“We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers. They see things in the soft haze of a spring day or in the red fire of a long winter’s evening. Some of us let these great dreams die, but others nourish and protect them; nurse them through bad days till they bring them to the sunshine and light which comes always to those who sincerely hope that their dreams will come true.” Woodrow T. Wilson.

It may sound strange to hear, but it is true that within the heart of every great achiever lives a compulsive dreamer. And behind ever great success lies a restless dream.

Dreams give rise to hopes, hopes push one to endeavour and it is endeavour that gets all things done in the world. Just look around and you’ll see that every discovery, invention and advancement in the world has its seed in a dream of some passionate soul.

But dreams don’t just lead to success and achievements. A passionate dreamer goes through a hell lot of misery and emotional stress till his or her dreams turn into reality. I know, because I have been through that hell too.

Dreams give you hope, strength to your aspirations, flight to your ambitions, but also inescapable restlessness to your spirit and a constant battle between hope and despair to your heart. A broken dream is as painful, if not more, as a broken heart.

But don’t let a broken dream break your spirit. Just hold on to the following five golden words and let your dreams soar:

Faith

Have faith in your dreams. Have faith in your abilities. Remember, success comes to those who believe in themselves. And only those dreamers succeed who remain true to their dreams. So hold on to your faith. Because when faith dies, hope wavers too and then things start seeming harder than they are.

Hope

That’s one power that keeps the world going. If hope is lost, life becomes meaningless. All efforts start appearing futile. The spirit dies out, the endeavour stops and the dream loses the wind from beneath its wings. It is not always easy to hold on to hope. God knows, there have been times when I felt I was holding on to it just be the skin of my fingernails. But I held on nevertheless. And today, with my debut novel Dream’s Sake published, I can proudly say that I have finally pushed open the gates to the path of success. The path ahead of me is still long and hard, but my feet are firmly on it now. And my hopes of one day being a well-known novelist are rejuvenated.

So hold on to your hopes, no matter what. Letting go may sometimes seem far easier, but hold on. One day, you’d thank yourself for your persistence.

Try

Every dream deserves a trial of effort. Your dream may seem impossible or ridiculous even to you. But try nevertheless. Step out of your comfort zone if you need to, gain all the knowledge and skill that you need, and give it a try. You owe it to your dream.

Persevere

Try, try, and try again. Simple words, but so true. The path of success is paved with many a failures. If you are chasing a dream, you will face many hurdles, tumble down, get hurt and sometimes, feel as if there’s no way ahead of you. Sometimes, it will seem as if you are standing in dark abyss and there is no way out. That is exactly the time when you need to persevere. Let your dream be your guiding light, focus only on its gleam, and keep on striving. Persevere in your endeavours, and soon you’ll find things getting lighter and new ways opening up.

Re-evaluate

This may seem as going against what I said above. But read on and you’ll see it makes perfect sense. Don’t give up on your dreams or hopes, but when things don’t seem to be working out, do take time to re-evaluate what you are doing. Re-evaluate your options. Maybe you are doing something wrong. Maybe you need better preparation. Maybe the dream of yours needs a little more time to take root and become a blossoming tree. So re-evaluate and then try again.

When a scientist experiments in a laboratory, he does not keep on doggedly trying out one procedure. If one procedure does not work, he tries another, with different materials. Or he lets the project rest while he gains more knowledge or experience. So is the case with dreams. Try, try and try again, but not blindly. Keep on re-evaluating your options, your decisions and your efforts.

Finally, be true to your dreams and keep on striving. I cannot guarantee you that your dream would surely come true. But even if it does not, you would still have the satisfaction of giving it all you could. So go ahead, dream on…strive on!

Written by – Jyoti Arora

Photograph by – Ashay Gangwar