Fulfill Your Dreams Now: Life Lessons from an 84-Year-Old

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Recently I received a call from a good friend and entrepreneur. He left town to be with his wife during a difficult time. Her father has been diagnosed with stage IV cancer and is dying.

On a visit, his father-in-law told him how proud he was of him. He told him he admired all he had accomplished and created. He admires my friend for pursuing his dreams and trying to make a difference in this world and make a dent in the universe.

Then he said: “You know, I have dreams too.”

Here is an 84-year-old man on his deathbed. He knows the end is near. They have removed his feeding tube, and he is under palliative care. He is as comfortable as modern medicine can make him as he prepares to pass from this life to the next.

And he still has dreams. Dreams he has yet to work on. Dreams he wants to achieve. Dreams he has been thinking about all his life. Dreams he stored away and did nothing with. Dreams he just started on. Dreams he just received. Dreams to create, do, and achieve.

You have dreams of what can be…

Dreams which dare and double dare you to make your life and the lives of others better.

Dreams which egg you on to change the status quo.

Dreams to do and not sit and watch.

If you take action and nurture these dreams and try to make them into reality, more will come. If, on the other hand, you live a life of suppressing and ignoring your dreams, they will dissipate and finally disappear.

This 84-year-old man has pursued his dreams right to the end. No regrets and no excuses.

How can this be?

What is this spirit which gives the dreams of a better tomorrow? As Genesis says, “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”

God hand-formed you, and you have his breath and spirit within you. You have dreams, and I believe these dreams come from God.

God created the heavens and the earth. He had a dream and made good on it. Now he gives you his spirit and encourages you to turn your dreams into reality, whether you are 84 or 24. Coming to the end of life or just starting your career, it doesn’t matter. You have dreams, and it is up to you to find the courage to pursue them. Ignore them, and over time, you’ll stop dreaming.

When you take action on your dreams, the dreams keep coming. This is what it means to be true to whom God created you to be.

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