What You Need to Know before You Start Chasing Your Dreams

It was the 5th Annual Alumni hangout of the class of 2010 held at one of the finest parks in the city. 

An array of young carpet grass lied lazily at every tiny space without interlock as a variety of orchards stood meters apart ensuring no one runs out of oxygen during their visit to the park. The barbecue and suya spot stood gracefully 3 minutes, 18 seconds walk apart while the children’s play station was a minute, 5 seconds walk.
 
The hangout took place under the 40-capacity thatched roof hut decorated with touches of yellow and black. 
 
“Hey Man! Glad to see you here! Thought you wouldn’t make it due to a business engagement…haha” Tunde uttered jokingly as he sips the iced half-filled glass of wine.
 
“Kikikiki……Man must rest now. Moreover, I have people managing my company…” Obed said with a yelp.
 
“Mehn! I envy  you, bro…”
5 hours 30 minutes, 4 seconds gone. A faint sigh of relief hovered over the soft grey cushion he lay on. 

“I envy you, man! If only I started out earlier like you” 

“you don’t mean it! You own that company?” 

These and more comments replayed in a loop in his head as he lay on the $700 couch scrolling his phone wearing an overwhelming smile. Those comments were made more than 20 times by different personalities at the event. The “Most Successful Man” award stole the grandeur of the exquisitely furnished living room as it stood gracefully on the glass stool.

Who is Obed?

Obed is a graduate of Computer Science. During his undergraduate days, he was tagged “Obs Wash” because he offered laundry services to students and sometimes lecturers. He was commended and jeered alike. 

Amazingly, he had a wealthy background but his knack for neat and ironed wear inspired him to start offering laundry services. 
 
63 days after graduation, he set up a laundry business and employed a few people. He acquired skills in fashion design and went for a year’s course in textile production. A year, 7 months and 6 days later, he partnered and started a fabric-producing company, while he employed someone to manage his laundry.
He also sort and worked with tech-savvy in computer programming to establish a programming college. Obed merged his businesses and registered them under the name, “OB Group Of Companies.” He was rated second in the most successful under 35. 
 

After the Alumni event, quite a number of people met him and showed interest in attaining success in entrepreneurship. Encouraging them, he assured them of his willingness to help them if they are intentional and committed to their entrepreneurship journey. Even though he achieved so much, he didn’t seize to recount the failures in the journey.

He thought of how he was going to help change their mindset on having an “all rosy” journey lest they give up when they step on thorns. Obed made a decision to write to encourage anyone that craves true success.

He wrote
“Dear friend, I need you to know you are amazing and unique potential. Just because you are not applauded now, doesn’t mean you won’t be, someday.
In as much as I need you to know that, I also need you to know you might desire to give up at some moments in the journey you are about starting. Hence, I needed to write to you. You see, I’m not going to pat you on the back and tell you, you will bring your dreams to reality smoothly, having no hitches.


I won’t say, you are going to find it easy projecting that idea beyond your imagination, or fulfilling your life’s purpose.
I won’t lie that the  journey  will be on a leveled ground; having no pot holes, bumps, bends, traffic and contours. Friend, I won’t.
I won’t try to convince you that whatever field of entrepreneurship you’ve decided to someday wallow in it ocean of success, you will not at a time be disheartened by the sharks you will bump into. 


I will only want you to know that your journey will not be as swift as the journey of impulses of fear or shock to the brain for interpretation. It won’t be as comfortable as lying on a bed of roses with the fragrance of peach and jasmine.

It won’t be easy attaining success. At times, it’s going to soar and drop you on cloud 9 and other times, down at heart; giving life to the dead impatience in you, embracing skeptical thoughts about the amazing path you’ve taken, yet seems like a dead end. Sometimes, it will even compel you to promote the ‘gospel of giving up.’


Friend, it’s not necessarily that you are not passionate enough or you are on the wrong path. Thing is; you didn’t model your mind to believe challenges might surface. That’s why I write to you before beginning your journey because I was once like you. So you’ve got to change your mindset to believe no matter how perfect your plan and strategies are, unforeseen or unavoidable challenges will pop up.

Also know that, reigniting your patience and believing that phase will last for a short while, plus, keeping your hopes high will not be easy but at the end, it will be worth it.


If you believe, understand and accept challenges, you will overcome it. But if you don’t believe, you won’t understand nor accept the unavoidable temporary obstacles in your journey, and this will result to overcoming the goal of your journey. This will render you blind to paving a way and using it to your advantage.

 I hope you understand that I am not trying to discourage you from living your dream, but trying to equip your mind so you won’t quit when your goals are yet to realize.

Your friend, Obed.”


Taking a deep breath, he clicked the “send” button. “I hope you’ll understand.” He said.

Having the best plans and strategies doesn’t mean you will have a perfect journey. A number of individuals have modelled their minds to believing temporary lows are “only” products of lack of planning. Hence, if challenges surface, it’s because the right strategy was not taken into consideration. To an extent, it’s true but also untrue, considering when life decides to know how faithful you are to your goal.

 

Dreams have been unrealised, goals have  been unachieved, paintings have been prevented from bracing the canvas, potentials have been unexplored, and purpose(s) have been undiscovered because a lot of individuals gave them up in the quest of staying faithful to the mindset of, “rosy all the way.” Sacrifice was never an option because they never thought at some point they will need to sacrifice their comfort. And alas, it cost them their goal.

 

What it means to sacrifice for one’s goal remained a statement to me, until my sophomore year at the university where I was left between giving up my goal and sacrificing my comfort.

 

 
 

Obed’s mail is one orientation individuals need before setting out for an important journey in life. Like he said, “I hope you will understand.

Here is a set of affirmations that can help you through the journey of realizing your dreams.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to share and leave a comment.

8 thoughts on “What You Need to Know before You Start Chasing Your Dreams”

  1. Obed must be a very resoucesful and determine guy. despite coming from a well to do home, he still follow his passion. Something many of us from poor background will not contemplate. There so many lessons to be learn in this write up. More grace to your elbow for inspiring lives. I celebrate you.

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