LITMIR.BIZ

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      Copyright © 2017 by Gaskins Productions, LLC. All rights reserved.

      Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

      Published simultaneously in Canada.

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       Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

      Names: Gaskins, Tony A., author.

      Title: Dream chaser: if you don't build your dream, someone will hire you to help build theirs / Tony A. Gaskins.

      Description: Hoboken: Wiley, 2016.

      Identifiers: LCCN 2016035957 | ISBN 9781119318903 (cloth) | ISBN 9781119318941 (Adobe PDF) | ISBN 9781119319054 (epub)

      Subjects: LCSH: Success in business. | Entrepreneurship.

      Classification: LCC HF5386 .G2513 2016 | DDC 658.1/1–dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016035957

      CHAPTER 1

      THE BIRTH PATH

      From the moment we are born, there is a path set for us. Our parents were born with a path for them, and they set a path for us. Some parents want their children to go to an Ivy League school and go on to become a doctor or lawyer. Some parents want their children to go to a state university and go on to work a solid job. Some parents hope their child goes to community college. Some parents hope their child just graduates from high school. Some parents hope their child lives to see at least their eighteenth birthday.

      We all have a path set in place for us from the moment we're born. The problem is, we don't usually question that path. We just hop on and follow it and allow it to lead us to misery. Sometimes we reach the destination and then finally get the guts to get off of the birth path and to go in a new direction. Right now, there are artists who can change the world with their art, but they've settled for being a lawyer in their small city, handling routine cases. Right now, there are philanthropists who can help relieve hunger in thousands of lives, but they've settled for being an accountant because they were told that was a great major in college. There are so many people living beneath their dreams, walking the path set for them and never questioning it.

      You have to question the path. We all need to write our own road map that will lead us to where we want to be, not where we were told we should be. Are you extremely happy doing what you're doing for a living? If not, you're on the wrong path. Are you at peace with your current lifestyle? If not, you're on the wrong path. Can you help others in the position you're currently in? If not, you're on the wrong path. If you were fired today, could you start your own company? If not, you're on the wrong path. As I was transitioning into entrepreneur life, I tweeted a quote: If you don't build your dream, someone will hire you to help build theirs. The quote went viral around the world. Others were quoted saying it, but I knew I wrote it. It came from my heart. It came from my spirit. It was deep inside of me, and I was feeling the pain of the truth in it. I feel that even if we work for someone else, that job should be our dream job. If it's not our dream job, then we should build our dream job, which will eventually replace our day job. Let a computer or robots do the meaningless, pencil-pushing jobs. A human shouldn't be doing meaningless work in the world. We all have a purpose to fulfill and filing papers just isn't enough. I used to file papers, so I know what it feels like; I used to stock groceries, so I know what it feels like. I used to work in a warehouse stacking heavy items on a pallet and driving it around on a forklift, so I know what that feels like too. I've done mindless work and it's a waste of time and energy. But yet that's the path that was set for many of us.

      I remember my mother saying to me once, “Baby, I'll be happy if you just graduate from high school.” I know you may think that's sad, but I didn't because I knew that's where her bar was. All she did was graduate from high school, and her parents were happy about that. Where I'm from, dropping out of high school wasn't shocking. A lot of my cousins never graduated. Some family and friends died before realizing their potential. To graduate from high school was a real accomplishment in my family, and it was the most that most people did. On my mother's side, I knew only one family member who graduated from college. So the likelihood of graduating from college wasn't very high. That was the path.

      Later in life, while in college, I said to my mom that I might become a schoolteacher and a high school sports coach. She told me she would be so very proud of me if I did that. She was always supportive of my dreams, but she didn't set the bar too high for me. She didn't want to see me reach and fail. She didn't want me to get hurt. She saw a certain level of reality around her and that was as far as she could see. My dad was the same way. He loved and supported me and gave me anything I needed to succeed, but he never set the bar high for me. He always told me to get good grades, but he never told me to try to become a doctor or a lawyer. I'm not sure that was possible in his mind. Often, we can only see as far as we've gone. It takes faith to see beyond that, and faith isn't as easy to come by as we think it is. My dad tells me often now that where I am is beyond his wildest imagination. I believe him. To be honest, I've actually surprised myself a time or two. It's because we weren't shown these possibilities growing up. Of course, we can't fault our parents for not seeing in us what we should see in ourselves. They may not be able to see more than what

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