Dream + Strategy = Plan

December in Boston was really cold for a man who never set his feet anywhere near a country that has four seasons. The freezing air on his skin, the snowflakes on the ground and a constant question if this was just a dream in a broad daylight. Things began to make sense and he couldn't help but wonder how his life had come to this point. He was overwhelmed with emotion and thoughts raced through his mind as he walked around, trying to find the answers to his questions. He knew his life had changed for the better, but he still couldn't quite comprehend how it had all happened.

This is a story about myself. A naïve guy with nothing but dreams. I have always considered myself a dreamer, believing that it is one of the few things that makes me truly alive. One thing about dream is that it gives me an extra reason to wake up on Monday mornings and face the reality of being an adult with big responsibilities (and bills to pay). Otherwise, I am just a biological organism, wandering around a big ball planet that floats in the middle of this mysterious universe. Dreams let me live lives I do not have.

But, is dream enough? The answer is both yes and no. Yes, because I don’t mind dying without being able to witness it comes true. In fact, some dreams are so conflictual, I had to kill one in the pursuit of the other. I used to dream of becoming an astronaut, archeologist, and spiderman. But believe we all can agree that it is not realistic – I am talking about astronaut and archeologist. Anyway, the answer is no, because sometimes a dream without action will comeback in a form of nightmare, called regret.

This is the part where a strategy comes in handy. It doesn’t guarantee that I’ll achieve my dreams. But something is better than nothing right? Lol. My theory is that a plan is just a dream with a strategy. So, what is a strategy? It's like a roadmap to your dreams. It's a detailed plan of action that outlines how to achieve something. Another way to think about a strategy is like a puzzle. The pieces have to be put together to make something bigger than the parts. Ok, enough explanation. Let’s just take a look at a picture below. It is my plan in 2022.

I had big plans in 2022 and ultimately only one of them came true. Though it may seem like a small success rate for some people, 25% of my dreams actually becoming reality is something to be celebrated. Because what matter is having a plan meant that I could take it step by step, breaking down larger goals into smaller tasks that were easier to manage. Finally, as a passive-aggressive person, I just wanna say:

"I don't know if my story is helpful. Follow it at your own discretion." Lol.