Friday Forward - Lifelong Dream (#438)
Achieving our dreams requires more than just dreaming
Last week, I had the privilege of witnessing the Boston Celtics win their first NBA championship in 16 years. As the game neared its end, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla began substituting his players out, allowing each one to receive a well-deserved standing ovation from the Boston crowd.
First to have his turn was Al Horford, a 17-year NBA veteran who had played in 186 playoff games without winning a championship—the second longest streak in league history. The look of pure ecstasy and jubilation on Horford’s face as he embraced his coach and acknowledged the crowd was unforgettable. As the rest of the Celtics starters checked out, they had similar reactions.
While I was thrilled to witness yet another victory for Boston sports and a record 18th championship for the Celtics, I was most moved by the visible emotion from the players as they reached their lifelong goal of winning a title for the first time. Post-game, many Celtics shared how surreal it felt to achieve a dream they’d carried since they were little kids on the playground. Seeing so many people reach a crowning achievement in their lives added profound depth to the celebration.
I had this same feeling as I watched the dramatic end of the NHL's Stanley Cup Finals this week. Members of the championship-winning Florida Panthers showed similar elation and emotion as the vast majority reached their own lifelong goal for the first time.
A particularly poignant reaction came from Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk, whose father played in the NHL for 18 years without a title. He spoke about his childhood dream of skating around with the Stanley Cup, and he ultimately realized the dream his father never could. While I had no personal investment in the Panthers winning, I instinctively appreciated such a fulfilling occasion for another human being.
Professional athletes don’t often receive sufficient recognition for their relentless dedication to their craft. Despite having a reputation of “getting paid millions to play a game,” athletes endure years of grueling practices, face painful injuries, and experience frequent failures. In a 30-team league like the NHL or NBA, these athletes know 97 percent of them will see their season end in defeat, and thousands will end their careers without ever reaching the mountaintop. And yet, largely they persist until they lose their passion or, more frequently, father time finally catches up with them.
This relentless pursuit is not unique to athletes. Many of us harbor similar aspirations. However, we sometimes naively expect the road to success to be straightforward, underestimating the resilience required to overcome inevitable challenges. Achieving significant goals demands perseverance, dedication, and a willingness to face setbacks head-on without any expectation of success. This reality is why it’s so important to make sure you enjoy the journey and not just the destination.
Childhood and even adulthood dreams can come true, but they require more than just dreaming—they require us to consistently work, knowing that occasional failure is certain in pursuit of the ultimate goal. Today, however, there seems to be a different mentality: an emerging sense of entitlement to success without the corresponding struggle or commitment to the process. In a world increasingly focused on instant gratification, the idea of working diligently toward a distant goal often feels outdated, or even unreasonable.
This entitled mindset not only undermines the value of perseverance, but it also diminishes the satisfaction derived from attaining hard-earned success. The journey to achievement in any field—be it sports, business, arts, or personal development—demands a consistent investment of effort, time, and patience.
In the end, the joy evident on the winning players’ faces reminded me that true fulfillment arises not merely from the trophy at the end, but from the height of the climb and the obstacles overcome along the way. It's difficult to witness others achieve their goals without feeling inspired to reevaluate and rededicate yourself to your own.
What’s your lifelong goal? What are you willing to do to achieve it?
Quote of The Week
"The only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work hard for them.” - Michelle Obama
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Well written! It resonates with my recent memory of having witnessed the Indian cricket team win the T20 World Cup this past weekend. They were so close yet so far from the coveted title for more than a decade despite being a top team and consistently ranked in the top 3. The pain and joy in the face of every member of the squad told the story of the long road they’ve been through. The hardships, the misses, the triumphs and the sacrifices they’ve made to be here today. It spoke of the perseverance, process and discipline athletes endure to keep it going despite not achieving their dreams. Yes, in today’s world of instant gratification, we need to realize that enduring the process and living it is utmost important.
Robert, another wonderful topic. However, while you link over to your prior newsletter about the difference between failing and failure, I just want to request that perhaps we all start using the word "failing" in place of "failure" to specifically distinguish between the two. For those of us that truly appreciate the distinction between the two meaning, it's important to begin using them appropriately. Failing is an action on the way toward achieving something. Just as winning one day doesn’t mean you will always be successful, failing one day doesn’t make you a failure. Whereas, as you point out, failure is a conclusion that someone has made that expected something else and either didn’t get it or gave up trying to get it.
"Failing" should it not only be acceptable but should be expected, and should be used as a basis for learning. We should start using this term more often to distinguish it from the "failure" which is a decision for which root cause should be established and then rooted out to a point of extinction.
If they're too similar, then perhaps we could coin a new term for "failing" so as to clear distinguish it from the too common perception of "failure".