Follow Your Dreams: And don’t let Anything Sway You - Rachel Devine
Following your bliss in life can be so rewarding. Pursuing your dreams brings so much joy. As they say, follow your dreams, they know the way! Choosing a purposeful path in life is the single most fulfilling thing you can accomplish. And yet, there are obstacles that arise and people of opposition that bring us down rather than lift us up. We can also become our worst enemy in pursuing our dreams with self-doubt.
Perseverance is crucial to creating a life of your choosing. Staying in it for the long haul is also crucial.
There are not too many overnight success stories. Most famous people will laugh if you say they are instant success stories, when in actuality, many of them took decades and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to achieve their dreams.
Let’s explore this a little deeper. I am going to show you how to manifest your dreams with 5 steps.
Pursuing your dreams
The first step is to define what your dreams are. What do you want to pursue in your lifetime? What legacy would you like to leave?
The next step is to look at your story. What are you saying about your dreams?
Here are two examples:
I want to become a writer, but I know it is an impossible journey.
I want to become a writer, and I am excited about all the possibilities before me.
As you can see, there is a stark difference between 1 and 2. You have to have a positive outlook on the dream you want to pursue. Actually you have to have a positive attitude on anything you want to achieve in life. If you start out with the attitude that becoming a writer is an impossible journey, then your life will go in a negative direction. It will be like being in a circular driveway, driving furiously and getting nowhere. If you are excited about becoming a writer and open to all avenues and possibilities, your life will go in a positive direction, and opportunities will arise. Plus, the law of attraction will kick in, as positive thoughts will bring positive results.
Be steadfast
Don’t allow anyone to sway you out of your dream. Remember, it is your life; you want to live it your own way. I would also say don’t allow your own self-doubt to sway you out of your dreams. Sometimes we can be our worst enemy. Stay the course and do what you love doing, irrespective of what you think others are thinking about you. Their opinion really doesn’t matter. Honestly, some people will be envious of your non-conformity. Nonetheless, stay in your own space and in your own head. And know in your heart that you can achieve anything you put your mind to. It's that raw inner determination that will get you to where you want to be in life. Be as stubborn as you can when it comes to fulfilling your dreams on the journey you have chosen. Afterall, life is meant to live in happiness.
Famous inspiration
Louise Hay started a very successful publishing company called Hay House at the age of 62! She started it in her home in order to publish her first manuscript. She pursued her dream in her golden years without reservations. She just forged ahead and formed a very successful publishing company that has published books by such famous authors as Wayne Dyer and Cheryl Richardson.
Steve Harvey was told at the age of 10 by his teacher that he should give up his dream of being on television to make people laugh. He had written an essay about it. When he told his father, his father told him, “put the essay in your drawer and read it every day. You can be whoever you make your mind up to be.”
For years, Steve Harvey struggled to get his big break as a comedian, performing at small clubs across the country. He was homeless for several years, sleeping in his 1976 Ford when he couldn't afford hotels. However, he persevered, saying he discovered his gift for making audiences laugh during this difficult time.
In the late 1980s, he started gaining attention and appearing on TV shows like Showtime at the Apollo. His popularity grew through the 1990s as he toured as a standup comedian. Eventually, he landed a role as host of Showtime's Steve Harvey Show, which brought him national fame. In 2010, his career took off when he was asked to be the host of Family Feud. Steve was 53 years old when he got his big break.
The power of a written intention
Just as Steve Harvey wrote an essay about his goal of becoming a comedian, Jim Carrey also did something similar in line with the power of a written intention.
Before he ever achieved fame as an actor and comedian, Jim Carrey was struggling to make ends meet in the 1980s as a young comic trying to catch a break. He lived in a VW van in Los Angeles for a period, chasing his dreams but not seeing results.
According to Carrey, one day he became frustrated and decided to write himself a $10 million check dated for 10 years in the future and write the note “for acting services rendered” on it. He carried the check in his wallet as a reminder of his goal to become a star. He also envisioned himself as a famous actor, having all the luxuries that came with fame and fortune.
However, just as he had written in his intention years earlier, 1994 proved to be Carrey’s breakout year. He earned over $20 million combined just from his acting work, finally realizing his dream. To Carrey, the big check he envisioned years prior and his unwavering belief manifested his massive success. His story is a popular example demonstrating the power of a written intention.
“It is better to risk starving to death than to surrender. If you give up on your dreams, what's left?" Jim Carrey
Your legacy
It’s important to look at the whole picture of your life and what kind of legacy you want to leave. It can be something big and grand or something smaller. We don’t all have to become like Mother Teresa, helping the lepers in the world. You might want to pursue a way to help the homeless. You can volunteer in a soup kitchen. Or you might want to pursue a career in writing or acting. Or maybe you want to coach Little League or become a big brother for a fatherless child.
Whatever you decide you want to do in life, just do it. You can ask yourself these three questions:
Where am I now with my dream?
Where do I want to be with my dream in a year?
What can I do now to get to where I want to be?
Getting started now is the key to getting to where you want to be in life. My second book, The Third Road, was on the backburner for years until one day I decided I was going to finish it and self-publish it. I didn’t want to be at the mercy of a publisher, so I just forged ahead, worked day and night until I got it published myself. Sometimes you have to take the bull by the horns in life. That project was not an easy task, but it was one of the most rewarding things I ever accomplished in my life. And in turn, it helped me follow my bliss.
You deserve to live a life of bliss. Keep forgiving ahead. Remember, the journey is just as rewarding as the destination.
When I was plagued with self-doubt when I started writing back in 1997, this was the first poem I wrote:
When you can feel the warmth of the sunshine
but cannot see it
Or feel the coolness of a gentle breeze
but cannot grasp it
When your dreams are just a fleeting thought that no longer matters
Remember to deeply reach within, to stretch your mind to awaken the real you,
as you say goodnight to self-doubt and the inner blindness
Rachel Devine is the author of The Third Road, a book that gently guides one to the power within and their purpose in life, and Lessons from the Needle in a Haystack, a spiritual book on dating and relationships.
Devine Intervention - The Healing Center website.
Please leave your ideas in the comments. Or please also feel free to contact me. I will answer all emails.