THE IMPORTANCE OF DREAMS - by Benson Agoha

"To accomplish great things, we must dream as well as act" - Anatole France the French novelist (1844–1924)

“Dreams can become a reality when we possess a vision that is characterized by the willingness to work hard, a desire for excellence and a belief in our right and our responsibility to be equal members of society.” - Janet Jackson

Meaning of Dreams:
Dreams are visualisations or imaginings inside of the human brain, of things, or ideas, or a situation, which we think, is or will turn out to be, as expected. Dreams are also called visions of things as we think they should be or would like them to be. Sometimes, during our sleep, these imagings begin to form as pictures that we see and wake up with, or which we take back to reality. Dreams maybe clear or blurred.

The Importance of Dreams:
Dreams help us achieve our goals because it is, often, the first layout of our plans. When we visualise who, what, how, when and where we are headed, we are encouraged to put them down on paper for subsequent consultation.

Whenever you find yourself in a labyrinth in life, go backwards and remember your original dream. Are you still following through to your original plan? If not, where have you deviated? Be prepared to, if necessary, retrace your steps and start all over again. As a graphic designer, I sometimes have to do this. Sometimes while tracing an image, I find that I have deviated from the correct edge. The solution is either to start all over again or go backwards and retrace from the point of deviation.

Reality:
We cannot talk about dreams without reality. Reality is what becomes of our dreams after we wake up. Sometimes, dreams are so clear that we wish it was real only to wake up and realise, it was all a dream. Did it seem too good to be true? It probably is. At other times, dreams are not clear at all. But no matter, turning a dream into reality depends on our own actions. Ones we wake up from our dream, what we do in our conscious state determine our post dream reality.

Gap between Dreams and Reality:
If dreamers can become models, what is the gap between dreams and reality? How distant is your dream from your success point? Dreams and reality maybe extremes apart, but what is the distance between the two? This is where continuous self-evaluation comes in handy

Many years ago, I asked my friend Ken Ambrose Korie, to tell me just how far he thought our dreams were from realisation. Of course, the distance is relative and usually varies. But once we succeed, our success often, quickly reduces our perceived distance, by finally cushioning the effects of our suffering during our building period. In some cases, it creates an optical illusion for observers. Don’t be surprised if varying stories about how you achieved success emerge at this point.

Dreams and Expectations:
While dreams and expectations go hand in hand, they are not the same. Expectations are also known as hopes, potential or outlook, but dreams come before expectations. Expectations come during the interval after our dreams. When we are almost certain that our dreams will become a reality, we have a `great expectation’. What was your last great expectation? Sometimes, however, there has to be an `action’ after our dream before our expectation can be great. In this case, the quality of our post dream action determines our `great expectation’.

Dreams and Models: Models are figures for emulation. Sometimes they are examples of dream successes. They are icons. Models can be individuals. They can also be representation of our expectation.

Like expectations, models come in the interval between, dream and reality. It is the `mini version’ of our great expectation. Models are present all around us. In civil engineering, models are often constructed, to show the public what to expect. In automobile engineering, they are mini versions of vehicles in production or work in progress. They are also used for presentations or demonstrations, where computer simulations are not available. Models are also used in genetic engineering to show what is expected after due procedures have been followed in an attempt to alter the nature of an object. Models are sometimes called `prototypes’.

Anyone can actually be a model. In other words, when an individual has succeeded in translating their dreams into realities, they become models and lovable icons. Theirs become typical of examples worthy of emulation.

Types of Dreams:
There are different types of dreams. As pointed out above, dreams maybe ideas generated in our ruminations. But dreams can also represent pictures we see in our sleep. Below are some types of dreams as we know and experience them.

Corporate Dreams: Or as sometimes called company’s community dreams, represents an organisation’s visualisations of its aims and directions. It is around corporate dreams that corporate policy is formed to guide the organisational members towards the attainment of the company’s goals.

Daydreams: These are pictures we see in our sleep while taking our midday rest or, as also called, siesta. For some people, daydreams are just entertainment to the brain during their sleep. These dreams are soon forgotten. But for others, daydreams can be a vision, an advance premonition or revelation of a future occurrence.

Hallucinations:
When we attach too much expectation into our dreams, we stand in danger of a hallucination. Hallucinations are sometimes just a mirage, phantasies or delusions. They never become real, no matter how intense our expectation. And even if we take steps, physical action, to make it real, they don’t become what we expect. Hallucination maybe a symptom of stress.

Nightmares:
Nightmares are horrifying pictures seen in our sleep. Nightmares do not necessarily occur at night but also can occur during the day

Sharing Your Dreams:
Share your dreams, if you must, but don’t expect everyone to like it. In this regard, it is expedient to decide who is the right person to share your dreams with. Sharing your dreams with everyone is not wise. Some people are, simply, dream killers, while others are dream supporters. Develop a sense of self-worth and please do filter your contacts and friends, ensuring that you separate the `men from the boys’. This takes a strong determination and self-will, to do. Filtering your contacts means leaving out sentiments and doing what benefits you with whomever you stand best to benefit from. Yes, in this regard, I suggest, it is ok to be a little selfish.

I was, and still am, dare I hope, a dreamer and, an achiever. That was until I came in contact with, and actually shared my dreams, with my former Pastor. It was the worst mistake I ever made in my life. It was also the worst mistake most other members ever made in their lives too. In this sense, I didn’t feel alone but, being one who often likes to stand out; I would, rather, not have blended with this kind of group.

If you are like me, who slowly but surely lays his bricks, sharing your dreams with or aligning yourself with people whose mentality is different, like the `get rich quick’ groups, will be counterproductive.

Until I met this pastor, whom I later found out, enjoys `zooming out and right back into earth at will, much like Clark Kent of Smallville*, I had always been a go-getter who always shared his dreams and then relished as the listener watched me achieve them. I remember my friend Silas Odiketa once telling me I was a marvel to him. I asked him `how?’ and he said because I always talked about my dreams and then, against all odds, still go ahead and achieve them. He said he couldn’t talk about his because of fear that he would fail. How wise of him. But not everyone is the same, for had I not come across this Pastor, I would have been unstoppable. I was not rising with speed of light, but I was surely following an earlier advice by a mentor to, `if necessary, slowly but incrementally add to whatever I had already’, and move ahead.

Failing And Rising Again:
Sometimes, results deviate from our expectations and even from our dreams. When this happens, we must re-evaluate to determine whether we actually met and surpassed our expectation or not. If the answer is yes, we have a fantastic result. On the other hand, if the answer is that we did not meet our expectation, we say our dreams have failed.

But it is not so much about our dreams failing, as it is about us rising again. As Yaphathainment International say in their `Graceland’ project says, “when the chips are down, it is time to look up”. So when we discover that our dreams have failed, we must re-evaluate and go back to the drawing board. In this regard, quitting is not an option

Keep Walking:
So be resilient and keep at it and hang in there. And as `Johnny Walker’ would say: “Keep Walking!”

• Smallville (TV Series (2001 - 2011): is a movie about a cult group with extra-ordinary superhuman capabilities, often aired by E4.

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RACISM, MATURITY AND PROFESIONALISM: WHAT EVERY BLACKMAN (OR WOMAN) SHOULD KNOW

"It Is Time To Rise Above Racism And Self Interest" Rachel Farris (2008)

Introduction:
Recently an on-the-pitch encounter snowballed into something bigger and triggered debates about `racism' in football. It even led to calls for the resignation of FIFA President, Mr. Sepp Blatter. But just what is the best way to harness and hone inate(raw) skills of footballers,to make them adaptable and capable of withstanding relative professional stress and associated experiences?

Roussilon, Southern France August 2004:
It was atop bridge `St. Julien', or so it is called, a single lane strip of motorable, carefully layered heavy stones, said to have been built by the Romans more than 2000 years ago linking the Southern town of Roussillon in the Provence region of France, with Northern Spain, that my German host told me it was time for Africans to move away from self-pity, with determination, not looking back on the dark years of colonisation, because, `we too, were colonised and we overcame it and moved away from self-pity’. He pointed at St. Julien as a legacy of their former colonial powers.

Back in the penthouse room I was lodged in that sunny day in August 2004, I ruminated over what I had seen and heard, and saw therein a point too strong, to be ignored. I did not think that I would be forced to remember the events after six years, but the current racism row has led to a `convulsion’ of memories, forcing out already archived experiences.

Why does Racism Always Have To Be Associated With Blacks?
The big question is, why does racism almost always have to be associated with blacks? Why can't blacks rise above self condemnation and pity anchored on racial abuse? Blacks have married to and been married by every other race, with adorable legacies. Blacks have produced a Formula1 Champion, a President of the USA, Mayors in UK cities and many more.. You see, I support Rachel Farris when she said "It is time to rise above racism and self interest"

It must be acknowledged that, indeed, black people (and maybe many others) may have suffered a lot of insults and degradation, at one point or the other in their history, but racism should not always be blamed. Race and the skin colour which, we have all accepted can be called ‘Black’, `White’, `Asian’, `Australian’ and so on, is actually a natural and continental heritage, and it applies to all peoples of the world. But we must recognise when we have suffered abuse, as a result of the colour of our skin and when we have so suffered because our tormentor is inherently wicked. A Test is, if he can do to his brother, kinsmen or child, what he has done to you, he may be anything but `racist’. So that other underlying reasons must be discovered.

And I think that Racism must be further differentiated and weighted, to avoid abuse.
1) If a person beats up or inflicts injury on another, solely on the basis of the colour of his skin, the perpetrator should not be ignored.
2) If a child is deprived placement in a University slot or denied education, on the basis of the colour of his skin, this should not be swept under the carpet.
3) If an applicant is denied a job, despite passing through relevant tests and being qualified, solely on the basis of the colour of his skin, it must be jointly and severally condemned.
4) If a child is manifestly able to pursue a course of study at university, but is being manipulated by others to drop his/her ambition, solely on the basis of the colour of his skin, the perpetrators must be recognised as racists and guilty of causing educational obstruction to the child.

If we don’t mind being classified on other basis like country, profession, intellectual ability, wealth, height, weight and so on, why do we care when called names that refer to our skin colour? What every Blackman, or woman, requires is to develop a strong character and an admirable personality. These help you overcome your inhibitions.

Looking at ourselves in our mirrors every morning, and telling ourselves, very emphatically that `we are black, and we are proud’ maybe the tonic we need.
We must ask ourselves where we are lacking. Is it in income, education, height or weight? The presence or the lack of each of these variables is capable of resulting in a feeling of low esteem. Other than this, it is incomprehensible why a grown man, who has made it to a Professional status - easily the best league in the world – or indeed any other respectable professional hierarchy, will still lack the strength of character to deal with such issues, as name calling.

But in truth, we are all forged through different crucibles, probably making us professionals only in selected fields, but not in all. These days are no longer the time for the likes of Wolfgang von Goethe who combined poetry with politics, science and religion and made a success of all.

Two of the racial issues in recent news feeds, that have refused to die down, occurred in the Premier league and involve at least four big names. Like most others, I am curious particularly because, all the names involved are mature footballers, with several years of experience.

Now, I keep asking myself, are blacks the best behaved at the work place? I can’t help wondering if there have been occasions when the situation was reversed and a black footballer became the offending party. What was the reaction of the offended?

And what colour is our skins, really? Here is one real life, direct source, story: A seven year old Black pupil (who had just migrated, with his family, into the UK from Belgium) enrolled into Abbey Wood Primary School, had an argument with his White classmate, who had called him `black’. The black boy asked `are you white? Look at your skin and look at this book, do they match?’ His classmate said `well, that’s what my parents told me’ and the boy said `then, they lied to you’. While the argument was witnessed by their teacher and related to the mother of the black pupil, I kept wondering what the parents of the white boy would have told him when he returned from school and confronted them with his experience.

With this kind of self-awareness, at the age of seven, I don’t see how the black boy will make his way to professional life and then relapse into walloping in self-pity, over name calling. And, in which areas are parents, especially black parents, failing their kids by not providing the right training to them during their formative years?

We read about exceptionally beautiful and fashionable ladies who fall over themselves, just to identify and possibly be a WAG to these footballers, without a care in the world about the colour of their skin. For this reason, I think that any beneficiary of, and indeed anyone capable of benefiting from, this kind of attention does not have an excuse to cry racism. And I suspect that Sepp Blatter’s initial reaction might have been in line with the view that it takes more than `raw skill’ to be a professional footballer.

It is one thing to discover desirable talent and yet another to harness and adapt the skill to fit various potential situations. A child who possesses football skill or similar must not just be trained to play football but also, must be exposed to various simulated situations during his training prior to going professional. Footballers, actors and actresses, dancers and singers are some of the professional areas that definitely fall into this group. As the book of Proverbs said in Chapter 22:6 `train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it’

Appropriate Child Skill training will go a long way in helping to reduce the number of potential questions that bothers on professional ethics. These include:

A) When a lawyer abandons and betrays his client to align with and serve his client’s rivals instead of handing over to another lawyer as he would have been prejudiced.
B) When a medical doctor refuses to save a life because no one has paid the appropriate fees in advance.
C) And when a Pastor or spiritual leader ignores the very messages he stood on the pulpit and preached to an eager congregation, to declare spiritual warfare and spiritually suppress the very congregation he pastors.

We may never really know exactly what transpired recently between some footballers on the pitch, but I think that while we must not encourage people to behave irrational and out of character when they are under stress, as might have been the case, we should know how seriously we should take them, because otherwise, we simply blow the situation out of proportion and, often, result in more and longer argument, than the perpetrator intended.

There has been a call for FIFA President, Mr. Sepp Blatter, to resign in the face of a current gaffe. Well, I do have my reservations over that call. But as an administrator with a good degree of modesty, the Soccer Chief has apologised and we must, in the spirit of sportsmanship and fairplay, accept that apology. Mr. Blatter is an Administrator and not a politician, even though football has gone greatly political. And his refusal to go should even be a lesson to all other `cry baby’ footballers that it takes modesty and self-confidence to accept and apologise for ones mistakes, and still retain your integrity, assertiveness and self-belief.

Black professionals, including footballers, should allow themselves the luxury of a little more self-belief. It will even enable them to adhere to the tenets of their respective professions.

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