“At every crossroad, follow your dream,” Leland Thomas said. “It is courageous to let your heart lead the way.”
In college, this philosophy signified exactly how I thought I wanted to live my life. Though no stranger to adventures in pursuit of dreams (most notably a two-year teaching stint in Fukui, Japan), at 36 I must concede there have been times recently when the safer bet has won.
Then I had a chat with my friend John, a computer engineer.
In pursuit of a dream to experience life abroad, John told me he was moving his family to Spain.
“I’ve got a wife and four kids,” he said. “What’s your excuse?”
“The economy,” I replied, to which John responded by listing the various ways the economic situation was helping him find better deals all around. Regardless, he said, “You’re not going to change your dream because of the economy.”
My friend’s willingness to pursue such an adventurous, non-traditional course for the future challenges my more conservative approach. Yet, he’s not the first person I know who has decided to make the most of obstacles in pursuit of a dream.
Jenny Leonard, founder of Pirata Designs, started her own mobile graphic design business shortly after graduating from the Art Institute of Dallas in 2003. Though self-employment hasn’t always been an easy ride, Jenny has no regrets. “I’ve been able to design my life in a way that suits whatever it is I want to do in that moment,” she posted on her blog. “I’ve pursued everything from racing professional motocross to volunteering to world travel. I live in a constant state of fulfillment that a desk job could never give me.”
Margaret Roach, editorial director for Martha Stewart Omnimedia, resigned in December 2007. Her memoir, “And I Shall Have Some Peace There,” explains why. Quitting, she blogs, began the process of “starting to realize a dream I’d had for decades but always been too afraid to try for — to live in my rural garden full-time, and return to the personal creativity that got lost in my executive years in publishing.”
Twenty-three-year-old Lucas Ward of Oregon, interviewed in a AP-Viacom telephone survey earlier this year, explained how he turned adversity — not being able to afford college tuition in spite of working three jobs — into opportunity. Ward rose from gas station employee to homeowner, investor and entrepreneur in pursuit of his own dreams of success.
Ward said, “A lot of stuff in the news is telling everyone that they can’t, that the economy is crumbling and there’s no room for anyone to do anything. But I’m watching that being disproven every day.”
Yet what about the people still struggling to pay mortgages and find steady employment? Artist Lori Salisbury encountered many such people who had lost their homes after deciding in 2009 to put her belongings in storage and trade her comfortable mountain existence for life on the road. Though the experience humbled her, it didn’t deter her from her goal. She finally settled in Montana, where she continues to create and travel.
“I am having to walk my talk,” she said.
The potential for failure accompanies every risk; the fortunes of any or all of these trend-setters can turn at any moment. Yet isn’t the same true for those of us who defer our dreams, preferring the safe and reasonable? Regardless of the risk, it seems clear there are steady streams of people using uncertainty as an opportunity to find the resources to change their lives and get clear about what it is they truly want to be doing.
Whether courageous or foolish, I must confess that I’m inspired by those whose choices support the belief that there is never a bad time to pursue a dream.
Perhaps my friend John is right. He’s certainly not alone.
Fordrena Griffith (drena_in_awe@ ) of Aurora works as a bookseller, writes and teaches music.
