Big things are envisioned; they are the stuff of dreams.  More often than not they are the stuff of the dreams of the young.  When we get older the dreams tend to fade into reality and they are too soon no more.  Not in all of us though.

My kids dream of big and wondrous things.  At the Baseball Hall of Fame one of my sons took a picture of one of the blank plaques and said that one day it would be his plaque hanging on that spot.  Another son plans to be a lawyer and have a cabin in the hills in Tennessee.  At their age and with their capabilities each dream is big but neither dream is completely out of reach.  But how to get there?

How does a coach become great?  How about a teacher?   Does either start out with a desire to be great and with a plan on how to get there?

I believe that the path to greatness has to start with a dream, a desire to get there.   Things start to move when that desire meets with a growing commitment to (also) get there.  I don’t know if an exact plan is necessary as much as the fact that the desire and commitment, once mated, work to drive a person toward excellence.  So we need a word for this pairing of desire and commitment.  Let’s just call it drive.

Some vehicles can rely on dual sources of drive and so it is I think with human drive.  Most times it is the commitment that provides the progress and, at times when the commitment may wane or the person tire of the effort, desire kicks in and provides the necessary propulsion.  Things may stall or even sometimes seem to stop but the journey is never abandoned.

Effort is the fuel here.  A person can want to be great and can feel they are committed to get there but he really needs to provide a constant stream of steady effort.  There needs to be at least some fuel in the tank.  At times great levels of effort are needed to provide the energy needed to overcome the steep grade presented by a setback or unplanned and unwelcomed result.

“When the going gets tough…”

I wish I had had the knowledge in youth that I possess now and I wish I had the ability to dream big today that I possessed in youth.  That should be what parents help to provide.  But only the individual can make the commitment and provide the effort.  Some got it and some don’t but I believe more got it and just don’t get the help to know it and develop it before the time has passed.

Maybe that is what makes a great coach or teacher.  Maybe that is what makes a great parent.  The ability to help others to find and pursue their dreams; the capability and commitment to help them along in the journey; the patience to spend time on some of the little things that help them to get past resistance and disappointment; the infectious spirit to make them believe anything is possible but the life experience to know dream from unobtainable fantasy; the love of what they do; and the deep caring for those under their tutelage and care.

It is about the moment- what can I do here and now to help move myself or someone else along the way to greatness?  Can I teach a child to do a math problem and in the process also teach them a little about how to figure it out in the future for himself; can I teach a player a new dribble move and instill in him the confidence to then use it in a game and not be discouraged if it isn’t perfect the first few times; can I build up my child to be independent on the one hand but also to know on the other that I will always be there to show love and support; can I do little things every day myself to make me a bit better and move me closer to my dream?

And if I don’t have a dream or lost the one I had along the way then maybe, just maybe, I can dream up a new one and get along again.

The big things are envisioned, they are the stuff of dreams.  But getting there is all about getting the little things done.

So go and dream and then get started getting those things done.  Maybe there is still time if you just don’t wait any longer.