Always Be A Dreamer

Dreamers are daring people. They dare to imagine. They dare to imagine a change; they dare to imagine a possibility. Where the audacity to dare becomes a limp hope is when the dreamer ceases to execute for lack of courage and for much of fear. But when we cease to dream and to execute our dreams we make a folly of our hopes. Our dreams form the very essence of our desires and hope – and we owe it to ourselves, and perhaps even to the world at large, to have the audacity to execute.

Ms Oprah Winfrey records that when she decided to move from Baltimore to Chicago as a Talk Show host, everyone thought she was insane, for she, a black woman, was going to the eye of the storm. Chicago was Phil Donahue land, and Phil Donahue was the king of talk show hosts. How and why on earth could Ms Winfrey do this to herself? Why would Chicago want to see a black woman hosting a talk show when they had Phil Donahue? Oh, but Ms Winfrey was a Dreamer. Ms Winfrey was not only a Dreamer but she was also a Doer. She dreamed about her tomorrow, envisioned her futurist self, and had the audacity of hope. She packed up and moved to Chicago. Her audacity delivered on to her – even far beyond what it did for Phil Donahue.

Let us bring it more home. I recently came across one of the works of the writer Taiye Selasie, Ghana Must Go. As I read some of her interviews and the book itself, I was reminded of what Selasie said in one of her interviews: ‘I’m very willing to follow my imagination’. She recalls that the idea for Ghana Must Go came at a yoga retreat in Sweden. She then got typing. For her, the book was entirely realized. It was a book that she wanted to read, a book whose characters she had dreamt about and conceived, and a book she dared to write. And what a success the book has been!

Some of you may have seen the web movie series An African City, created by the fabulous Nicole Amarteifio. The story goes that whilst at University, and having recently seen Sex in the City, Nicole was intrigued to imagine what an African storyline may look like. The intrigue literally captivated her, and Ms Amarteifio began the journey of script writing. Research, research, research; script, script and yet more script and a few years down the line (post university and working an international job), the final script was born. Still working a full time job, Nicole made time and used funds from savings, friends and family to gather actresses and all necessary resources to produce the movie, and now the rest is living history. From CNN and BBC interviews, to Forbes Africa Woman features to speaking at the Cambridge University Business School, and being contacted by numerous international TV channels such as BET for a Season 2. Small, deliberate steps.

Yes, Oprah Winfrey, Taiye Selasie and Nicole Amarteifio could have fallen flat on their faces, and yes, many often do – but I bet if we asked all three of them if they had fallen on their faces prior to any of their major successes and maybe even after, they would have a story or two to tell. The bottom line is that they took small, deliberate steps to actualize their dreams.

For the established entrepreneur and business, this may mean taking small deliberate steps to improve the quality of service at your business; small deliberate steps to expand your menu of services, further serving your current clientele and drawing in new ones. Small, deliberate steps to get additional qualification and accreditation so that you can provide more dynamic and responsive services. Small, deliberate steps to recruit more qualified staff even though they may be more expensive.

Small, deliberate steps.

They bring us nearer to our hopes and dreams.