Member-only story
My Journey from Daydreamer to Ambitious Realist
The difference between immature wishful thinking and the mature pursuing of a dream.
“Get real”. That’s what people would tell me.
You see, I grew up a daydreamer. I would fantasize about my own life, envisioning situations, scenarios, and a whole lot of achievements.
All this was well beyond the realm of possibility.
My thoughts about my future were totally disconnected from reality.
I was an immature young man with a ton load of wishful thinking.
The American dream
I grew up in Rhode Island, the Ocean State. In Rhode Island, sailing boats are a big deal. Some of the world’s best sailing boats have been built in or around Narragansett Bay.
My family lived just a few blocks from Edgewood Yacht Club, and as a child, I would often dream of owning one of those yachts.
Going to school, my teachers taught me the Walt Disney version of the American Dream: if you can dream it, you can have it.
And I adopted a faith, not in God Almighty, but in believing. That is, if I believed enough, believed in myself, and believed in my dreams, everything would be all right.
