MOTIVATION - WITHOUT DREAMS

MOTIVATION – WITHOUT DREAMS


By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC


Today’s quote comes from Harry Kemp, who says:


“The poor man is not he who is without a cent, but he who is without a dream.”


Well this is good news for me specifically, that’s for sure. A great deal of my ‘down time’ is spent dreaming. Sadly though, this is not the case for everyone.


I once had to interview of the staff members, for a client of mine. He had just bought another company out and when the staff of both companies welded together, there were obviously a great number of overlaps. So he needed to ascertain who was best for the job at hand. I did the interviews and checked what they were doing against what the job description was and then against what their CV’s said that they could do and then asked them what they wanted to do – what their passions were.


One chap looked at me quite blankly, when I asked him what his passion was. He really struggled with the question, grappling for an answer. Seeing his dilemma, I asked the question “If you won the lotto and you received R20 million, what would you do?” Sweat broke out on his brow – he was still at a loss. I asked him what car he drove, he told me it was a 1995 Mazda 323 (this interview took place in 2007), so I asked him, if money was not a problem, what car would he like to have. He hung his head as if he had done something wrong. My heart went out to him, it really did.


You see, he was married and his first child had just been born. He came from a background that was extremely poor and his only focus was how to get food on the table, clothes on his back and a roof over his head. When he married, his focus did not change, but now included the notion that he now had someone else to be responsible for, and when his baby daughter arrived it increased the pressure because now he had a family to provide for. He was so busy putting one foot in front of the other that he had not taken the time out to dream!


How incredibly sad is that.


I tried to think how my life would be if I didn’t have dreams and I must admit, I never got it right – I could not imagine my life without the many pictures, video’s and cartoons that flood through my brain at regular interviews. I’d probably be dead and even then considering my spiritual beliefs, I would still be getting those images!


It’s fun isn’t it – to dream about the next house that you will buy, the next car that you will drive, the places that you hope to visit, the businesses that you build? Well I think it is!


My life certainly is much richer for the dreams that I have and for the many dreams, in my life that have actually come true – because it’s not just about dreaming, but also about making those dreams a reality.


So whatever it is that you do today, don’t forget to dream!


Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za.