The Dream, the Struggle, the Victory

In every business, in every circumstance of our lives, this law applies: The law of Dreams, Struggles, and Victories.  Through history, countries, individuals, inventions, and corporations have been subject to this law. It is the law that shapes success, and ultimately the law that determines the outcome of our lives. The law of Dreams, Struggles, and Victories is a very simple law, but one that is often misunderstood.

Dreams:

Each of us has dreamed great dreams. Maybe it was wealth, cars, happiness, retirement, influence, powerful positions, whatever it was we dreamed, we dreamed big! But many of those dreams never happened. Why? Because they were simply wishes.

The Dreams I’m talking about are thought out, they’re researched. They can be practical but they can also be crazy, far out, even ridiculous. After all, they are Dreams! There is never a dream too small, nor too large. But the dream must become something more than just a thought or daydream. It must become something real, something you can ‘have’ or ‘attain’, something you can ‘become’ in your future.

One of the best ways I have found to visualize and focus on my dreams is to have them in front of me. Whether its a drawing, a collage of pictures, or writing out what you want to have happen, it helps to have it in front of you to see and review often. Keep it somewhere you will see it constantly, save it as your desktop or screensaver, frame it and hang it by your desk. You want to be able to see it when the going gets hard, because this Dream becomes the motivation to get you through the Struggle. Personally, I enjoy taking images from searches, making a collage on my computer and saving it as my desktop. I always have my computer with me, it saves my Dream as the screensaver, my loading page, I see my Dream every time I close a window. I constantly see my Dream. Find out what works best for you, find something that will remind you of your Dream, and put it in a place where you can see it often.

Struggles:

The Struggle is the hardest part of the law for people to understand. There is a struggle associated with every attainment. Every great leader, every successful business, every nation, struggles before victory. The world will dish out the struggle proportionate to the Dream. Why? Because you have to be ready for the Victory.

You may be saying… “ Wait! I just want the Victory!  I didn’t sign up for a plan of struggle and hardship.” But you did. Right now, could you stand before a board of executives and make decisions for a multi-billion dollar corporation? Could you get up in front of a crowd of hundreds or thousands and perform a song or deliver a seminar? Could you lead a nation? Could you write a book? Your dream is a dream because you haven’t attained it. And you haven’t attained it because you’re not ready for it. You are not, yet, the person you need to be to ‘live that dream.’ The Struggle is the refiner’s fire, molding you to be that person.

The struggle teaches the principles and lessons to help you become ready for the Victory. That is why there is no shortcut to success. In the rare event of a victory attained without struggle, one is not prepared to live the Victory.  Look at history, look at your own life, and you will see. Every accomplishment came with struggle… a struggle you endured because of the dream you held. It was the Struggle that taught you to be or become more than you were.

Victories:

      The Victory. The glorious day you look around and realize the Dream is yours to live. Many times we don’t realize we attain the Dream, because of what happened in the Struggle. The Dream became part of life; again, the struggle is designed to do this. The Victory is ours when we are ready, and we develop into the Dream. The only way to attain a Dream is through the Struggle.

       So what does this mean for you? Whether you are the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, or a student trying to survive Algebra, the law applies. And the Victory always matches the Struggle.

Big dream, big struggle, big victory. Make sense? Small dream, small struggle, small victory. Make sense? Perfect! Now, what happens when you dream big, but have a small struggle? Right! A small Victory.  One might say “But I dreamed big! I had huge goals, a bright future, a vision of who i wanted to be, what I wanted to do! I had great intentions!” Yes, but you only endured a small struggle. You did not change to become worthy of the big Victory. The world rewards you for the Struggle, not for the Dream.

       In conclusion, dream big, dream huge. It takes the same amount of energy to dream huge as it does to dream small, so dream massive dreams. But understand this law and you will understand success and you will understand history. The bigger the dream, the bigger the struggle, the bigger the change that needs to happen, the bigger the learning, the bigger the obstacles. But in the end, the bigger the Victory!

       When you learn to love the Struggle, you’ll realize you’re living your Dream of achieving your Victory.

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What is Victory?

What is Victory? Honestly what do you think? Post it below, comment, repost, and share. What is victory?

        I tend to think of a battle or fight when I hear the word victory. Instances of wars won, Alexander the Greats, George Washingtons, maybe the UFC or MMA fighters, victorious in the ring or octagon. Next thought is usually a sport, a champion claiming victory over a league or reigning champion and victor.

        Rarely if ever, do I think of a person, an individual, as victory. It’s not something you can possess or become; it’s more of just a fleeting instance of greatness. But to me that wasn't what I was looking for.

        So I decided to ask Merriam-Webster for their opinion on what victory was. I felt like here, we’re talking about a very different kind of victory, and becoming victory has to be something you can embody, develop, almost more of an attribute than an instance. Their reply, which I find, fits very well, defines victory as such: 1. The overcoming of an enemy or antagonist, or 2. Achievement of mastery or success in a struggle or endeavor against odds or difficulties.

       

        So if you're like me, and the word victory automatically triggers sports and fighting, then the first definition is perfect. But for what we’re discussing here, Webster said it right. Victory, in a sense that you can possess, develop, become victory is an achievement of mastery or success in a struggle or endeavor against odds or difficulties. That’s exactly what we’re talking about here.

        See we need to get away from victory being a single event in time, the conquering of an opponent, the conquering of an obstacle. No doubt, these are victories, but what if you want to become victory? The dream, the struggle, the victory process teaches you the laws of success, of chasing dreams, even of happiness. You can become victory, a victory in your success, the achievement of your dreams, and not just once, over and over again. Becoming victory is more about your character, your outlook on life, your diligence.

        There is no limit to the victory you can achieve or become. When you become victory it is the beginning of a new life, and you get to learn it along the way. You wont reach it before you’re ready, I promise, that’s not how the process works. Armed with this process, you can achieve victory in any aspect of life; it applies to any dream and desire.

       

        So, what is victory? Victory is a person, a person who understands the concepts of the dream, the struggle, the victory. Victory is state of mind, a level of learning, a being of something better. Better simply because now the dreams that were out of reach are now within reach.

        You can be victory.

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Astonishment and Immortality by Studs

I think the only reason I remembered it was the guy’s name is Stud.

            In his book, Working, Studs Terkel pens this:

 “Work is about the search for daily meaning as well as daily bread; for recognition as well as cash, for astonishment rather than torpor; in short, for a sort of life rather than a Monday through Friday sort of dying. Perhaps immortality, too, it a part of that quest” –Studs Terkel.

           

            I catch myself often just going through the motions of a day. Work, school, eating, sleeping, whatever it is, I think we get into a rhythm and lose part of the vision of what it all is for.

            Now, whether you’re religious or not, I think the last line of the quote is the kicker. It’s either immortality with God and happiness, if you’re not religious, immortality in the minds of those who come after us. What is our legacy? What is our purpose? Specifically what is your purpose for being here and now and then what will your legacy be?

            Work is what we do, the ideas we create, the life we live. If you go through your own life, maybe you find that it is similar to some instances in mine. The same, repetition, up, eat, work, sleep, repeat. But isn’t that what Studs is talking about? We are in search for astonishment rather than torpor.

            We search for meaning, as well as what keeps us alive. We search for recognition just the same, if not more, than we do cash.

            So rather than living a Monday through Friday sort of dying, seek out purpose and astonishment and meaning. You can do this without changing jobs, moving cities, really the only thing you have to change is your outlook.

            Each day have this goal, either to write in a journal and have something extraordinary happen, or to do something sporadic and random. Call up a friend, spend time with the people you love. Overall, seek out activities that will help you feel alive.

            And a small secret: the more we search daily for meaning, the more we will find. And, perhaps immortality, too, comes with a simple daily meaning.

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The Value of Time

            Has it ever occurred to you how similar time and cash are? The thought struck me the other day, and I keep thinking about it. it honestly started to change how I spent my time, looking at it more like an investment than just time spent.

            There are some subtle differences between the two. First money is flexible, some people have more, a greater flow of cash. Also with money you can borrow, go into debt, charge, pay late. With those there is also interest, deductions, rates, etc. So in general cash might be a little more complicated than time.

            But time is fixed, its simple. no matter who, no matter where, you have the same 24 hours as everyone else in every single day. There is no judgment between races, ethnicities, genders, ages, anything. It’s fantastic like that. So if we use cash in some sense to determine value, can we do the same with time?

            Absolutely.

            Now value is determined by the price usually right? In the same way, the price of time spent on a project, with a person, becomes our showing of value for that certain project, or person. We spend more time with those we like, less with the ones that might annoy us. If we feel a part of a project, engaged, valued in the team, we tend to spend more time, and thus we can say we value the project more than if some of those factors were lacking.

            As I thought about this, it occurred to me that in this sense, the value is communicated in time, that our time becomes a subtle investment wherever we spend it. just as some people spend money on big TV’s, fancy cars, big trips, clothes, etc, with very low returns, likewise some people invest in companies, stocks, education, with a return where more money comes back over time.

            So with time, if we invest our time, we should be looking for more time? No,  rather a better use of time. So we spend time in school, learning, studying, why? Is it to get a good grade? Or is it to learn the skills for a profession and get a return on your time investment later? We spend time with family. We value them, and invest in the relationships we have with them.

            This changed everything that I do with my time. From the moment I wake up to the time I crash at night, my time is an investment into others and myself. you hear over and over again, that the best way to influence someone is to spend time with them. That’s because the more time you spend with them, the greater your investment in them and yourself, that relationship grows, and if you’re looking for friendship, help on an exam or project, it can be there to help support you.

            I suggest looking through you schedule. How much time is spent on random activities without returns in relationships or knowledge. Seek to fill your time with meaningful investments and look for the returns!

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The Wolf of Wall Street- Change

Now, I haven’t seen the movie, but this struck me. Starting a new year, beginning of a week, whatever you’d like, you dont have to cling to the person you were in the past. We should learn from what experiences we have, and let those shape our decisions today.

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Dreams, Struggles, and Victories

In every business, in every circumstance we find ourselves in this life, this law applies. The law of Dreams, Struggles, Victories.  If you look into the history of countries, individuals, inventions, corporations, every single one goes through this law. It is the law that proves ad shapes success, ultimately the law that determines our lives.

It’s a very simple law, but one that is often misunderstood. I think we each have dreamed after great things. Whether it be wealth, cars, happiness, retirement, great positions, whatever it was, we dreamed of what it would be like. But I would guess that many of those dreams never happened. Why? Because they were simply wishes.

The Dreams we’re talking about here are thought out, researched. They can be crazy, far out, ridiculous, but dreams nonetheless. There is never a dream too small, or too large. But it must become something more than just a thought or daydream. It must become something real, something in your future.

The Struggle is the hardest part for people to understand. There is a struggle associated with every attainment. Every great leader, every successful business, every nation, struggles before victory. Now the world will dish out the struggle proportionate to the Dream. Why? Because you have to be ready for the Victory.

Wait….the Victory is just what I wanted. I didn’t sign up for a plan of struggle and hardship for that Victory. But you did. Right now, could you stand before a board of executives and make decisions for a massive corporation? Could you get up in front of hundreds or thousands and perform a song or deliver a seminar? Could you lead a nation? Could you write a book? Whatever your dream is, it is a dream because you have not yet attained it. The reason is, that you are not the person ready for living that dream. The struggle is designed to teach you to become that person.

The struggle teaches the principles and lessons to help you become ready for the Victory. That is why there is no shortcut to success. Even when attained without the struggle, you are not prepared to live with the Victory. Look at history, your own life if you want, and see that every accomplishment came with struggle, struggle endured because of the dream you held to, a struggle that taught you to be or become more than you were.

           

            The Victory. The glorious day you look around and realize the Dream is yours to live. Many times we don’t realize we attain the Dream, because of what happened in the Struggle. The dream became part of life; the struggle is designed again to do this. The victory is ours when we are ready, and we develop into the Dream. The only way to attain a Dream is through the Struggle.

            So what does this mean for you? Whether you are the CEO of a Fortune 500 company with billions of dollars in revenue, or a high school student just trying to make it through Algebra, the law applies. And the Victory always matches the Struggle. So lets mention that. Big dream, big struggle, big victory. Make sense? Okay, small dream, small struggle, small victory. Still with me? Perfect. Now big dream, small struggle. What comes next? Right, a small victory. But wait now, I dreamed big, I had great intentions. Yes, but you only had a small struggle. That means you did not change to become worthy of the big Victory. See the world rewards you for the Struggle you work through, because of the Dream you had.

            So this to close. Dream big, dream huge. It takes the same amount of energy to dream huge as it does small, so dream massive dreams. But understand this law and you will understand success, you will understand history, you will understand the world. The bigger the dream, the bigger the struggle, the bigger the change that needs to happen, the bigger then learning, the bigger the obstacles. But amongst all of that, there will be a greater Victory because of that struggle.

            Learn to love the struggle, the learning, and always keep your dream in front of you, and one day, you will look around and be living the Dream.

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Do what you can....

‘do what you can, with what you have, where you are.’ –Teddy Roosevelt. 

Amazing. Simple. the time is never perfect. But it must be good enough. Tough decisions must be made, and it is not always comfortable or convenient. But you have all your experience, your friends and family support, your God beside you, step forward with faith.

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