The Dreamers

Everyone has dreams, but not everyone dreams in the same way. My rich dad taught me that there are five kinds of dreamers: 

* Those who dream in the past

* Those who dream only small dreams

* Those who achieve a dream, and then live bored

* Those who dream big dreams, but with no plan on how to go about achieving them, so end up with nothing

* Those who dream big, achieve those dreams, and go on to dream even bigger dreams! 

Those Who Dream In The Past


These are the people who believe that their greatest achievements are behind them. They will regale you with stories of their college days, their army days, their high-school football days, their life on the farm where they grew up; but try to engage them in a conversation about the future, and they’ll probably just shake their heads and say, “Ahh, the world’s gone to hell in a handbasket.” 

A person who dreams in the past is a person whose life is over. They may not be dead, but they are no longer truly alive—and the only way they can come back to life is to rekindle a dream. 

Those Who Dream Only Small Dreams 

Some people limit themselves to dreaming only small dreams, because that’s the only way they can feel confident they can achieve them. The ironic thing is that, while they know they could achieve their small dreams, they often never do. Why not? Who knows? Perhaps it’s because they know that if they did achieve them, they would have nothing left to live for—unless they then challenged themselves to come up with larger dreams. 

In other words, they would rather live small than face the risks and thrill of living large. Later in life, you’ll hear them say, “You know, I should have done that years ago, but I just never got around to doing it.” 

I once asked a man I had met, “If you had all the money in the world, where would you travel?” 

He replied, “I would fly to California to visit my sister. I haven’t seen her in fourteen years, and I would love to see her, especially before her children get any older. That would be my dream vacation.” 

At the time, that trip would have cost him about $500. I pointed that out, and asked why he had not yet taken the trip. He told me, “Oh, I will, I’m just too busy right now.” In other words, this was the “dream vacation” that he would rather dream about taking than actually wake up and take. 

My rich dad told me that these dreamers are often the most dangerous. 

“They live like turtles,” he said, “tucked away in their own quiet, padded room. If you knock on the shell and peek in, they might lunge out and bite you.” 

The lesson: Let dreaming turtles dream. Most aren’t going anywhere, and that seems to be just fine with them. 

Those Who Achieve a Dream, and Then Live Bored 

A friend of mine once said to me, “Twenty years ago, I dreamed of becoming a doctor. So I became a doctor. And I enjoy being a doctor, but now I’m bored with life. Something is missing.” 

Boredom usually is a sign that it’s time for a new dream. My rich dad told me, “There are a lot of people who work in professions they dreamed of in high school. The problem is, they’ve been out of high school for years. It’s time for a new adventure.” 

Those Who Dream Big Dreams, But with No Plan on How to Go About Achieving Them, So They End Up with Nothing 

I think we all know someone in this category. These people say, “I’ve just had a major breakthrough. Let me tell you about my new plan.” Or, “This time things will be different.” Or, “I’m turning over a new leaf.” Or, “I’m going to work harder, pay off my bills, and invest.” Or, “I just heard of a new company coming to town, and it is looking for someone with my qualifications. This could be my big break.” 

My rich dad said, “People like this often try to achieve a lot, but they try to do it on their own. But very few people achieve their dreams on their own. These people should keep dreaming big, make a plan, and then find a team that will help them make their dreams come true.” 

Those Who Dream Big, Achieve Those Dreams, and Go On to Dream Even Bigger Dreams! 

I think that most of us would like to be this kind of person. I know I would. Wouldn’t you? 

My rich dad said it this way: “Big people have big dreams and small people have small dreams. If you want to change who you are, begin by changing the size of your dream.” 

As you know, I’ve been broke—totally, flat-out broke, living in my car with my bride. I know what it’s like. But broke is a temporary condition. Poor is different. Poor is a state of mind. You can be broke and still be rich in spirit, rich in ambition, rich in courage, rich in determination. It costs nothing to dream big, and it costs not one cent more to dream huge. No matter how broke you might be, the only way you will become poor is by giving up on your dreams. 

The unique thing about the network marketing lifestyle is that you don’t frame your dreams as something you reach only after forty years, or only for a few weeks out of the calendar, or only on Sunday afternoons. When you start building your network marketing business, you start living your dreams, albeit in small ways at first, from Day One. 

It is a shift in mindset, from “I can’t” to “I can”; from being at the mercy of circumstance to being at the helm of your life; from being enslaved to being free. 

In his conclusion to Walden, his meditation on the self-determined life, Thoreau wrote: 

I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. 

I couldn’t have said it better myself. 

Lessons from the book, "The Business of the 21st Century" by Mr. Robert T. Kiyosaki