by Brian Dooley

Created on: February 18, 2007   Last Updated: May 14, 2007

The Headline January 25, 2007 under MSNBC.com jobs and career section read, "MOST U.S. WORKERS NOT LIVING THE DREAM, More than four out of five don't think they have the perfect job, survey finds."

As a Headhunter turned entrepreneur, my career has allowed me to a unique opportunity to watch a sad disintegration of the key element that keeps the human spirit vibrant; Dreaming.

Having interviewed literally hundreds of people for either employment or business ventures, one question I typically ask during the process is "So, what do you want?" And the final answer, after the applicant has fumbled through a few trials with the answer to a seemingly easy question, usually ends up, "I guess I hadn't really thought about it".

I'm going to encourage you to start thinking about it What DO you want? What does make you happy? Because if most of things in your life aren't making you feel great, you're job, your circumstances, your health, whatever it might be, any of them can be changed. My question is, do you want that?

Now, if this describes you, before I set into repairing this for your own self, I want to illustrate briefly how our culture accidentally "carved out" this gift of dreaming that originally came hardwired with us from birth.

Remember as a child, you were so full of dreams and aspirations, it seemed as if each month, there was a new "I want to be a _________ when I grow up!" From Astronauts to Superhero's, our brains created unlimited possibilities for us to explore, actually believing it was possible! Life was so full of hope that we couldn't contain our enthusiasm waiting to grow up! And that belief was then reinforced because we heard over and over from our parents, teachers, even the movies we watched, that we can be what ever we wanted to be! Life was fun as a child, not because there we had no cares or responsibilities, but because we had hope!

Then as we started entering into the teenage years, things changed. The people around us, those same people we trusted who told us we could be whatever we wanted, began using different words. Phrases like, "Get real" or "that's impossible" started replacing "You can do it!" I remember hearing teachers tell me, "It's time to get serious with your life".

It's important to understand, our friends and family weren't trying to hurt us, or hold us back. It was with genuine concern, a sort of protection if you will, that creates this safety zone of "DON'T GO OUT THERE! YOU MIGHT GET HURT!" But because they themselves experienced

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>