YOUR DREAM IS AGELESS, AND YOU CAN DECIDE YOUR OWN LIFE

“Hey, what’s your dream?”
“Oh… I actually don’t know.”
“What? You don’t know?”
“Well, it’s just because I don’t know what my dream is. I never thought of its shape, its colour or what it is about.”
“Oh my god, you made it look like it’s something so difficult or superficial. That’s easy to think about, let me show you how. Just ask yourself, “What do I want to become in the future?” Do you want to be a president, astronaut, teacher, doctor, engineer, or security guard?”
“Oh so that’s what “dream” is called?”
“Yeah, of course! It’s as simple as one two three.”
———–
“Hey sister, what is your dream?”
“Oh, my dream? I want to have a huge amount of money so that I can pay for my parents’ medical fees and other needs. How about you and your dream?”
“My dream is to become a flight attendant so that I can travel and explore this world for free!”
————
“Mom, what is your dream?”
“Oh darling, mommy is so old right now, how can I have dreams anymore?”
“Why not? My teacher at school told me that everyone deserves the right to have their own dreams and wishes!”
“Well… Now that I’ve grown up and become so old, I just want to spend time taking care of my kids.”
“Then I think your dream is to take care of my siblings and I, and that means you also have your own dream! How about before we were even born, do you have any dreams?”
“You mean when I was young? Hmm… What was my dream back then? I guess I want to be a famous singer who could sing many great songs in front of her fans and audience?”
“So why don’t you keep that dream with you anymore?”
“Now I save my dream for you, darling.”
———-
Do you think there is something similar between the three of them?
If you think “yes”, then you are correct – The common point here is the questions about each person’s “dream”, it is just that each dream is at a different time, and is set for a different generation.

Then for you, has anyone ever asked you questions about what your dream is?Or, have you ever seriously asked yourself about what your dream truly is?

At least at some point in life, your answer will be “yes”, it is just that at different times and different places, your dream will be presented in different shapes and will have different characteristics.

Today, with the topic of “ageless dreams”, I somehow want to give you a small question for you to take some time and really sit down to think about it. If you feel like your response should be heard, please do not hesitate to leave a comment under this post or share your thoughts to our mailbox at mystory@trulyinspired.au. Don’t worry, the question is not too difficult or complicated, and you can take as much time as you need.

 In your opinion, between a mid-20s person who agrees to work 8 hours a day complacently, and a person in their 50s who wants to start up a new business on their own, who would you then support, and who would you think would do a better job?

Before sharing my own opinion, I will tell you a story that I find really inspirational and motivating for young people like me and you – or anyone who is currently on the journey to building a career and developing themselves.

In Vietnam, there is a very sacred island called Con Dao. In the past, this place was only a little island inhabited by few people, but now Con Dao has become a spiritual tourism “mecca” in my homeland. The inspirational story that I am going to tell here is shared by one of my younger colleagues, and it was about the time when she had the opportunity to visit this island.

At Con Dao, there is a famous dessert “specialty” that truly wins the hearts of both tourists and the locals on the island, and it is called soil coconut ice cream. This delicious treat consists of small coconut ice cream scoops placed inside a coconut shell and is served with crushed peanuts and sweet sauce. Every coconut is carefully selected so that the meat part is soft and fresh, and the ice cream produced is just sweet and creamy enough so that everybody will love the taste. 

About forty years ago, the owner of this chain of coconut ice cream shops was a young man, and when he first started his business, he only had one trolley, a big basket of coconuts and a chilly bin of ice cream. Every day, he pushed his ice cream trolley around the island to sell his ice cream, and no matter how far away his customers lived, even if they only ordered one scoop of ice cream, he would still be willing to deliver the treats right to their doorstep. Thanks to his unconditional love and sincerity in carrying on his business, many people on the island gradually began to get addicted to this popular treat and the man began to gain more loyal customers. Later, the image of a man pushing a coconut ice cream trolley around the island became very familiar to both foreign and domestic tourists that travelled to Con Dao island.

Some time later, he started to open an ice cream shop so that he no longer needed to carry his trolley around, and customers also gradually got used to this refreshment place and the place became more and more crowded. To this day, the once famous coconut ice cream trolley has now become the famous “Con Dao Coconut Ice Cream” restaurants chain, not only on this island but also developing franchises with branches spread across many cities in Vietnam.

You see, from a young, little man with a big and bold dream to change his life, the man fortunately discovered a refreshing treat that everyone can fall in love with, even though at the beginning he was not sure if it would be well received or not. Nonetheless, he still believed in himself, still pushed his ice cream trolley for many kilometres every day just to bring ice cream to more people, and finally built a business career for his next generation, creating jobs and changing lives for many people on the island as well as in other provinces.

Such an amazing and courageous enterprising spirit, isn’t it? The amount of effort and work we put into everything will be equally paid back with successes and experiences. Not everyone is willing to wake up at six and go to bed at ten every day; some people tend to have it slow and steady, while others choose to make it rapid and abrupt. However, my dear friend, no matter how fast or slow your life is going in, as long as you still understand what your dreams are, your life journey will always be filled with amazing and interesting changes and movements.

I wonder if after reading about this interesting story, do you still remember the question I asked at the beginning?

It is okay if you do not, I can repeat it again.

In your opinion, between a mid-20s person who agrees to work 8 hours a day complacently, and a person in their 50s who wants to start up a new business on their own, who would you then support, and who would you think would do a better job?

If you may, I would like to share my own answer first.

I myself will not support nor reject anyone in the above two cases, as the only thing I can do is to respect both’s dreams and choices. For certain people, a person may not seem like they have done the “right” duties and tasks, but they somehow forget or do not know that each of us comes into this life with different “missions” and “pathways”, and as long as one feels enough with the work they do and satisfied with their own way of life, then it is totally fine if they do not find it appealing to achieve higher things in their life and maintain everything in stagnancy. One person cannot become a bad citizen simply because they choose to work eight hours a day, as they still contribute to their society to the extent and capacity they can. And maybe that is just their dream for things to be in such a way, who knows?

As for those who are old but still have the spirit to stand up and start new things from scratch, I also highly respect all of them because even if I were at that age, I would not be sure whether I would have enough courage to accept such a risky challenge. However, the most important thing here is that those people dare to live with the dream, still have hopes in their heart about starting a career, so even though they are old, they are still young at heart and happy to move forward with such a strong entrepreneurial spirit burning inside them, just like the story about the coconut ice cream man you just heard earlier. I still remember by heart a quote that my auntie told me when I was young, “When a person is already at their later stages in life but still tries to overcome obstacles to achieve their dreams, their efforts will become more valuable and respectable.”

And I cannot agree more. No matter who you are, what your age is, or how high your dream is, everything you do that contributes to your journey towards your dream should all be appreciated. Perhaps, the scariest thing would be when one loses their dreams or fails to know what their dreams are, since they will then lose their will to “fight” and their joyful experiences in life. We all come to this life to experience and learn valuable lessons. When you have dreams, you have the opportunity to be more involved in everything in life, to live more fully with what you really love, and to be more encouraged to make efforts to achieve them.

If, at some point, you suddenly stop dreaming because of someone or because of a certain difficult circumstance, then please don’t lose the fire in your heart. The chances for you to once again fulfil your dream will come again if you still believe in yourself.

Whether you are a parent, a grandparent, or a person who faces many challenges and difficulties in life, always remember to hold on to your dreams at any time. Your dreams will be your source of life purpose, hopes, and it will be your “launching pad” to help you rise again and move forward. Your dreams will help you get motivated and know the true meaning that life wants you to know, don’t forget that!

And also, don’t forget to share your thoughts with us too!

Much love,
Truly Inspired