“I once read the story of a little boy who went to a shop to purchase something for his mother. At the shop he met three or more men who were drinking and chatting noisily. One of the drunken men asked him what he wanted to be when he grew and he replied a lawyer. The men laughed loud at the little boy, but he not affirmed that he was going to be a lawyer, and more, the best lawyer in the country. The boy eventually grew to become a famous and respeced legal figure.”
I was walking the roads with one of my friends and we were discussing about our dreams and plans for the future. At the time I was telling my friend this story, I didn't know that the little boy in the story was Clarence Darrow, one of the most famous lawyers in the United States. I'd told this story in defense of myself against people who called me a nutty fruitcake whenever I talked about how I wanted my future to be. They often dismissed it as idealistic and unnecessarily lofty and unachievable. I was never once daunted by their opinions, I believed strongly in my abilities.
“I myself am often doubted that way by people too.” My friend replied.
“Imagine the great playwright, William Shakespeare before he became a famous literary figure. If he had told someone he was going to be the greatest playwright of his time and many generations to come they would have doubted, but that's eventually what he became.” I said.
“It's even as you've said.” My friend replied.
Right from my secondary school days I have often had lofty dreams about my future, about who I was going to become. I often imagined myself becoming a standout literary figure of my time, like Shakespeare. I imagined myself becoming also one of the foremost entrepreneurs of my time, impacting the society in lots of ways. I imagined myself being the world's first trillionaire or even quadrillionaire - yes, I dared dream that far, and I often got called a nutty fruitcake for that.
I remember once, in secondary school, when I voiced to my classmates that I was the best literary talent in our class and I got mocked for my opinion. Some of my classmates ventured to mention one or two others in our class who they thought were better. But when our examination scripts came back I was proven right, and even the teacher who'd marked the scripts confirmed it. This was before I encountered a medical situation that nearly erased my literary abilities, something I've not quite recovered from for over 12 years now.
I think I'd rarely responded in a negative way if my ideas and dreams were dismissed as delusional. I would argue with the person awhile, if nothing fruitful came of the argument, I would simply tell the person that time would prove who was right and who wasn't. My convictions about my ability and future sat like a rock in my heart.
There's always a lot going on in my head, ideas and plans, lots of them, that I desire to employ to impact the world positively. I keep them mostly to myself, and sometimes put them down on paper. The reason they are not yet realities is because the situations are not yet perfectly aligned for their realisation, and I wouldn't want to throw them in prematurely and risk them failing. So I wait, for the proper alignment.
I think in a way, it might even be a compliment to be called a nutty fruitcake, lots of people who were extraordinary inventors or innovators were called exactly the same. We have to believe in our dreams even if no other person does.
I know one day my dreams will become realities, I never had a doubt about that for once, even when everyone calls me delusional. I've seen proof of the extraordinary achievements I'm capable of, most of which proofs I keep to myself. There may be no apparent sign to a person who knows me in person or on social media that I'm capable of carrying these dreams through, yet there are, I've seen them and I keep them mostly within me, I do this deliberately. In my opinion, only nutty fruitcakes can dare to be high achievers, or once-in-a-generation stars.
All images generated with MetaAi.
Thanks for reading.
