Shonda Rhimes “Be a Doer, Not a Dreamer.”

The dream is free of charge…

But the journey is sold separately.

There will be no haggling over the cost of this journey. The price tag is fixed. The only acceptable form of payment is self-discipline, courage, sacrifice, commitment, and time. Everyone has the means, yet few are willing to pay.

On the other hand, it doesn’t cost a dime nor a single ounce of effort to dream big dreams. No bead of sweat was ever perspired because someone talked about their dreams. Or journaled about their dreams. Visualized them. Meditated on them. Wrote them on an index card and laminated them.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done all of the above. But let’s keep it real: no one’s big dream ever came true because they thought, talked, and journaled about it.

The people who accomplish their goals and dreams have a few things in common. They don’t just talk, they take action. They don’t just visualize, they make plans. They don’t just dream, they do.

One step at a time, they plow forward from the foot of the mountain, where the dreamers loiter, and stay the course until they reach the summit.

This is where I’m tempted to launch into a rant about how “hard” and “work” are tantamount to four-letter words these days. But I won’t.

And of course I would never discourage anyone from dreaming. But if you’ve been dreaming free dreams without buying into the hard work that is the journey, your dream will remain just that: a dream.

All talk, no action. All dream, no doing. Who you’ve always been, no becoming.

Dreams are delightful and feel-good. Reality isn’t always pretty. Yet and still, doers choose to live in reality despite all of its pains and exorbitant costs. While their journeys are surely difficult, they know that the pain of pursuing the dream could never be worse than the pain of never trying.

While the cost of the doer’s journey may be high, the cost of regret is a hidden tax that never stops collecting. Sooner or later, the latter exceeds the former. And there you are, still loitering at the foot of that mountain with a journal full of dreams, wondering what could have been if you’d taken the steps to make them come true.

It’s time to do something.

On today’s episode of the podcast, Shonda Rhimes does not mince words on this topic. This is as real and honest as it gets.

Source: Shonda Rhimes ’91 Delivers Dartmouth’s Commencement Speech