Dreamers and Naysayers

December 19, 2010

I often hear of people getting hassled over their desire to do something powerful, bold, and intentional. As a result I spend more time than I should thinking about what I would say to these nay-sayers. Tonight my perfect answer gelled and I thought I would share it just in case it might help a dreamer out there.

Either one of us may die tomorrow. I may be swept from the decks and drowned, you may be hit by a bus on your way to work. If I succeed I will snorkel, hike, and live truly, in paradise. If you succeed you will get to work.

Don’t be a naysayer, and don’t let one get you down. If you know someone who dares to dream, hoist them up on your shoulders and carry them forward. If you are a dreamer, share your passion freely and lift those around you up too.

11 comments

  1. Comment by Charity

    Charity December 21, 2010 at 8:42 am

    I’m not a dreamer, but I hope I’m a hoister. I love when other people have adventures (and then blog about them).

  2. Comment by Tucker Bradford

    Tucker Bradford December 21, 2010 at 11:27 am

    Oh you’re a hoister alright!

    I have been troubled since I wrote this because I sincerely don’t want yay-sayers to take the wrong meaning. I am not contemptuous of those who don’t go huge. Quite the opposite I am quite fascinated by the localvites who spend considerable portions of their lives close to a center of gravity. I’m convinced that one can live as rich a life with narrow focus as their counterpart can with broad. Seems like a good topic for a blog post, or a book…

    • Comment by Charity

      Charity December 21, 2010 at 12:26 pm

      “I often hear of people getting hassled over their desire to do something powerful, bold, and intentional.” I’ve been ruminating over this statement, and I’ve decided that giving birth at home falls into this category, too.
      I feel like I’m in an in-between kind of place. I don’t put myself in the “adventurer” category, but I don’t really consider myself a “localvite” either, given the frequency which which I’ve moved in my lifetime. I’ve never had a passport, but I’ve had a drivers license in five different states. I don’t do much adventuring in the wider world, but I do a fair amount of internal adventuring.
      That being said, there’s a part of me that would love to sell everything, buy an RV, and spend a year or two hopping from national park to national park. Definitely a good topic for a blog post (or a very long comment).

      • Comment by Tucker Bradford

        Tucker Bradford December 21, 2010 at 12:48 pm

        RVing is so freaking cool. Have you seen http://www.happyjanssens.com/? They have links to dozens of RVrs.

        Anyway, I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. You are certainly not meek. Your adventures just have a different flavor. More importantly it seems to me that you hold others to their own standards, rather than imposing yours on them.

        Did localvite work for you? I enjoyed making that one up 🙂

  3. Comment by Livia

    Livia January 2, 2011 at 4:13 pm

    I love the term “hoister”.

  4. Comment by Torre - Fearful Adventurer

    Torre - Fearful Adventurer September 7, 2011 at 8:30 pm

    I LOVE it. So well put, Tucker. The ultimate comeback!

  5. Comment by Kim

    Kim March 25, 2012 at 1:52 pm

    It would seem I’m a couple years late in finding this post, but as a dreamer myself, I very much appreciate the hoisting you’ve done here. Absolutely beautifully put rebuttal. As I like to say: Don’t settle for living THE dream, live YOUR dream!

    Keep on hoistin’!

  6. Comment by Mogs

    Mogs April 1, 2013 at 11:32 am

    That is awesome and I’m stealing it to use with all the downers in my life!

  7. Comment by Rob

    Rob May 10, 2013 at 2:14 pm

    Bloody love this! Very true. Getting it tattooed on my face 🙂

  8. Comment by Lina

    Lina December 11, 2013 at 5:53 am

    I am a 37 year old working mom/wife…my entire life I have made decisions based on what others wanted me to do, rather than what I wanted to do..to be honest, I never really knew until recently what career path I wanted to pursue, I just held a “job” to pay bills, regardless if I was happy or not.. I just fit into the rat race, and although deep inside I knew I was made for bigger things, to make a difference, to do something I was passionate about, I only “dreamed about it”, always thought “maybe someday”.. when I was younger, I didn’t mind those jobs so much, because I still held onto hope, hope that someday, I would be able to pursue my dreams. I have always had a passion for cooking, to experiment in the kitchen and create meals that would receive rave reviews from my familyfriends..I would snap picks of my creations, and for years post them on FB, I combined my two passions, cooking healthy delicious meals and photography and would post them for my friends and family to enjoy..constantly receiving requests to post the recipes. I always was told from those friends to please start a cookbook, being a working mom & wife, I could relate to those in my same situation and would create easy, quick, healthy, meals to show them it is possible to create healthy meals for their families. At first, I wouldn’t really entertain the idea of writing a cookbook, because frankly, who had the time to do it? I was too busy working a “normal” job..a normal job, where I was overqualified for, and underpaid for…Then one day, I got a spark inside me, I got that feeling, that feeling of excitement, finally, finally I knew what I wanted to do… I wanted to turn my passion of cooking into a career, I researched how to write a cookbook, food blogging, and food photography extensively! I created a fb page, I created a twitter account and I named my site(s) and future name of my cookbook, “Delisciously Clean”…I shared my dreams that I was so excited about with my spouse, at first he claimed to support me, but recently, he supports me in the way “do it on the side, kinda thing”, keep your “real job”…I agreed I would keep this normal job until my dream took off, became successful etc… Let me mention, my husband makes a very good living, earns a lot of $ and I dont..yet I hold the Master’s Degree..ironic isnt it?…Last night, my dreams were shattered, because this man, this man I love, who should support my dreams..really doesn’t ..he doesnt care if I am happy or not, just as long as I earn a paycheck..I can’t describe the feeling really in words..but I felt that my insides have been ripped out of me..I have waited YEARS for this spark, excitement of finally knowing what I wanted to do, and just like that, he trampled on those dreams..the feeling of having someone, someone you love and have done everything for, not believe in you, is one of the worst feelings you can have…I am still going to pursue my dreams, although I have a heavy heart right now, I can’t silence my passion…although he doesn’t support my career decision, I will finally listen to my heart and go for it. Sorry for the long post, but I do feel better writing about it. Thanks

  9. Comment by Annie O.

    Annie O. January 28, 2014 at 4:03 am

    I think it was cool that you said that we should remember to encourage other people too. I always try to encourage other people to dream and to follow the things they personally love. I find it sad that I have gotten some negativity in the recent past, and also in the far distant past, when people would try to say I’m too much of a dreamer, or they would suspect me of ‘flattery” for some hidden motive. That’s very odd, but some people just don’t know how to take positivity and encouragement. Anyhow, I hope you make it to your personal dreams and enjoy your adventurous lifestyle you mentioned.

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