SIGN UP - IT'S FREE!

Not a member? Sign-up

Forgot your password?

SEARCH FSM

FSM Archive                Search Must Reads


PetSmart

1-800-PetMeds

TigerDirect

HOME > PUBLICATIONS > Exclusive: Doers and Dreamers

  • IN THIS SECTION

Five Sept. 11 Suspects to Face Trial in New York

The Obama administration has announced it will try 9-11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other 9-11 Gitmo detainees in a civilian federal court in New York, allowing them the protections of the U.S. Constitution even though they are not U.S. citizens.

Do you agree with this?






View results



Four Radical Chinese Muslims Transferred to Bermuda

Four Chinese Uighers (radical Chinese Muslims) were recently transferred to Bermuda. Do you think it's a good idea to release Gitmo detainees to idyllic vacation retreats?






View results


June 1, 2009

Exclusive: Doers and Dreamers

W. Thomas Smith, Jr.

We often hear about doers and dreamers, and that doers win and dreamers fail.
 
It’s not that doers don't (or shouldn't) dream. Doers must dream: just not during working hours.
 
As I wrote in Advice to my nephew on becoming a man, "Don't be afraid to dream. Ideas and concepts are incubated in dreams. But don't fall into the trap of being a dreamer and not a doer."
 
What we rarely, if ever, hear about – beyond the obvious – is specifically why doers win and dreamers fail.
 
The answer is simple: Life is analogous to a long stretch of railroad track. Running along life’s track are four types of speeding railcars – opportunity, obstacle, fortune, and misfortune. How a man or a woman walking alongside the track deals with those four cars – which will inevitably arrive though never on schedule – determines whether or not that man or woman is a doer or a dreamer.
 
Let's look at doers and dreamers and how they deal with the inevitable four.
 
OPPORTUNITY
 
Doers – when presented with opportunity – will unhesitatingly (no matter what he or she is doing at the moment) leap into the railcar and ride. Doers thrive in opportunity.
 
Dreamers – when presented with opportunity – let opportunity pass them by, always wrongly believing (or convincing themselves) that the same or a better opportunity will present itself when it is more convenient for the dreamer. Dreamers want only those opportunities that fit into their time-schedules. Sadly for the dreamer, opportunity is never on time. 
 
OBSTACLE
 
Doers – when confronted by obstacle – will quickly develop a plan and negotiate the obstacle, putting it behind them as fast as possible.
 
Dreamers – when confronted by an obstacle – stop and stare at the obstacle indefinitely, deem it too difficult to negotiate, or simply put off thinking about it until tomorrow, returning instead to their time-sapping dreams.
 
FORTUNE
 
Doers – when blessed with fortune (no matter how small or large) – will protect that fortune, capitalize on that fortune, and use a portion of that fortune to help others.
 
Dreamers – when blessed with fortune – spend it, foolishly convincing themselves (dreaming) that there will be new fortune tomorrow.
 
MISFORTUNE OR INJUSTICE
 
Doers – when faced with misfortune or injustice – will tap into their reserves of courage and work through or fight that misfortune or injustice, always believing – and letting others know they believe – that they will (that they must) break through to the sunshine. Key here is that doers will never give up. They will never quit. They will fight everyday to defeat that misfortune or injustice.
 
Dreamers – when faced with misfortune or injustice – wallow in self-pity, blame others for ruining their dreams, become bitter, and allow the misfortune or injustice to destroy them.
 
The upside in all of this is that doers will always do. And dreamers may be converted.
 
 — Visit W. Thomas Smith Jr. at uswriter.com.

Reader Comments: Submit Your Comment (0)

Print This
Share It: 
Submit to: Digg Submit to: Del.icio.us Submit to: Facebook Submit to: StumbleUpon Submit to: Newsvine Submit to: Reddit