Dreams Don’t Come True by Accident

Dreams come true… if you have one.

Years ago, I sat in a seminar, halfway tuned out.

The speaker was good. The content was useful.

But I remember glancing at my notebook and realising something odd:

I had filled pages with notes…

But had no idea what I was hoping to do with any of it.

That’s when the quote landed:

“Dreams come true… if you have one.”

It was written on one of the slides.

Almost a throwaway line.

But something about it jolted me.

Because in that moment, I realised—I didn’t have a dream.

I had goals.

I had tasks.

I had expectations.

But not a dream.

Not a vision.

Not something worth organising my life around.

That one insight shifted the way I attended every seminar after that.

From then on, I never walked into a room just looking for answers.

I walked in with a frame.

And looking back now, I see something else:

That moment—quiet and seemingly small—was one of the early seeds of Once Upon a Balance Sheet.

This book began with a question…"What if finance could tell a story?"

This was the dream—long before I had the words.

A world where finance made sense.

Where people didn’t get lost in jargon… but could follow a story.

Where the journey led from confusion to clarity, from overwhelm to illumination.

It didn’t have a title back then.

Or a structure. Or a plan.

But it had a spark.

Something inside me began to wonder:

What if I could build something that lasts?

What if I could leave behind more than teaching hours and slides?

What if I could create a story—one that made finance come alive?

It would take years.

Twists. Detours.

Even a failed publishing deal.

But the seed was there.

Frames change everything.

When you have a dream—even a fuzzy one—something powerful happens.

Your mind filters differently.

The right ideas stick.

Insights don’t just inform—they resonate.

You stop hoarding information and start applying it.

That’s when the learning becomes transformation.

So here’s my quiet encouragement:

Don’t wait for the answers to give you direction.

Give yourself direction—and the answers will find their place.

Because yes, dreams do come true.

But only if you have one.

James

The Financial Storyteller

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