Many people have dreams of making it BIG. They have the want and desire. HOWEVER, they never take the time to understand the amount of work that it takes to live out their dreams. In most cases, people fail to realize how much work it really takes. At soccer practice, one of my players told me that she wanted to play in college. I thought it was awesome. I gave her a high five and told her that is an awesome goal. I spoke to her parents about it and told them that it is great to have a goal like that BUT I did warn her and her parents about the work that it is going to take. I told them about my journey growing up playing soccer. There were times I had to miss birthday parties, family gatherings, school functions, family trips, and other “fun” things. Is she ready to “miss out” on a lot of these things?
They paused for a minute.
Now it’s easy for you to say that I was being a “dream killer” at that point. I will disagree with you. I am setting a realistic expectation. Remember, I told them about my journey growing up playing soccer. If you played youth sports at a high level you know what it takes: sacrifice and commitment. Again, people do not understand what it takes. They focus on just the goal.
I have coached soccer for 25 years, mainly at the youth level. There were many kids who had tremendous talent. They had big dreams, but their work ethic did not match the dream they wanted to achieve. Some realized that they were not willing to make the sacrifice. THAT IS OKAY because they put their time and energy into other things and found success. HOWEVER, they took the time and sought counsel on what it was going to take to reach those goals.
What are your goals and dreams? Have you took the time to understand what work it will take? Are you willing to make the sacrifices necessary?
