We all have dreams which reflect our personal aspirations. Some of us dream because we do not have the tools for realizing our dreams. We lack self-confidence, determination and resolve, strength of character, to bring fruition to our dreams. Thus, the dreams remain mere fantasies – leaving the dreamer an unhappy, sometimes bitter person.
First, one must transform his dream into a vision, concretizing his dream to a certain extent. A vision is more structured and rooted in daily living. A dream is usually wishful thinking. A dream does not impose anything on the dreamer, while a vision, having gone to the next step, makes subtle demands on the dreamer to stop dreaming and do something about realizing the dream! Rav Wolbe suggests that often our dreams remain mere fantasies because we do not know how to begin.
A man once came to Horav Abba Grossbard, zl, and asked for the mashgiach’s guidance concerning the proper focus in Torah study. Twenty years later, the two met up again, and the questioner expressed his previous dilemma. On what should he focus his Torah study?
Focus is what success is all about. When one is unfocused and thus unable to clearly delineate and define his ambitions – he will have nothing! In order to achieve success, one must have concrete aspirations and goals, and he must designate time for realizing these ambitions. All too often, the individual gets bogged down in wavering about what he should focus on, rather than determining the area in which he seeks to advance and allotting time to this objective. In other words, some people just want to spend time talking – but not doing. Once the designated time has been determined, it should be adhered to – without fail, with no room for excuses. Otherwise, one will not pass the first rung of the ladder. Furthermore, one should stick to doing one thing at a time – not five. When one accepts on himself to do many things, he will do nothing.
