Going After Your Dreams

I want to continue the discussion of the Early Adopter vs. Lagger concept. One of the areas this concept applies to is in our dreams or goals in life. I think many of us have a desire to excel, to contribute to the world, to make a difference and to have our contributions have a positive effect on society. We want to be the best at what we do. We have a dream of who we want to become. Unfortunately, other people don't always seem to have that same vision. Some people think you should have a different vision, or their vision. There are others who doubt and say things like, "you would have had to start when you're young. You'll never be able to catch up." Have you ever heard that before? I think that's absurd quite frankly. I think that we are just as capable when we are older of picking up a talent or learning a new skill. Now, part of the reasoning for comments like those is the fact that as you get older you have a lot more responsibilities and obligations. You supposedly have less time. I consider myself a busy guy. I have a lot going on. I have a wife, two small children with one coming in a week or so. I have work, church responsibilities, etc. But what I have realized is we always have time, the problem is in how we use or prioritize our time. Maybe I've digressed a little bit. The point I wanted to make, though, is it is never too late to go after dreams. True, maybe if we procrastinate we may miss opportunities, but another one will come. Jump on and run with it when it does. How does this relate to the Early Adopter vs. Lagger discussion? The thing you have to realize when you start going after a dream is there is almost certainly going to be some late majority or laggers in your life that don't quite catch the same vision. At least, not yet. What should happen, is you take criticisms and doubts into account, and do your research. But if it is still a viable and a realistic dream, you should go for it. Or at least you start in the path that leads you there. In fact, that's a key point. You're not going to reach your dream tomorrow. Maybe not in the next few months or even years. But, if you are diligent and stay focused and keep working hard, you will eventually arrive at your final destination. What prompted this post was something I was reading in the Book of Mormon. In 1st Nephi 17, Nephi is commanded by the Lord to build a boat so that he can cross the Pacific Ocean and arrive in the now American Continent. His brothers thought that was a ridiculous idea. Nephi had never built a boat, how was he going to all of a sudden know how to build a boat, especially one that would actually make it across the great waters and land safely on the other side. It seemed absurd to his brothers. To make a long story short, they do complete the boat and safely made it across the ocean and started a civilization in the Americas. Nephi succeeded, despite his brothers trying to bring him down. His brothers were definitely laggers. So I say go for it. If you have a dream, you want to acheive something, go for it. Do what it takes. You will find that those missed tv shows and other distractions didn't matter anyway. You need to work hard. As my wife pointed out, "You can't reach your dreams by dreaming." You'll feel better for having accomplished something, and perhaps you could be in a better position to make a difference to the world.