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Copyright © 2017 by Gaskins Productions, LLC. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Names: Gaskins, Tony A., author.
Title: Dream chaser: if you don't build your dream, someone will hire you to help build theirs / Tony A. Gaskins.
Description: Hoboken: Wiley, 2016.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016035957 | ISBN 9781119318903 (cloth) | ISBN 9781119318941 (Adobe PDF) | ISBN 9781119319054 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Success in business. | Entrepreneurship.
Classification: LCC HF5386 .G2513 2016 | DDC 658.1/1–dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016035957
I'm dedicating this book to anyone who has a dream, but you're afraid that you lack the time, resources, education, and finances to achieve it
I was that person at one point in my life, and I found a way
I hope this book will help you find your way
If you have a dream that you want to build, you also have the tools to build it
From the moment we are born, there is a path set for us. Our parents were born with a path for them, and they set a path for us. Some parents want their children to go to an Ivy League school and go on to become a doctor or lawyer. Some parents want their children to go to a state university and go on to work a solid job. Some parents hope their child goes to community college. Some parents hope their child just graduates from high school. Some parents hope their child lives to see at least their eighteenth birthday.
We all have a path set in place for us from the moment we're born. The problem is, we don't usually question that path. We just hop on and follow it and allow it to lead us to misery. Sometimes we reach the destination and then finally get the guts to get off of the birth path and to go in a new direction. Right now, there are artists who can change the world with their art, but they've settled for being a lawyer in their small city, handling routine cases. Right now, there are philanthropists who can help relieve hunger in thousands of lives, but they've settled for being an accountant because they were told that was a great major in college. There are so many people living beneath their dreams, walking the path set for them and never questioning it.
You have to question the path. We all need to write our own road map that will lead us to where we want to be, not where we were told we should be. Are you extremely happy doing what you're doing for a living? If not, you're on the wrong path. Are you at peace with your current lifestyle? If not, you're on the wrong path. Can you help others in the position you're currently in? If not, you're on the wrong path. If you were fired today, could you start your own company? If not, you're on the wrong path. As I was transitioning into entrepreneur life, I tweeted a quote:
