It Pays To Dream
This is an incredible article that was written by Monique Alvarez. I have titled it it pays to dream. I found this very inspirational and think you will too.
As I sit here enjoying perfect health, sharing the sunshine with Derek and working together on a home business, I’m reminded that five years ago things were very different…
Weeks after finishing college, I completed a “bootcamp” of sorts. Its purpose was to prepare me to live in any conditions… and to survive whatever I may encounter while living in the developing world.
Why was in the middle of nowhere, Florida in the hot summer anyway?
Because my dream, for as long as I can remember, was to travel across the seas and be a volunteer in an orphanage… Every time I saw a plane, I imagined myself on it — taking the next adventure to a country no one talked about, taking care of kids no one wanted.
And so it was, in November of 2000 my dream became reality.
I moved to Tirana, Albania to volunteer in an orphanage that was home to about 120 kids.
(Oh, if you’re wondering where the heck Albania is — just go east from Italy or northwest from Greece… and you can’t miss it.)
I can’t tell you what it meant to me to be sitting in the middle of the mental slideshow I had played thousands of times in my mind… It was real! I learned the language, I learned the traditions, I even managed to get the Albanian’s sense of humor.
I learned that “ska drita” or “no electricity” was a common daily occurrence that leads to “ska uje” or “no water.” We often joked that Albania was much more romantic than the States because we had so many candle light dinners 
But that wasn’t my only stop…
I traveled to 14 other countries, but one particular place had been in my plans and five years ago I landed in Nairboi, Kenya.
I was set to volunteer in a orphanage for babies with HIV.
Yes, it was my biggest challenge yet… Here was a building full of the sweetest little babies who may not survive their first two years of life. I had one purpose while I was there, to show them lots of love.
Seven months after first landing on that beautiful continent I was invited to go on a hike with those who volunteered with me… We had a great time and I returned home exhausted.
And that was the last thing I remember…
I don’t know just how much time had passed but I recall my roommate, Susanne, walking me down three flights of stairs to a taxi that was waiting for us… She said she was taking me to a hospital and, while I wasn’t happy about it, I didn’t have the energy to argue.
The only thing I clearly heard from my bed was that I had Malaria, the most fatal strain, and either my immune system would kick in or I would be dead within days.
I laid there with my eyes closed and told myself, “Kick in Monique, kick in!”
I thought about all the dreams I had made come true and the many more that I had in my heart to do… I hadn’t found my true love, my partner in life. I hadn’t built my business that would provide these kids with food, clothing, medicine and an education… I was far from finished!
Just as my dream of going overseas inspired me to get through my homesick college days and intense bootcamp in Florida, my future dreams inspired me to heal over the next year.
Being in Network Marketing, I often ask people why they want to start a business… and I am surprised that they don’t really know.
Sure, they’ll say, “I want to make more money, win a trip from my company, or make my sponsor proud”… something like that.
But what I have learned is that we can overcome the most challenging circumstances — even death itself — when we have really big dreams to live for.
Are you working toward a dream that you love?
…That you play over and over in your mind, that you share constantly?
Does it move you?
Does it bring you to tears?
Or is it a cookie cutter, mass-produced dream someone handed you?
Life is too short and much too sweet to live for such a dream…
To Your Success, Herb Hunter, 734-285-6792, hunter645@aol.com.
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Great post, Herb
Robert