We need dreams to keep us alive, never lose yours!

I'm at the end of what was a great weekend, life is so good :-)  I'm a pretty stocky guy, I'm 5' 11" and weigh 230 pounds, no one believes I weigh that much, but I do.  When I was 16 I ran a lot and weighed 146 pounds.  I was embarrassed about how skinny I was, so I started going to the gym and working out like mad.  Over the next 16 months I gained a lot of muscle and weighed 175 pounds, I felt more confident around people.

When I was a farrier, I would shoe horses for plastic surgeons, attorneys, people who worked in underground buildings in Washington D.C.  Although it was never directly said, I got the impression that my powerful clients thought I wasn't very smart to be shoeing horses in the 21st century.  I learned to code, I learned some fancy computer science terms that I could use in conversations to make myself seem smarter.  My confidence grew, I felt more confident around powerful people.

The sad truth is I'm still the same person I was then and am today.  I have a huge dream that I've only dared whisper to my wife.  I made the mistake of telling a good family friend about my dream.  She laughed so hard tears came out of her eyes.  I became a little tight lipped about sharing my dream after that incident.  It's such a big dream that less then 1% of people ever accomplish it.  I believe in living your passions and going for big goals.  Everyday making small deposits toward your dream until one day you are living the dream.

I've had this "laughable" dream since I was 24.  I had a light bulb moment and thought: "If I could do anything with my life...I would do that!"  This dream has nothing to do with coding, although, everyday I work towards becoming better at development.  Everyday I take another small step to my "laughable" dream.  That's the thing about passions, if they don't motivate you to work on them at midnight, then is it really a passion?

I am running again, 4 - 5 days a week,  I missed running and am glad to be doing it again.  This post isn't really about coding, but I just wanted to be honest with you and share that I struggle too.  I don't have all the answers, but I don't let that stop me.  I follow my passions and always try to take the next step in the journey towards achieving them.

Whether you are learning to code or becoming a chef, I hope you find the courage and perseverance to accomplish your dreams.  Don't listen to the "dream snatchers" out there, you can accomplish your goals, never give up!

Keep coding peeps :-)