I don’t know if you knew this, but your dream is kind of a big deal.

Yes, you heard me right– the week after writing about how following your passion can lead you astray, I’m posting about…. living your dreams?

Life isn’t either/or, guys. Life can be both.

Once you’ve found something that speaks, no, YELLS to you so loudly you can’t ignore it, don’t let it die inside you. Inside of work or outside of work, whether you pursue it for a living or not, it is your duty to live your dream in a way that brings you (and the world) to life.

This is what Kyle Rutkin is here to inspire you to do.

I like Kyle for (at least) two reasons: First, he thinks wayyyy outside the lines, just like I do– his upcoming novel, A Life Told From the Cloud, is told entirely from a Facebook timeline. It’s a story about finding love, heartbreak and how social media is changing the way we live. Read the prologue here (just try not to cry in front of all your coworkers).

Second, he made me enjoy fiction again. Really. I usually only read non-fiction business and psychology books (yes, I am a weirdo), but Kyle’s stuff is more entertaining, more heartfelt, and more real than just about anything out there.

Also, he wants to give you a free copy of his brand new manifesto, Your Dream is Kind of a Big Deal. Details at the bottom of the post.

Give a warm welcome, my friends, to Mr. Kyle Rutkin. This guy can write– and he writes with heart.

KEEP YOUR DREAM CLOSE

By Kyle Rutkin of KyleRutkin.com

It all started with a wall post. Not from a girl I was in currently dating, but from an ex that had once thrown a speaker at my head (I deserved it). Facebook Timeline had just been unveiled, and I curiously started scrolling– from Hawaiian family photos, to my mid-twenties club phase, to the great glory days of college. I smiled. I laughed. I wondered what this friend was doing, what that friend was doing. Wondered why I thought taking pictures at clubs with Bud Light tall necks was cool.  Definitely wondered why I wore that shirt from the Baby Gap.

Hours passed, and I kept going, click, click, click, till eventually I came across an ex in the rough. It wasn’t a two page private message or a picture, but a short “inside joke” wall post about making out in public after three margaritas at a Chili’s happy hour (don’t judge, parents weren’t on Facebook yet). A seemingly nothing wall past that brought me straight back to 2005, when I was in love with a girl who was in love with buffalo wings at Chili’s. Classy, I know.

Common sense says that I should have stopped there. If I wanted to relive the story of my ex and I, all I had to do was look at the scar on my right arm (haha, serious face). But curiosity led me deeper into my Facebook archives, click, click, click, till the cursor lingered on “See friendship,” a feature that backlogged every wall post, picture and memory that I shared with my ex and before, during and after our relationship. Jackpot. Idea forms. Writing ensues.

To me, writing is almost a religious experience.

It’s a rare moment when the muses decide to jump down from the heavens and give me a shot. “Yo, yo, tell Kyle he’s got two months and then we’re moving on.” It starts as a little tingle of excitement that escalates to a rush of adrenaline. HOLY SHIT, I GOT AN IDEA. When I wake up, it is all there, 20,000 words on a Microsoft Word document, Mac keys that are still smoking. A writing hangover.  I rub my eyes and look at the screen. YESSSSS.

But life wasn’t always this way. There once was I time when I didn’t get excited about shit. When I came home from work and watched five episodes of Entourage and fell asleep with a beer in my hand. If I were to tell you the story of how I came to my dream, this blog post might turn into my latest manifesto (shameless plug?) but this is a story about the opportunities that arise when your dream is part of your life.

Here’s the truth: If I had done the same Facebook scroll back in 2008 when all I did was go to a cube and return home, nothing would have happened. I would have said, “Oh shit, my ex and I had a lot of fun. Coolio, click, log out. What’s next on my DVR?”

But because I have made room for my dream in the last three years, this little act of clicking through Facebook turned into 20,000 words on a Microsoft Word document. And those 20,000 words turned into my second book. And who knows what’s next?

So when do you know if a dream is a part of your life? If you have to think about it, it’s probably not. To me, my dream became part of my life the moment I decided to take action and publish my book instead of hiding my creations in a password-protected folder on my desktop. Insecure much? It is having a crazy idea pop in my head and having enough faith in myself to see that bitch through to the end.

The day I decided I was going to bring my art to the world, no matter what anyone had to say, was the moment my dream became a permanent tenant in my life. And the day I felt, touched, and opened up an actual copy of my book, was the moment I knew I could never go back to a life without dreams. As I said before, a dream can take an idea into a novel, a creative epiphany into the next non profit, a five second thought bubble into the next hit video on MTV.

But if you choose to keep your dream as a “one day it will happen” idea, then your dream isn’t really a part of your life. You might come up with some great ideas or have noble ambitions, but it will never feel real enough to spring you into action.  If this happens, it’s because your dream is too far away from your reach. So my advice, keep that bad boy close. Have your dreams at your side at all times. Just because you have a 9-5 or have to wait tables (both things I have done) so you can pay your bills, it doesn’t mean you can’t be living your dream. Living with your dream means you are making strides and taking daily action toward something great. It means you have an intention of bringing your creativity or project to the world.

Now take a look at that half finished Microsoft Word document you haven’t opened in months. Maybe even go back to that domain you bought a year ago that is still rocking the “This page is being parked by Godaddy.” Or what about that amazing idea stored in your old college notepad, sandwiched in-between the Pimp Cup and Scarface poster? (Oh College). Now ask the question, what would happen if you brought this bad boy to the world?

# # #

Get a free copy of Your Dream is Kind of a Big Deal

Just leave a comment below and Kyle will email you a free copy of his brand new manifesto, Your Dream is Kind of a Big Deal. Yes, it’s really that easy! (You’ll also be subscribed to his awesome email list.) For a sneak peek at the manifesto, click here.

Read more at kylerutkin.com and follow Kyle on twitter @kylerutty.

How do you discover the fulfilling, meaningful, passionate work you were built to do?

Not how you think.

Get The Unlost’s free email mini-kit for surprising and little known secrets to finding your truest career path.

Where should we send it?

.