The other week, I convinced a forty year old gentleman and grandfather I've never met to parachute out of an airplane. He sprained his ankle quite badly. Sorry, Bob.

Bob had told me that one of his dreams was to parachute, among other things. Why he had never done it up to this point I'm not sure why. Maybe he was being responsible, thinking of others before himself, or he was nervous. But he let all that go, whatever it was that held him back, and he did it. And he called me the smart ass who convinced him to do it. One of the best compliments I've ever received.

I feel myself to be in the business of helping people's dreams to come true. That's what I do, especially as a career counselor. I don't get people jobs, I aid them to acheive dreams, goals, aspirations.

I'm departing from my usual true anecdotal tales to speak about dreams. And perhaps this is a hypocritical essay since I have many dreams I've never achieved or abandoned or lost hope of acheiving. This is not about my dreams, although I may mention a few here and there. This article is about your dreams.

What is it that is holding you back from that visit to Africa? What is it that is keeping you from writing that book? What have you allowed to step between you and what you've envisioned yourself to be? Because whatever it is, it is there only because you've let it block you from what you really want.

There is a big difference in the words "have to" and "want to." You don't Have to do anything. What you do do you do because you Wanted to do it. (Say that tens times fast!) And at the same time, anything you don't do, you didn't do because you Didn't Want to, not because you "couldn't" or weren't "allowed."

I think, and I could be wrong, that I wrote to Bob: "Give yourself permission to acheive your dreams." That's all that stands between you and them. Really. That's it. Voila, I've solved all your worries and helped you gain your dreams in one fell swoop.

OK, OK, I understand that not all dreams are feasible, realistic, or acheiveable right now. Maybe you need to save some money, make some drastic life changes, or wait until the time is right. But don't abandon your dreams because these are frail excuses. When I attended Peter Lowe's "Success 1998" tour recently, he mentioned a fact that I already knew. It's important, so I'll share it with you.

If you have goals in your head, dreams you want to make reality, great. Only 10% of most people can tell you their dreams right off the top of their head. Only about 3% of people actually write down their goals and dreams and look at them daily. Guess who acheives their dreams most often. Yupper.

So I officially give you permission to acheive your dreams, regardless of how crazy they may seem to yourself, your family, or the rest of the world. Write them down, read them every day, work on making each day closer to what you've dreamed it could be. Life is too short not to be successful, to be happy, to make the impossible happen. Go for it.

And, just for fun, I'll list some of my goals here, and put my dreams where my mouth is.

Visit Greece
Write a book
Deliver a speech to 500 people
Run a marathon
Visit England/Ireland
Teach university students