Crushing children's dreams

Some kids are dreamers. Though, on the road from childhood to adults, almost everyone stops dreaming.

We can probably all remember (or imagine) the first time we nervously shared a big dream with our parents, teachers, or another adult only to be scoffed at, not taken seriously, or told some watered down version of "You can't do that". It was a gut punch. It hurt. It was frustrating and unexpected. Who are they to make that call?

In my case, sometimes my parents and teachers were supportive with their words, but when it came time for them to step up, their actions didn't match. I didn't understand. I was angry. Sure the things I wanted to do were unusual, uncomfortable, and likely to fail, but that was the cost of admission. Why wouldn't my biggest supporters believe in me? I felt crazy.

This led me to believe modern education needed to be reformed and tailored to all the creative dreamers out there. They were the ones pushing everyone forward, so why are so many of their dreams getting crushed as children? It was wrong and needed to be fixed. Turns out, I was wrong. Nothing was broken in the first place.

We should replace Chief Executive Officer with Chief Executive Punching-bag. An entrepreneur's job title is to get told "No. You are crazy." over and over and over by potential investors, employees, and customers. Every single day feels like the gut punch from childhood. For most people, starting a company makes no sense. It requires enduring extreme pain for a very risky potential payoff. So why is anyone an entrepreneur?

Simple. They can't live without it - they have no other choice. True entrepreneurs are going to do what they do regardless of any advice or discouragement.

Dreaming of any kind is no different. It is hard. And seemingly the whole world is against the dream. For most people is it easier to stop dreaming than to pursue whatever it is. So they do. It doesn't take long either and is nobody's fault. There is nothing wrong with it. It was going to happen eventually. They could live without it.

Of course I'm all for giving children endless love and support for their dreams. I would rather have people fail as adults than be discouraged as children. But in some cases, the world doesn't work that way, and it might be okay.

For those who have no other choice - I'm talking to you, dreamers - y'all will have to fight like hell every single day to keep that spark alive. But I'm excited for you. Keep dreaming - as if you even have a choice ;)