Last updated on September 28th, 2023 at 03:40 pm
Whenever I have the chance, I make it a point never to miss the opportunity to reflect on the fearless activist and leader Martin Luther King Jr. If you share this sentiment with me, the first phrase that likely springs to mind when you think of MLK is “I have a dream.”
In my writings, I celebrate, scrutinize, find humor in, get enthusiastic about, shed tears over, endure stress about, learn from, grow through, and candidly discuss the significance of ambitious aspirations. Recently, while perusing some of MLK’s other powerful words, I stumbled upon this gem:
“If you can’t fly, then run; if you can’t run, then walk; if you can’t walk, then crawl. But whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.”
I don’t know where you currently stand in life, what your activities are today, or what your aspirations for the future entail. However, my sole intention today is to inspire you to take action within your means. Take Martin Luther King Jr.’s sagacious advice to heart—do everything within your capacity to keep forging ahead.
Frequently, we push ourselves to do too much. Sometimes, we find ourselves unable to soar, run, or even walk. Occasionally, we cannot achieve all our dreams or accomplish everything in a single day. However, our primary focus should not be on these limitations. Instead, we must concentrate on doing absolutely anything (and everything) we can to sustain a constant forward momentum in the right direction.
My grand ambition is to ultimately become a life coach, following a few years of working in the fields of design and marketing. Lately, I’ve been grappling with discouragement, and my pursuit of this dream has waned. I’ve been feeding myself a litany of excuses: certification is expensive, nobody would hire me, no one in my circle desires or requires a life coach, I’m being overly idealistic—the list goes on. But you know what?
That’s erroneous.
Do you know why it’s incorrect? Because I’ve been denying myself the progress I should be making.
Earlier this week, I transcended those negative sentiments and disregarded the excuses. I had a phone conversation with a high school student, providing her with advice and practical guidance for her future. After the call, it dawned on me—THIS is precisely what life coaching entails.
That phone call might not seem like a giant leap—it certainly doesn’t equate to flying or running in MLK’s words—but you know what? It represents a proactive stride forward, and that’s all we need to make our dreams seem attainable.
Andrea Teggart
Andi Teggart is a multi-faceted entrepreneur and digital communications strategist with 10+ years of experience focused on strategic social media, public relations, blog writing, email marketing, brand and influencer marketing, and event planning. She’s worked in a wide range of professional settings, including at a top PR firm (Edelman Digital), at small tech startups, in-house managing social media at Facebook, and now runs her own digital marketing and communications consulting agency, Lucky Collective.
Related Stories:
Enjoy this special 8WomenDream Guest Contributor story submitted by new and experienced big dreamers throughout the world, edited and published to capture a dream perspective from different points of view. Do you have a personal dream story to share with 8WomenDream readers? Click here to learn how to submit dream big articles for consideration.
Note: Articles by Guest Post Contributors may contain affiliate links and may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on an affiliate link.
