As soon as you write the first word of a newspaper column, you’re making several HUGE assumptions:

1) That you have something of value to offer.
2) That someone wants to receive it.

These two points are exactly what makes writing for a living such a risky – and rewarding — proposition. Writing may not be YOUR dream job, but something is. This column is for those secretly hiding their dream, instead of proudly shining it from a hilltop.

This column carries one message:
YOU CAN ACHIEVE YOUR DREAM. It’s a fact. And it’s worth repeating. YOU CAN ACHIEVE YOUR DREAM. Why am I so sure? Experience. Experience is what you gain while working on achieving your goals and ultimately your dream. Experience is the bridge that lies between thinking you can and knowing you can. The catch is that experience is invisible, until you throw yourself into it. Which is the only time it becomes very visible. Sometimes painfully visible. The pain of experience will test the level of your commitment to your dream. Commitment is your shield.

The greater your commitment, the less hardship will injure you. But let your commitment wane and the adversity you’re sure to encounter will kill your dream. You’ll quit and spend the rest of your days wrongly believing you weren’t enough to fulfil your dream. Imagine, telling a roomful of employees you leaving the megabucks of a corporate management job to become a writer for example. At that moment they may either laugh a silent laugh or just burst out in laughter.

That nakedness you will feel, is what you’ll feel when you first step from the security of what is into what can be. Chasing dreams is lonely business. When you try to tell others of your dream, you’re talking gibberish, or even rubbish in some cases.

While you mentally see what you can become, they can only see what you have BEEN. The huge gap is impossible to explain. At best, those you tell will give you a confused look and wish you well. At worst, they’ll call you an idiot, and clearly explain why YOU (they’re really talking about themselves) can’t achieve your vision.

When it comes to your dream you’re on your own, unless you find someone with similar aspirations. Your level of commitment should be so high that problems should never stop you, just force you to learn new things. Dreams are not meant to be accomplished by some and not by others.

If you have been given a dream, rest assured that you have abilities to achieve it. So you make a commitment and begin. You really can make a commitment to achieving something and have no idea of how you’ll do it at the time you commit. Make a strong enough commitment now and you’ll find out the “how-to” later. That’s the beauty of chasing dreams. You start climbing one mountain and others come into view as you progress.

You not only achieve your original dream but you receive a bonus of opportunities as well. But first you have to start. The first step appears to a big risky stepping into nothingness. Don’t believe it. You’re stepping into your new life.