"Honey, I tried to tell you this wouldn't work."

"Why did you get involved in this, anyway?"

Odds are someone close (spouse, parent or sibling) has spoken those very words to you. You may love your family to death, but they are the very people, more than all others, who would steal your dreams.

Strange, don't you think, that the ones who love us the most are often the ones who would keep us from reaching the stars?

Our culture teaches conformity rather than individualism. We may hear words about individualism, but those words many times pay lip service to an ideal of what could be rather than what is. In truth, our culture demands that we live our lives in conformity like those around us.

However, we shouldn't think that dream stealers are out to steal dreams, they are not. Dream stealers only have our best interest at heart. The problem for them is that somewhere long ago, someone stole their dream. So now our dream stealers are living in conformity with those who stole their dream. Once stolen, it is only natural for dream stealers to want to save us from the heartaches they experienced as dreamers.

Strange, messed up world, isn't it?

I am writing these words to give you hope, and to encourage you.

Do not allow ANYONE to steal your dream. All the good that improves quality of life is made possible by dreamers. These are people who withstood an onslaught of nay Sayers who went on to achieve their dreams and more.

One example:

Think for a moment how one man, Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart, has changed our lives. Sam made variety, convenience and competitive pricing an everyday occurrence all across the land. He eventually forced vendors to do business on his terms, and literally changed how American's shop. How do you suppose that happened? It all started as a dream in one man's head that turned into a passion.

Many years ago, I happened to meet and speak privately with Sam. Though one of the wealthiest people in the world at the time, he struck me as an ordinary person no different than you or I. In fact, unless you knew him you would never know who he was. For Sam frequently dressed himself in a pair of overalls, wide brim hat and drove around town in an old pick-up truck.

Sam faced many obstacles and nay Sayers all during his Wal-Mart days. It would have been so easy for him to quit, to live in conformity. But Sam sought out people of like mind and lived off their enthusiasm for what he believed could be. The rest is history.

The next time you drive through your town, notice all the small business shops, and even those big chain outlets. The people who own them are the real heroes that make differences in peoples lives. They are the risk takers that conformers secretly admire.

To achieve your dream know this. You will suffer failures and losses getting there. The secret of achievers is that they never accept life as it is, only as it could be. So to a large degree, success in life is measured by the number of times we get back up after falling.

Stay away from dream stealers:

Never allow someone making $30,000 a year tell you why you cannot make $100,000 a year. If they happen to be a family member, love them but do not allow them to steal your thunder.

Seek out achievers and dreamers:

Spend your time with people who will lift you up, not pull you down. Seek out achievers who are willing to coach and mentor you. Do not try to re-invent the wheel, but duplicate the actions of achievers. Read books that will increase your knowledge and empower you. And remember the following...

Life goes on, with or without you. No matter how badly things may appear, the sun comes up and sets without fail. Said differently, the universe is here to serve you when you're ready for it to do so.

Babe Ruth:

You've heard that Babe Ruth held all kinds of records in baseball: The home-run record was his for almost a generation. What you don't often hear is that Babe Ruth also held the strike-out record.

The "Babe" struck out at bat more times than he homered, but hey, I like that. Here's a guy who never let his failures stop him from becoming a champion.

Unlike Babe Ruth, some of us are so often paralyzed by the possibility of failure that we never even make the attempt. And that is perhaps the biggest failure of all, not that we try and fail, but that we never try at all.

Achievers will tell you that their achievements are not what matters, but rather it was the trip there that makes their life so fulfilling.

Imagine that!

So live your life the way you want it to be, not the way it is. When you learn to use failure as a tool to build and grow, life takes on a whole new perspective. Take it from someone who knows: Never, ever allow anyone to steal your dream!

"Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe can be achieved." (Napoleon Hill)