The Dream/Ambition Thread

If there's one thing I love to talk about, it's inspirational topics. And pretty much the ancestor of all these topics are dreams. Not the kind of dreams you have at night, or when you daydream in the day, but the kind of dream as in a lifelong ambition. So I figured with so many diverse followers of Jim Henson, this would make a pretty interesting thread.

So, what are your thoughts, questions, comments, or anything else about dreams?

I really want to be involved in movies somehow, or singing or some sort of performance based career. It's funny because sometimes I'll feel "Yay I have a dream, let's follow it Kermit, " that kinda mentality. Then other times I feel very "stupid dream, I've wasted my life chasing after you, I'm so stupid."

Anybody else feel this way or am I the only one? For the most part I like shooting for my dreams, it makes me feel like I have some sort of goal for my life. It's the times when I have trouble finding a real job that I feel like stomping it into the ground

Mine would love to be, working backstage in Hollywood,CA. I would love to live around Los Angeles or Anaheim (in which I would need to be a rich woman to do so). Especially to hang around some friends at Disneyland every Sunday. That would be the dream. As for the ambition. It's hard to accomplish for only being a mere Delawarean.

I think we all feel that way at some point in following our dreams. It's the thing that makes the people who followed through with their dreams more admirable, that they were able to overcome those thoughts and those obstacles, even when life is not treating them too well. I think the important thing is that regardless of what is happening, we need to hold tight to that dream. Like you said, it's a wonderful thing to have a dream to follow, as it seems to make you feel like you have some sort of purpose in the big picture.

This is the thing I love about dreams, there are just so many aspects of them to discuss, and that's what this thread is for.

Sorry if mine sounds like a Debbie Downer. I also would had loved be a voice over. I looked at that as the easiest job in entertainment. But I gotten a reality lesson from even that too.

No dream is a Debbie Downer. No matter how big or how small, they're not. Just wondering, why did you give up on being a voice over and stuff?

I would still love too. Just I asked a Disney World cast member at the Animation Studios about how to be a voice over years ago (this back in 1996, so it was actually being a Animation Studios during this time). She said you would have to goto college and basically be famous. She say alot of things that day that went to my head like omg.

I think there's ways you can get in without going to college and stuff. It would probably take a little extra effort, but I think you still could possibly get in.

I should talk a little about a dream I have. I'm trying to work kinda behind-the-scenes in TV and/or film, y'know, like writing, directing, that kind of stuff. An idea I've been developing is possibly creating a family-friendly sitcom, like the kind they made in the 50s and 60s. I think it's something that this world does desperately needs, as all the stuff on TV seems to be adult-only garbage.

That is a good dream that I hope comes true for you. Also randomly thinking along with that. It would be nice if someone could make great Saturday Morning Cartoons again. I keep thinking, atleast like the 80's.

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Much luck to you Hollywood dreamers...that's possibly the hardest sort of dream to achieve, especially these days with such a huge talent (and semitalented) pool for potential studio employers to draw from. Do your best to stand out and still be You!

I think every dream has potential...but one should be realistic. In other words, have a Day Job to support yourself while spending your free time working toward that dream. It's doable, for most. Research and grab at every single opportunity for advancement. I'm going after an NEA grant for prose next year, so I can finally work on that novel I want to explore; even though IF I get it I won't see a dime until 2014, it's still something to shoot for. And meanwhile I'm writing whenever my brain isn't fried.

Think long-term. Dreams can sustain us, if we take care to sustain ourselves while we're pursuing them.
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I'm reminded of some very wise advice I read from voice actor Dan Gilvezan in his book Bumblebee & Me:

"Often when people find out what I do for a living, they will say something like, 'my friends tell me I have a good voice, maybe I should get into that whole voiceover thing.' Well maybe. But before you do I have a few suggestions: First of all, take some classes: in acting, voice and speech, improv. Study music (you may be asked to sing), psychology (you need to know people), business (it's called show business, after all). Spend a few years working for very little money, on projects that will very likely go nowhere, for people who won't appreciate what you've done for them. Deal with unscrupulous characters out to fleece you, bamboozle you and hoodwink you at every turn. Lay out thousands of dollars on workshops, showcases, publicity materials, photos, resumes, demos, printing, postage and mailing, trade publications, union dues, agent's fees. Spend countless hours going on hundreds of auditions for jobs you'll never get. Face frustration, disappointment and disillusionment every living day of your life.

Then prepare yourself for things to get rough."

Bottom line, dreams take a lot of hard work and sacrifice. And I admire people who are aware of this and are willing to put in the effort.

Wow, alot of things I never thought of. That is admiring to the people that go all through that. Thank for sharing that quote.

But then, people can't let all that stuff discourage them. I think a lot of it depends on the person pursuing the field...depending on what they know and what works for them. All that stuff may not be right for some people...

That's the other great things about dreams, when someone does achieve a big dream, you know that they worked extremely hard to get there. A lot of credit goes to them. The thing I like about dreams is that a true dream carries you through all those hardships, that a true dream will be achieved.

No problem; I was glad he was so honest about it all. I think we need to hear more from the working actors and not just from the so-called celebrities which are frankly impossible to relate to, heh.

Oh no of course not. It just pays to be aware when you're starting out because it can be quite a shock. You really have to learn to develop a thick skin, accept rejection and move on to the next audition.

Great thread...rather than make a big post, I'll just say NOW is the time to go for dreams and goals. Don't put off, and instead visualize and make incremental baby steps(or even nano steps) toward things you want. Don't dare let it be 2013 and you're still thinking "well, I should stop procrastinating" or "if only I had...". DO IT!

Good advice there beaker! I definitely agree with that. Any small step puts you better off than you were before. Just because you have a dream that doesn't mean you have to complete it tomorrow, but tomorrow you should be working toward it.

Like me, for example, right now, little by little, I'm developing this idea for a show, after I scrapped my original idea (for now at least). Of course, I'm only making tiny steps in this process, but I am closer than I was yesterday.

I want to be a programmer. I take computer lessons every weekend, and now I have a SCJP license/certificate (whatever).

Secretly, I want to be in Hollywood. In movies, I can do things impossible in real life. And I want to make millions of people happy. I want to entertain.

Ain't it weird that I was just thinking about this thread a few minutes ago, and now it's back up? (Of course, I'm always thinking about this kind of stuff, so then again...)

Lots of Hollywood dreamers on here. Glad I'm not alone!

In fact, as a kid I really wanted to be a Muppet performer. However, at some point I decided that something like that was just undoable (especially for someone like me). But after watching "Being Elmo", I've been inspired again. Since then, I've been working on puppetering with a few puppets that I bought. I can actually lip-sync and do "hand motions" pretty well, but I still have A LOT of work to do.

Yep...I guess it comes along with liking the Muppets, seeing that they are performers and Hollywood dreamers themselves.