Be Real: Stop Dreaming.

When I was a boy, I dreamed about being a landowner, have six beautiful horses, an enviable carriage, and several faithful servants. My dad intended for me to be a blacksmith. If nothing had changed, I would have followed my dad. War came and we lost everything. We became homeless refugees. I had no training, but a pair of good hands. Then the impossible happened; I lost the use of my hands. A lengthy time of training enabled me to be a minister. The ministry left something to be desired, and I got more training to be able to teach ministers. The economic crunch, fifty years ago, closed and merged Seminaries. I ended up serving Churches, teaching part-time, and write for posterity. I learned that one specialization was not sufficient to earn my bread for my family.

We hear much about young people hoping that college or business schools shall prepare them for life. We have three sons and only one is still with what he was trained for. The other two are no longer in their professions. They are working on new ventures. One of our three daughters-in-law is in her profession. The two that still work in their fields changed direction at the Universities. All of them began to specialize in areas that society has no paying jobs for. The schools filled their heads with utopian ideas that clashed with reality. Even when I attended seminaries, the ideologies were not compatible with reality. My wife also had to retrain after twenty some years. All of us have become jacks of all kinds of trades.

What do I suggest young people do? First and foremost, forget your dream. Very few reach their pursuit of happiness and only if they have the means to do it. Most of us must built and earn the means to obtain happiness. Education did not put money in my pockets; it emptied them. Even the jobs they trained me for barely helped feed us. Everything we have gained for a little pleasure has come from hard work and lengthy sacrifices. Human beings are not robots. They can create, invent, and take risks to better their lives. They must stop dreaming and be real.