessary emotional trauma that literally “kicks” your life into a different trajectory?  For many it’s the stark realization that they have reached a dead-end.  The realization that they keep doing the same things over and over expecting a different result.  You know, how you  keep telling yourself that “someday” or “when the time is right” I’m going to do this or that – and of course the someday never comes and the time is never right.

For some people the shock comes when they finally realize their life is a dead-end.

That nothing is going to change. They can see the rest of their lives following a predictable pattern repeating the weeks, months and years that have already passed them by…

The “trauma” may come in the middle of the night or in a flash of realization.  Or it may come as a result of financial hardship – emotional trauma like a divorce or the death of a loved one.  Something happens to wake you up.

For those who live the life of their dreams they call this event their “why”.

“Why” is the sum total of those events which come together at one point in time to cause you enough emotional trauma to jolt you into action.  It becomes your personal story – your rationale – the very foundation upon which you build your new life.  The life of your dreams.

When your “why” becomes bigger than your comfort zone – your status quo – only then do you find the inspiration – the “juice” – the personal energy and determination to actually do something.  Your “why” becomes a constant reminder that keeps you on track day-to-day as you consistently apply your attention and energy to those actions which transform your life.

Have you found your “why” yet?

Maybe you have but you burry it because you’re afraid of what may happen if you let it out.  Maybe you’re afraid of the changes that will come once you acknowledge your true self – which you see reflected in your dreams every time your exercise your imagination.

-Bob Baran