DESTINY MAN - Are you living your dream?

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# re: Are you living your dream? JC, top note! Thats why I decided to go on my own and find real things to do. I am living the best city in world, doing what I love doing. The problem is that people don't want to sacrifice to get to the dream. Before you get to the dream you are likely to invest 5 yrs of top bollocks and not earning much. I am not there yet but i am enjoying the ride!

Posted by cholo on 06 November 2009 @ 04:19PM

# re: Are you living your dream? I admire your first entry, Mr. Masithela. It's inspirational, ideal, and all-in-all sounds like something one should aspire for. Unfortunately, it's all of those things BUT realistic.

My follow-up question to you, sir is this: what advice do you have for the majority of us who after "imagining" (like you prescribe) live a life where money will ALWAYS be an issue; where love IS yet another sleepless night (for those that care or have time for it); and where everything in one's life is simply NOT in equilibrium - if that even exists, does it?

Pardon my seeming cynicism. Your post has particularly resonated with me because I am at a place in my life where I'm seriously pondering such matters. I consulted one of the wisest people I know, and attempted to appeal to her in a manner that mirrored this (your) blog entry. Her response: nothing like this exists! Yes, in theory, we must all strive to do what we love, to love what we do. But when all is said and done, we ultimately "love" to be able to pay our bills on time, to care for those near and dear to us, to be able to take care of OURSELVES...the list goes on!

So, is someone who distills their hopes and dreams to encompass the aforementioned merely an "oxygen thief" because what they have resolved to do is not what they would be doing if they were imagining, as you say?

I think you should flesh out the concept of defining one's own destiny, a bit more. I'd be very interested...are you living your dream??? And if so, how so?

Posted by missdineo on 08 November 2009 @ 06:01AM

# re: Are you living your dream? Very inspiring J-C, but the kind of life you describe sounds dangerously like utopia. Does it exist?

Posted by popikaiser on 08 November 2009 @ 07:55PM

# re: Are you living your dream?

Miss Dineo is on point. Her statements are the very reason I don’t play football or coach football. I work hard to build a career so that I can pay my bills on time; so that I can drive the car I want; so that I can explore the universe when and how I want.

Note that I said it’s a good piece but didn’t say I totally agree with you. I believe in being realistic about life’s dynamics and challenges whereas your piece is what I believe fantasy world stuff. In the ideal world we would all love to do what we have always loved for a living. But very few people get that opportunity and very few have their ideal (Dream) job being a lucrative realistic career.

Below is a paragraph that hit home.

Pardon my seeming cynicism. Your post has particularly resonated with me because I am at a place in my life where I'm seriously pondering such matters. I consulted one of the wisest people I know, and attempted to appeal to her in a manner that mirrored this (your) blog entry. Her response: nothing like this exists! Yes, in theory, we must all strive to do what we love, to love what we do. But when all is said and done, we ultimately "love" to be able to pay our bills on time, to care for those near and dear to us, to be able to take care of OURSELVES...the list goes on!

Posted by khabane on 09 November 2009 @ 12:25PM

# re: Are you living your dream? I am not living my dream yet, especially since I’m depending on my employer for a salary at the end of the month to my pay bills. J-C, I think you should give us facts on how TO . . .

Posted by thubabuthelezi on 09 November 2009 @ 09:33PM

# re: Are you living your dream? @ Cholo, It's very inspiring to hear that you are happy.

That is what it all boils down to at the end of the day. You love what you do, you love the city you are doing it in and you are happy.

Enjoy the ride because it's gonna be a great one.

Posted by jcee77 on 10 November 2009 @ 09:44AM

# re: Are you living your dream?
@ missdineo, Thank you very much for your comment.

I find it very interesting that you feel that “living your dream” is unrealistic. I am sure everyone said to Barack Obama that it was unrealistic that America would have a black president today.
Everyone thought it was unrealistic that a young kid from Marcy Projects would be the most influential Rapper today.
Some of Nelson Mandela’s own comrades told him that it was unrealistic that apartheid will be dissolved in South Africa and that a Black man will be president in a country that once segregated black people from their own country because they were simply not good enough according to the White regime then.
Heck, Richard Branson wants to afford everyone an opportunity to fly into space without being an Astronaut and I bet a lot of people think this is unrealistic.

I could go on for days about this and use many more people as an example but what I am trying to say is that all these people had a Dream. A dream that they decided to chase, a Dream they are now living. It really is that simple. I liked what Cholo said here that “people don't want to sacrifice to get to the dream”.

Let me ask you something, do you think Martin Luther King Jr’s dream was never realised?

I think I am self-aware enough to realise that I am not living my dream, that is however part of my journey to getting there… The fact that I realise I am not currently living my dream but still aggressively positive that I will achieve it; means I am one step closer to getting there!

Posted by jcee77 on 10 November 2009 @ 11:30AM

# re: Are you living your dream? @ Khabane. Thanks to you too for your comment.

Let’s get straight to it. Your first love is football right? Your passion lies on a football pitch right? I know you eat, sleep and sh!t football. I say this because I know you personally.

The only reason you are not doing what you are passionate about is because you unfortunately could not see it through. Not because you couldn’t but because of circumstances and boundaries.
Had you broken all those boundaries for one chance at what you truly love and believe in, how many people including those that stood in your way for a wonderful footballing carrer would be saying that you made the wrong choice in life if you were successful?

It’s one thing to say you tried and it never worked out. But it’s another story all together when we are at a football stadium watching Bafana miss goals that you used to have for breakfast!!!
You are a prolific footballer. Those that have seen you play know it. I know it and you know it.
Not once did I say you shouldn’t pay your bills on time because you are chasing your dream, not once did I say you shouldn’t drive the car you want because you are chasing your dream. All this can be achieved while living your dream.
In your journey towards your dream there are some casualties, not driving the latest model car etc. HOWEVER it doesn’t feel like a sacrifice because you can see the bigger picture of achieving the ultimate goal.

You are very right in saying that “very few have their ideal (Dream) job being a lucrative realistic career”. What that means to me is... hypothetically speaking, 10% of the world owns 90% of its riches. Don’t you think there lies an opportunity there?

Posted by jcee77 on 10 November 2009 @ 11:49AM

# re: Are you living your dream? Ok! Take me, for instance. For as far as I can remember I wanted to be lawyer. Why? To be a voice for the voiceless, to help people help themselves; to provide justice for the disenfranchised etc. etc. And where has that "dream" lead me to? To work for a corporate law firm, where all my clients are multimillion dollar conglomorates (with PLENTY of voice). And why, do you ask, did i sign-on for something like this? Well, when you're $120k in the hole because you took out loans to finance your legal education, a job representing the destitute and helpless really won't cut it! It's not like I refuse to make sacrifces: I don't need to drive a big car and would be quite content if I never did; nor do I need to live a life of unfettered extravagance. But I DO need to pay my bills, take care of my children, and parents, and just take care of myself without looking to someone else for a handout!

That said, according to your initial blog I am an "oxygen theif" because I settled for a more practical route, then my "dream", if you will. Not in my opinion.

Listen, going on some diatribe that lists the exceptional men of our time won't bring me any closer to "living my dream". In fact, a closer look at my initial comment should make you realize that I am NOT arguing one shouldn't live their dream, per se. I merely force you, the blogger pushing us "oxygen theives" to live our destiny, to see that to live one's destiny is not always practical - or not a black & white concept - hence, requires some tweaking.

For that matter, Barack Obama's "dream" was to effect social change, which he did just as much as a community organizer in Chicago (making peanuts), as he plans to do as a president. In his case, however, he was fortunate enough to marry a brilliant woman who got paid six figures working at a corporate law firm (like I will be) to hold down the fort financially while in pursuit of his dream. Do you suggest I find me a sugar daddy?Martin Luther King had a dream alright, and what happened to him? HE GOT SHOT! I don't care what you say, not all of us are cut out for THAT destiny! As for your use of Jay-Z as an example, that's just flat out inaccurate. It is VERY realistic to phathom a boy from the projects/ghetto becoming an "influential" rapper in the U.S.A. What influential rapper do YOU know hasn't?!

Diatribes aside, you need to furnish your readers with more of a "how to" rather than just preach to us! Perhaps, the angle you mean to take is to highlight the importance of financial independence as a vehicle for making it more and more feasible for one to live their destiny...or just do whatever the hell they want! Yes?

Posted by missdineo on 10 November 2009 @ 11:20PM

# re: Are you living your dream? The limitations in life are endless… the difficulties encountered endless… the obstacles endless…

I would argue that oxygen thief is a bit of harsh term, I would argue that people that are not aspiring for the top are not exactly a waste of space. BUT would I want to be the cog in the machine of the world, would I be content with living the non-dream and allowing my life to be dictated to by bills, shortcomings, monetary or societal pressures? Hell-no!!!

I’m not devoid of these things, I think it would be a waste of my intention to detail my life the hardships and struggles (like everyone else has) to make a point… What I know for sure: I am not living my dream every second, but I make sure I never forget what it is, I make sure I sense check where I want to be after every tough decision or situation and I try be grateful that while I am surrounded by limitations, difficulties and obstacles that if I focus on the end game, the mid-game is just the ride…

Missdineo, khabane and others, I say take the ride… The journey is part of the story so that your lives can be the basis of the how-to. Why do you think it doesn’t exist? There are entire sections of book stores claiming they’ve found the ultimate ‘secret’ BUT you cannot have a how-to guide for an individual, you’ll understand the complexity of writing a blueprint of that for 6 billion individuals.

Posted by kettle on 11 November 2009 @ 09:51AM

# re: Are you living your dream? kettle: thank you for your comments. However, just like J-C you misunderstand me. Again, I do not argue that dreams & destinies don't exist!!! But in the same token, preaching to us about living your destiny in the manner J-C does is incredibly over-simplistic...and unrealistic when applied to those 6 billion individuals you reference. Forcing JC to proffer us with a "how to" (even if by giving us a personal example) was an exercise meant to prove just that!

In any case, I will call a truce here because I must not be articulating my points clear enough. And, dare I continue to waste time & intentions by detailing my "lifes hardships and struggles", as you put it.

Here's to the journey of living our destinies - however unrealistic! *cheers*

All the best!

Posted by missdineo on 11 November 2009 @ 04:42PM