Since I was 15, and probably even before that, I knew what I wanted to be and become. I dreamed of becoming a writer and a speaker. And I started right away to become who I was, without waiting.
I compare the dreams of youth to a branch or a pole that you hold on to with two hands and two arms when there is the abyss and certain death below you. When you are suspended in the void, and someone comes to cut off your arm, you hang on at all costs with the last arm you have left, as long as possible. One more minute counts. One more second becomes like an eternity.
You must not reveal your dreams to those who will not support you, and even less to those who will discourage and despair you. Basically, you will often have to hold on to your dreams in the greatest secrecy. And it is better to live them and make them come true than to talk about them.
I have childhood friends from the Mediterranean who will recognize themselves in what I say. For a very long time, they have known that I had a talent for giving ” talks ” adapted to the ears that listen. I have done this in every country I have lived in. I have always talked about the same things: the meaning of life, the topic of God, religions, politics, economics, love, desire, misery, fear, money, the foundations of morality and the human psyche, science, biology, strategy, sometimes I even talk about mathematics, music, drugs, theories of physics.
I have lived my whole life as a hypocrite. I went to high school as a hypocrite, I spent years in college as a hypocrite. I’ve gone into business with the sole purpose of holding on to my dreams, no matter what, against all odds. I am willing to sacrifice everything but my dreams. I went to study philosophy with the sole motivation of improving my skills as an underground writer and speaker. Even in the dozens of countries I have lived in, I have been a tourist as a hypocrite and with the sole ulterior motive of writing and speaking. I am a rat, an earthworm, a snake. I never became a university professor, nor a lecturer who is recognized by his large audience and his fine clothes. I still present myself as a fool, a moron, a bum who has no education, no address, no country, no values. And then I continue to do the “work” I do with the same discipline as always. Every day I get up to learn, read, think, speak and write.
Today, in my early forties, I consider that I have achieved my life’s dreams quite well. I have written several books, 6 of which are published. I have published dozens of articles, and also thousands of words and sentences here and there. I have given hundreds of ” talks “. And you know what? It’s not the quantity that counts. If there’s just one person that I’ve talked to or read things that I’ve written and said, “It made me think,” or “It changed my perspective on life,” or “It helped me make my decisions in a radically different way,” if there’s just one person, that’s more than enough. And if you really want me to tell you the truth, there was more than one person. So for me, it’s mission accomplished. I’m not saying this to brag, and what good would it do me to brag? Hahaa. I’m an outsider to every society in the world, and I’m fine with my situation as a phantom nomad. I have never felt any affinity with school systems, neither political, nor religious, nor social, nor national, nor economic. And yet I participate in them like an ant carrying a little bit of food on its back, or like a mosquito* waking up to suck someone’s blood.
You must have understood that, once again, I am addressing young people who still have dreams to realize. Live your dreams, realize your talents! Do it in the greatest secrecy. Never get discouraged. Surround yourself with those who understand and love you as you are. If no one understands you, look at yourself in the mirror every morning and promise yourself to never give up.
The world needs people like you. The world needs people who are not afraid to spread their wings and soar. There is no such thing as failure. It’s just a mental and social construct. Failures are just a series of learning experiences. There will always be people who will tell you that you are bad. Even if you become the master of the art you want to produce, there will always be people to put you down. So never try to be appealing. Instead, seek to be at the top of who you are. The tree that bears bitter fruits is a tree that is alive and well. The snake that terrorizes people is alive and well. The eagle that soars from the top of the mountain never thinks about the day when it will fall to the ground nor its corpse becoming food for the birds of prey; it simply soars with confidence, strength and certainty. Become who you are! Be who you are immediately!
* See the article “I am a mosquito” (2016).
Nadim M. 