Tuesday, May 27, 2025
The only way to live freely is to live the way you want. Not the way you have to, but the way you want. Henry David Thoreau famously said, “If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
There is something appealing about advancing confidently in the direction of a dream. If you give that some thought, he’s telling us to ignore circumstances or “evidence.” How does one advance into a dream?
Life is but a dream, and living the dream requires good acting skills. You gotta be convincing. If you dream of living a life of financial freedom, the key is to live that way now. How? Act. Feel. Advancing towards a dream means you imagine not only completing your goals, but feeling enthusiastic about their completion, now. Goal completion does not cause enthusiasm. Enthusiasm causes goal completion. To advance confidently in the direction of a dream means acting from the end, as if it’s already. It’s risky acting before evidence supports your act. It’s risky acting in a world that takes things literally!
Life rewards action. My friend Robbie used to say, “If you want to be rich, live like a rich man.” There is something about acting that makes this true. Is it pretend – kind of. Are you a convincing pretender? You have to practice your lines, your attitudes, and your roles. We wait to see the evidence before we advance. Successful dreamers advance, period. No hesitation. They remain enthusiastic. They perpetuate blessing because they act, feel, and know themselves to be blessed.
Fortune is generated by those who feel and act fortunate. Prosperity is generated by those who feel and act prosperous. Is that preposterous? No more than reality is.