Concrete Dreams

This post came about when our program started undergoing some changes and the dollar-per-day program title was about to be changed or dropped. Here was my response to a particular comment:

RE: “Let's change the advertisement amount to something a little less optimistic.”

What???

Let's change (rethink) that wording... Optimism is part of patience and persistence. Hope is why we came here and why we stay. (h)op(e)timism is essential to bettering our conditions. It is also what we are really "selling".

What would you say instead of "less optimistic"? Reality is what you make it when the reality you perceive isn't what you really want it to be and are willing to struggle to change. Something more "realistic"? This is probably the first rethink that comes to mind. But doesn't that attack hope and say "accept a lesser reality than what you really want"?

NEVER lessen your Hopetimism! Rather, establish a shorter term goal. During the pursuit of your dreams, you often have to adjust your temporary, or short term, goals according to the milestones that you reach. Your ultimate goal should not change - Just the milestones that you reach along the way.

Okay, so this may sound idealistic and flowery to you. BUT, that is the part of your psyche, or soul, that drives you to make the change that you set out to make. Never cover that spark. Remind yourself, and your colleagues, every chance that you can, that that spark is what drives your will forward. Don't you already do that for your friends and family? (I hope so.)

Of course, being human, we all get down or frustrated. That is temporary. Each day is temporary. There is no such thing as "I'm depressed tomorrow" or "I'm frustrated tomorrow" as long as hopetimism drives you to persist. The hope that tomorrow will be better than today is what brought us here and what we are looking for in the people that we sign up. (Sometimes that hope is simply "let tomorrow be as good as today is".) Remember the old adage "Hope Is Eternal"?

So...

If you don't choose that milestone, then choose another. What milestone do you want to promote? An extra $200 a month? Some would be happy with that. An extra $1000 a month? Some would be happy with that. The audience that you target is the audience that you will get. If you feel that $200 a day is too much, then choose a different amount and, hopefully, your audience will change that ultimate goal into just a milestone later. Goals are things and things can and do often change.

Should we change that amount? Or just point them to the chart and say "Choose your own goal"? Maybe that's what we should do. The whole idea behind having a set amount is so that there is a "concrete dream" in place. You can't pursue a goal that isn't defined. Otherwise, how do you know when you achieve it?

What's YOUR concrete dream?