Play a Bigger Game

Chapter 9 Beware the dream stealers

Dream stealers are the people who have never done anything, yet they're experts on everything. They want to hold you back and stop you stepping out of the cotton wool because you might prove to be a little better than them: you might achieve a bit more, be a little bit more successful, do something they haven't done. The dream stealers want to pull you back into the cotton wool so you won't move away from them and leave them behind in their average space.

Dream stealers are the people who have never done anything, yet they're experts on everything.

You bump into the dream stealers every day. How many people have come into your life and told you, you shouldn't do that; that's not a good idea; don't go there; don't try that; that won't work; you can't do that?

Some American scientists did an experiment in which they put a group of monkeys in a room with a set of stairs and at the top of the stairs was a bunch of bananas. When the monkeys climbed the first stair they were hit with strong jets of icy cold water, from which they shrank back into the corner, cold and shivering. They sat there until they warmed up, then they went for the bananas again, but as soon as they touched the stair the cold water hit them again, and once again they retreated into the corner.

The same scenario was repeated again and again until eventually none of the monkeys would set foot on the stairs. The scientists then removed one of the monkeys from the room and put ...