Dream Chains

On this day in 1833, as he was dying, British Parliamentarian and Evangelical William Wilberforce heard that the British Parliament had outlawed slavery in the British Empire. It took him 46 years to accomplish his goal. He took on very powerful and wicked commercial interests who profited greatly from the sweat that flowed profusely from the brow of the indentured. And the blood flowing from lashed backs. It is a very good reminder that great causes require great sacrifices. Jesus on the Cross demonstrates this of course.

There are soft dreams in life, such as what happens every night when we doze. Then, there are hard dreams, those that God has put in us like a seed but which require much effort and resources to bring to fruition. Rather than be like the wind that blow in and out of consciousness as a breeze gently, these dreams are like nails, piercing our peace.

I watched last night, an interview with Steve Jobs and Bill Gates from 1997. Little known fact that Gates essentially saved Apple with a 150 million dollar cash infusion when it was on the ropes. Jobs had just come back to the helm of Apple after being dismissed previously. Apple was sinking like a ship. Those who consume Apple must grant that delivery of the produce was Gates. The ungrateful twits who booed Gates when the public announcement was made--a really embarrassing display--should have been sent to their room without dinner and their toys.  

Not that Gates was altruistic, but if he wanted to bury Apple once and for all he could have stomped the Apple rind on concrete to die in the Californian sun when he had the chance. Gates saw an opportunity to help Apple to Microsoft's benefit, because the Office package was a good chunk of the Apple software. Yet, it was a gamble, one that if he gone wrong, could have sucked Microsoft into a vortex. Maybe Gates had cash to burn.

Both Jobs and Gates worked like maniacs to build their companies. Jobs in particular was relentless. Control Freak hardly covers it. Jobs said some profound things about making Dreams a reality. He said something to the effect if you don't love what you are working on, you will give up, because only insanely passionate people persist through the sheer exhaustion, the inevitable disappointments, and the raw pain of it all. A voluntary slave as it were chained to a dream that won't go away.

Do you have a great dream? Get ready to suffer. But don't despair. Dreams are hard. Always have been, always will be. Like diamonds, you must dig deep and eat a lot of dirt. Eat a lot of dirt.