In 2016 I got out of bed at 6 AM to write this short manifesto. Ten years later it still resonates. Republishing with what life taught me since.
Original post (2016, translated):
It’s almost 6 AM. If you ask me why I felt the need to wake up and write this, I don’t know. Maybe to inspire you. Maybe so you can feel this.
Sometimes people complain — “so boring”, “I’m sick of this”, “school never ends”. When I find myself slipping into that mood, I immediately switch to happy thoughts. The whole exit takes me 30 seconds.
Has your heart ever raced while daydreaming? Mine sometimes pounds so hard it’s like I’m actually living the dream — and a goofy grin spreads across my face that I can’t stop.
Dreaming is fun, keep doing it. It might come true or it might not — that doesn’t matter. What matters is that you thought it and imagined it. To achieve anything, you first have to think it and run it through your mind.
When I daydream I visualize down to the smallest detail. And when one of those dreams does come true, the exact way I behaved in the daydream pops back into my head. Actually living it gives such a sweet rush that I’ll really start jumping or spinning where I stand. In private of course — we’re respectable adults after all.
Seriously, dream in detail and try to make it real. “How can I make this happen, what path do I need to walk?” Find the best path, build solid steps that take you there.
Don’t forget to bring loved ones along. That’s actually the whole point — be there when they win, and have them there when you do. Joy alone has no meaning. As the saying goes: happiness multiplies when shared.
Ten Years On — Which Dreams Came True?
In 2016 I was 23, a Microsoft Student Partner, an engineering student. Some of my dreams back then:
- Living abroad — a dream in 2016. Got my US visa in 2019, traveled to many countries.
- Building my own software — yes, multiple times.
- Earning a living from engineering — yes, at an international level.
- Filling my passport — started with Postcrossing, still collecting.
- Maintaining my own blog — 18 years and counting.
The Neuroscience of Dreaming
In 2016 I was unknowingly talking about a neuroscience-backed technique:
- Mental simulation: your brain processes vivid imagination almost identically to real experience. Athletes use this as “visualization”.
- RAS — Reticular Activating System: once you set a goal, your brain filters the environment for signals related to it.
- Implementation intentions: drilling “how will I do it?” boosts success rates 2-3× in psychology studies.
10-Minute Exercise
- Grab a pen, push the phone away.
- Write a day in your life 10 years from now. Waking at 7 — where? Breakfast with whom? Working on what?
- What’s the single step this year that gets you closer?
- Add that step to your calendar this week.
- Repeat.
