As the owner of several self-help books containing inspiring words about seizing the day and following your dreams, I thought I'd take a break from my President Obama-stalking and explore this point a bit further.

It's easy to do what you have to do; choosing to go after your dreams is what's hard.

Maybe it's because not everyone can make a living eating chocolate or cuddling kittens. Maybe the economy sucks and certain industries aren't able to support themselves, let alone your dream. Whatever you want, you can count on the odds being against you before you even state your dreams aloud.

That's why a lot of people write them down on a piece of paper and stick it to their bathroom mirror -- or tuck it into a desk drawer in a place only they know about.

Back in the late '80s, a huge self-help hit was Do What You Love and the Money Will Follow. Right away, in the introduction (if I'm not mistaken, I'm too lazy to reach for it) the author clarifies that the money might not follow right away.

Obviously she had a career in publishing. ;)

And I think that's where people get hung up: on how they determine their success. To be perfectly honest, I'm earning half the income I used to when I worked full time -- but I also used a lot of that cash to buy myself "rewards" for putting up with the politics and crazy deadlines and never-ending workload.

Now I can watch Dr. Phil if I want to. And go to matinees.

What concerns me, though, is that some people have a dream in their hearts and never make a go of it, thinking that they'll get to it later "when they have more time."

Repeat after me: Later is for losers.

Even if you only have five minutes to dedicate to your dream, go for it. Go ahead, put all that you've got into those five minutes -- and soon you'll discover that you might have another five minutes, then another and then another...

The best part? You'll have tried, even for a moment. And that can feel really good when all you've done all day has been for someone else.

If you could do ANYTHING for five minutes, what would it be?

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