She could hardly speak when she came out of the water after more than two days of swimming amid sharks and jellyfish. But she did say, “I’ve got three messages: One is, We should never, ever give up. Two is, You never are too old to chase your dreams. Three is, It looks like it’s a solitary sport, but it’s a team.”
Did you hear that?
Did you hear that you are never too old to chase your dreams?
It may not be much like a dream to you to spend two days swimming in a dangerous ocean. There may not be too many people who would enjoy being in her place. But that’s not the point. This was Diana’s dream. Not yours.
However, here’s the interesting fact. When Diana realizes her dream, she inspires us all. That’s why you saw all those beaming faces on the beach where she arrived. By realizing her dream, Diana makes us all smile, lifts us all up. The sea between Havana and Key West may look exactly the same today as yesterday. Still, the world has become a better place because one woman swam 110 miles through open sea.
When Diana said, “It looks like it’s a solitary sport, but it’s a team,” she was referring to her support team and all the people who made it possible for her to accomplish her dream. But we can take the meaning of her words a little further. When we realize our dreams, we contribute the best we can to society. Ultimately, we are a 7-billion-member team that works the best and generates the most happiness when we all pursue our individual dreams.
Too often, I find myself in conversation with people who talk about their dreams without finding the courage to act. Yes, realizing your dream can be hard and lonely. Think about the picture of Diana’s jellyfish-bitten, swollen face after one of her failed previous attempts. But if you want the most fulfilling life, there’s no alternative. Your dreams are your gifts. There’s nothing better that life has to offer you. And there’s nothing better that you can offer life, the planet and all of us in return.
That’s the art of realizing your dream. It’s what The Intelligent Optimist is all about. We feature the dream-realizers, because we know they’re making the world a better place for all of us. By so doing, we help you feed your dreams.
Does this message fuel your determination to fulfill your own dreams? If it does, I want to encourage you to support our online auction, which ends tomorrow. What’s the connection? It’s this: While it may look like The Intelligent Optimist is an independent company, it’s a team, with a vision no less powerful than Diana’s: to ignite in the members of our community a sustaining belief in the rightness of our world and enable us to find our own best place in it. And you’re a member of that team. But to manifest that dream, we need funding. Publishing, as many of you know in the wake of the demise of many respected newspapers and magazines, is a risky sport. Please support us in reaching our dream so we can support you in reaching yours. The result: a better world for us all.
