On Dreams and the Shortness of Life

On Dreams and the Shortness of Life

"People are frugal in guarding their personal property, but as soon as it comes to squandering time, they are most wasteful of the one thing in which it is right to be stingy."  Seneca

When I first moved to Prague back in my 20s, I had two college friends living there with me.  After 12-18 months, both of them went back to the states to “start their lives” and both of them immediately went to grad school once they returned home.  Despite having a deep respect for education, I argued at the time that we had already started our lives by staying in Prague and that our experience living abroad was the best type of post-college education we could get.  I believed that by following our desire to stay in Europe, life would provide us with the opportunities that they were ironically going back to school to find.  They saw things differently and we went our separate ways.     

I was reminded of this last week when an American girl I know from Prague posted on Facebook that she is going back to school to get a masters in international marketing and entrepreneurship.  The focus of her masters surprised me because this woman had been running her own business in Prague for the last couple years and I believe that endeavor must have provided a better education in “entrepreneurship” than any school could ever hope to.  Even though I barely know this woman, I found myself troubled by the post. 

It’s strange how easily people take themselves out of the real game of life to do things they believe will make them more prepared for the future, but in doing so, they’re just pressing a reset or taking a time-out and may miss the greatest opportunities that life has in store for them.  For many pursuits, life is the best teacher.  This applies to entrepreneurship and most business, but also to sales, creative writing/enterprise and many other disciplines.  There are just many things that come from within and cannot be formally taught. 

Live in the present.  Don’t wait or delay dreams or ambitions until you feel more ready- go out and grab them by the throat if you have to.  All of us are born with individuality, creativity and lofty dreams, but as life goes by, these passions and ideas dissipate and by the time many of us are in our 30s, they’re just tired echoes bouncing around in the deep recess of our minds.  Society and culture have drowned them with a fear of failure and the idea that for success you need to have a career, get married and raise a family.  The problem with this program is that for many it’s a grind and as you grind from day-to-day, week-to-week, year-to-year, you’re grinding away everything that makes you unique and gives you the chance to do something extraordinary and be truly happy.  If the pursuit is worthy, it is totally ok to fail at it.  Don't let that fear hold you back and oftentimes, failure is the best teacher.  

I’ve seen many people who had ambition in their youth to do something big or create something immortal change their tune as the grind wore them down and now they’re just trying to get through life.  Getting through life is not a good or healthy dream, but many hold onto it nonetheless.  Their ambition then passes to their children.  The children become their one true accomplishment, but it’s clear when you talk to them that they’re not happy with their lives, their marriages, or their jobs.  Their dreams have been written off as youthful exuberance replaced by being responsible adults, but what is responsible about grinding through life and abandoning your dreams?      

Be wary of this.  If you’re lucky enough to think differently about life and have ambition greater than just finding a stable career and someone to marry, hold onto it and force life to give it to you.  Do not hide from it or wait until you feel ready.  You will never be more prepared to chase your ambition than you are today.  This is the path forward.

Seneca wrote about the shortness of life thousands of years ago and throughout his treatise on the subject, he continually drove in the idea that time is the most precious commodity we have and that we all waste it carelessly.  Don’t waste the time that life has given you by waiting for tomorrow or staying in a bad situation.  Don’t hide in school or the office or in an unhappy life because you find yourself at a crossroads and don’t know what to do.  Live true to yourself and the right path will open up and show you the way.  And you’ll be happier because of it.  


"Whatever can happen at any time, can happen today."  Seneca

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