Don’t Give Up Your Dreams


My grandson was about five when he asked me about a painting of his much younger-looking Papa playing guitar. I told him Papa was about 16 when the picture was painted. I told him that when Papa was younger he was planning on being a musician and writing songs for his career. My grandson asked how come he hadn’t.


How do you explain the complexity of real careers and the dreams that don’t pay the bills?


I told my grandson that Papa still played guitar, it just wasn’t his real job.


But I assured him that you don’t have to give up your dreams. Papa hadn’t. He was just waiting for the right time for it to be his new job—something he did for fun, not for money.



As we honor the 157 million American workers this Labor Day, there are many doing work they didn’t anticipate doing. Others may have landed their dream job. It’s still work, and it takes about 35 years to reach the finish line. 


Work is what builds our lives, our families, creates new opportunities, and strengthens our communities. 




And for our dreams? Keep them alive even as you work—dreams can bring a lot of joy throughout your life. I told my grandson, someday you’ll see Papa playing his guitar because he’ll be done with work for good, and then he’ll be living his dream.


And he is.


Tom (Papa) has a new collection of faith-based songs on Spotify and Apple—under his band name: United Dreams. 


Or check him out on Facebook: United Dreams


Painting by Roy Pettus


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