Book Blurb - You Don’t Have to Have a Dream
You Don’t Have to Have A Dream: And Other Life Lessons By Tim Minchin
“I’m not saying sit around smoking cones all day, but also, don’t panic” - Tim Minchin
I must admit this is my first encounter with Tim Minchin, but I certainly hope it won’t be my last.
I picked up this book while browsing in a small absolutely adorable book store in downtown Cambridge, Ontario (Shoutout to Rookery Books). The title stood out. The concept of not needing to have a huge dream to achieve in life seemed radical. I mean truly how often do you see in self help books or get asked by others “what is your goal in life?”. This is big thinking! Sometimes I don’t even know what my goal for the day is, let alone the rest of my time on this planet!
And folks that is why I bought it!
And this succinct collection of speeches Tim MInchin has done for 3 different institutions was well worth it!
Minchin drew on his own past to write and execute these speeches. Often having done them at the last minute and being inspired by what was going on in their own life. But the themes throughout them help us get introspective without attemping to map out the rest of out future.
Minchin is encouraging the reader (or the audience in the original presentation) to live life. To slow down and do things for you and at your own pace - without necessarily having a life defining goal to achieve. Minichin extolls the little things in life and encourages a foundation for health - which is why I am including this book here!
Now, I want to make it clear that I am not poo-pooing anyone who has a life defining goal - if this is you, fantastic, bravo and well done! What I want to remind people of, especially those who may feel lost or a float or like they may not have an idea of a big goal, is that it is okay to not know. It is okay to live life as a discovery and not have an end goal. It is okay to take it slow. It is okay if maybe you had a goal and you’ve been working toward it and now you have no idea if you still want to do that.
It is books like this that should make us take a second and think and get real with our goals/ideas/ambitions and ask if this is what we want.
If your answer is yes with every fiber of your being than fantastic!
But if you have doubt, then maybe some time doing what Minchin suggests (or suggests not to do) might be in order.
If of course the answer is no, then know you don’t need to immediately jump into another big idea - unless of course every fiber of your being says yes!
So, if you are in need of some non-goal oriented introspection or maybe a little inspiration, this short and beautifully illustrated (By Andrew Rae) book may be in order to help you breathe ad your soul laugh.
P.S. I think this feeling comes on the heels of reading Mark Manson’s Everything is F*****. A very non-nihilistic book with a very nihilistic sounding title. (If you have not checked out my blog about this book - or read it - I highly recommend!)