There is only one thing that unites all men in spirit, and that thing is dreams. Whether one wants to or not, either way it’s physically impossible to stop the mind from traveling, imagining things, real or abstract, that one would like to achieve.

It all starts at an early age when relatives start asking you what you want to be when you grow up, and you respond with some kind of extremely heroic or unlikely job such as a firefighter or rock star. From there your ideas will change at least twenty times, depending on the new trending cartoon, which explains why the majority of the gen-z wanted to be a mermaid.

This process is natural, part of every child, every teenager, and even every adult who may not have had the ability to realize his or her childhood dream.

The road to success is treacherous. Often not even the initial stretch of it is traveled; we indulge in the idea of a perfect future, consistent with the person and personality we are, but still fail to take that fateful initial step. The risks are too many, as is the paranoia, and we end up abandoning that purest, most real, and deepest piece of us.

The risks can be of various kinds, some less and some more hindering. In the latter case, surrenders happen more frequently, but there are those who manage to overcome them and get over them, becoming an example for all those in the same situation.

RISKING & CHASING

Jad Hussein is an exchange student from Palestine, who this year is attending Carroll High School as a junior. A year ago he made the choice to leave for the year abroad, a learning experience that in his words would help him experience a different culture, improve his English, and gain new perspectives on education and life.

His main goal though, seemed more introspective in nature, “I wanted to challenge myself and grow personally by stepping out of my comfort zone,”said Hussein.

He himself admits that the decision was not easy and that he had second thoughts at first.

“I was nervous being far from home and leaving my family because I’m the only child,” said Hussein, “but I also reminded myself that this opportunity would be amazing to try. Out of 4000 students who applied, only 24 got accepted and I’m one of them”

This shows how worthwhile it is to simply try, because you can never predict what the future holds for you.

The biggest risk Jad faced, though, was related to the political situation in his home country.

“One of the biggest challenges was the war that is going on in my country,” said Hussein, “there were a lot of flights that got canceled and we had to rebook other flights, but we had to stop in three different countries for a total of 25 hours of travel.”

The help and support of someone close to him though has been crucial, and that is definitely a boon and something that cannot be ignored in achieving personal goals.

“My parents were excited and supportive of me” said Hussein.

Like all parents, that doesn’t mean they didn’t worry, but they still had the strength to overcome this emotional hurdle together.

“I could feel that they were a bit nervous and would miss me. They were worried because, for the first time, I would’ve lived abroad with more responsibility,” said Hussein,“Over time we talked and they became more confident.”

The decision was definitely risky but he chose to put himself first and not miss out on this big opportunity that was given to him.

“Now that I’m here, I think the biggest challenge for me is adjusting to the cultural differences, especially in terms of social norms and communication styles. Back home, things are done very differently,” said Hussein.“I’ve been trying to be patient with myself and ask questions when I’m unsure, but it’s definitely a learning process.

ACHIEVING 

There is no better example for the Fort Wayne community than Chuck Surack to describe someone who can truly say “I did it.”

Surack is best known as the founder of Sweetwater Sound, but he is also an entrepreneur, businessman, philanthropist, and musician. Although born in Waverly, Ohio, his education was at Wayne High School, Indiana, where he played saxophone in the school’s marching band.

This passion for music led him at age 21 to pursue his dream: help people record their own music.

“I started as a recording studio,” said Surack, “I loved helping people sound better.”

A “small” wish that led to a great realization: “One day at a time, one foot in front of the other, but I could have never dreamed it would grow as big as it is today,” said Surack, “yet I started very humbly, in an old, beat-up Volts Wagon bus.”

Surack is the founder of the largest online retailer of musical instruments and professional audio equipment in the United States and one of the largest in the world. His secret to success has been his unerring philosophy: failure is not an option.

“I never give up. I’ve owned about 25 businesses; I’ve never closed one,” saud Surack “Anything is possible. I think our brains are way more powerful than we believe and we can make things happen.”

He didn’t deny, though, that there were moments of difficulty, as after all is normal, especially in the initiation cycle of a business.

However, he never let it get him down, “I had periods where I had my credit cards maxed out and a second mortgage on my home,But I knew I was going to be successful and I knew I was going to help people,” said Surack.

One thing for sure is that in order to embark on any career or any ambition so great, you have to be fully captured by what you do and have an inner strength that sets you apart from others, a strength that if you are not born with, you must by necessity develop.

Surack doesn’t exactly know where his inner drive came from, but he does know what he did to cultivate it.

“When I was a young guy I was a boy scout. One of the things you learn is what’s called the Scout Law that says that a boy scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, clean, brave, and reverend,” said Surack, “Those are the principles of a scout. Great principles for a young guy, but at the same time great principles to run your business by and that’s what I’ve done my whole life.”

Another key to Chuck Surack’s success is that he never stops and is always thinking of new ways he can help people. That is why he revealed that he is working on two more projects, one of which he has already started.

“Sweetwater has been around for 46 years and we have been able to help a lot of people with their musical dreams but also it’s always been important to us to give back to others to donate, to support, to get involved in other things,” said Surack, “About six weeks ago we opened the Pearl Street Arts facility. We have 18 lesson rooms for children to take music lessons and a 400-person rehearsal room.”

His work did not end only with this.

“We went to our local Portland Community Schools and said we want children to be able to take lessons regardless of their ability to pay,” said Surack,“We’re subsidizing or paying for their music lessons. What’s amazing is that we already have 485 students and we only opened six weeks ago.”

Chuck Surack has been involved many times in helping kids in the Fort Wayne community, which is a great credit to him. He in the first place knows how these kids with fewer opportunities can feel.

“I was born with nothing. My parents were relatively poor. People helped me along the way, “That’s why I think it’s important for people who are successful to find ways to give back and help others,” said Surack

The valuable golden advice Chuck wants to give to all those who want to realize their dreams but are discouraged by the difficulties and obstacles that stand in their way is this.

He reiterates that it was this “failure is not an option” philosophy of his that got him where he is now.

There is an unwritten rule about success: take pride in how you show up while being humble. The needle of the scale must tip in the middle, between the two extremes.

Be proud of yourself, of who you are, of what you do, of your determination to get up every day and choose your life and what makes you happy. Likewise, accept your mistakes, step back, and start again with the knowledge that you have learned a lesson, and recognize your weaknesses and lacunae in which you could improve.

Take the pill of success, savor it, and remember the taste of it during the rest of the long but fulfilling journey.

“Never give up. Never wait. Never give up,” said Surack, “There’s always people that are trying to do things similar to you. You just need to walk a little faster, work a little harder a little longer and never give up.”