Saw another post about dreams people had to give up on, so thought I'd offer a place to share a more optimistic side of that coin.

For me, it was that I would ever truly love my career. I was in tech sales for a while and hated it. Recently decided to pursue my MFA in Interior Design, and am more excited about my life than I've been in a long time.

What about y'all?


15 comments

  2. When I was really young I wanted to be a pilot but was always told I could’t because of my poor eyesight. I gave up on that idea upon hearing that and never even really looked into it, just took other people’s word for it. Fast forward to a few weeks ago (I’m now 33), I actually found out I could still get my private pilot’s license with my vision the way it is. I flew a plane for the first time today 🙂

  3. I’ve never had any dreams. I just go with the flow. If I want something I’ll go get it now. Longest term goal I’ve ever had was like 8 months.

  4. I dated a woman for about a year and a half in my mid 20s. Long story short, poor communication on both our parts ended the relationship when she broke up with me. Fast forward 12ish years and I had never really fallen out of love with her, but I thought I’d never see her again. I found myself single just before turning 40 and decided to reach out to her (IG). She was also single and asked if I wanted to grab something to eat. That was 3.5 years ago and we’ve been having a blast ever since.

  5. Being a scientist. I was a total science and science fiction nerd, but I just ran into a buzz saw with math. I ended up joining the Marine Corps, years later I got out and had a financial services firm, but eventually got my PhD and now I am an AI scientist.

    It took decades, but I finally got to be the scientist I always wanted to be.

  7. I low-key run a moderately successful YT game channel (I’m not anywhere close to the 500k+ mark and I’m not going to link drop here).

    Thought about it for years.
    Jotted down ideas for videos for years.
    Ignored both my intuition and notes… for years!

    Nearly 40 years old now, have been playing this game and having these ideas for nearly 20. I’m making little money, but a) that was never the goal, and b) the relief I get from scratching that creative itch, and the sense of accomplishment for planning something out and putting the work in to accomplish that? Never had that in a day job. Ever.

    I kept pushing the stupid ideas away and then just decided one day, write out what I thought, record my awful voice, and see what happened after.

    “Perfect is the enemy of good enough.”

  8. I was born poor af. I didn’t have dreams. Only fears.

    Fear of insecure housing, poverty, substance addiction like my parents, lack of access to medical care.

    That fear has forever been my strongest motivator.

  9. I had given up on the idea of financial security, but I luckily gambled a few thousand dollars on Nvidia at the right time and now have a large enough safety net that I don’t need to worry if anything happens.

  10. Having a house and family. My friend kept encouraging me to keep dating and looking. I now have a wonderful wife and perfect kids who make my life so rich. Also, I now own a house.

  11. When I was young I wanted to help people ease their mental health issues with music. I thought that had to be through the pursuit of playing in a band but I hate that so much so I stopped.

    Years later I learned what a music therapist can do and I’m trying to become one.

  15. 1. Being a good father; Not repeating the actions of my dad who was the exact opposite.
    2. Overcoming poverty and living without debt.
    3. Being recognized and appreciated for my abilities.
    4. Being able to help others along the way.
    5. Being able to date (and marry one for a few years) beautiful women
    6. And some toys – Owning a ranch, owning a fancy car with a V-12 engine, off-road vehicles, nice clothes

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