The Gift of Dreams (Continued): The Story of JD Vance

Still on the gift of dreams, look at the Vice President of the United States, J.D. Vance. In the introduction of his memoir (which, by the way, is the greatest introduction in the history of books, my opinion though), he thought his greatest achievement was graduating from Yale because of where he came from. And yet, here he is today, Vice President of one of the greatest nations on earth. You can see how humble he is, how deeply appreciative of the journey that brought him here.

Read his memoir again:

“My name is J.D. Vance, and I think I should start with a confession: I find the existence of the book you hold in your hands somewhat absurd. It says right there on the cover that it’s a memoir, but I’m thirty-one years old, and I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve accomplished nothing great in my life, certainly nothing that would justify a complete stranger paying money to read about it. The coolest thing I’ve done, at least on paper, is graduate from Yale Law School, something thirteen-year-old J.D. Vance would have considered ludicrous. But about two hundred people do the same thing every year, and trust me, you don’t want to read about most of their lives. I am not a senator, a governor, or a former cabinet secretary. I haven’t started a billion-dollar company or a world-changing nonprofit. I have a nice job, a happy marriage, a comfortable home, and two lively dogs.

So I didn’t write this book because I’ve accomplished something extraordinary. I wrote this book because I’ve achieved something quite ordinary, which doesn’t happen to most kids who grow up like me. You see, I grew up poor, in the Rust Belt, in an Ohio steel town that has been hemorrhaging jobs and hope....”

Back then, being a Marine and a Yale graduate was a great dream. In fact, not many get that chance. But God gave him the ability to dream bigger. From senator to vice president, and now? He can dream of being president.

That’s the thing about dreams. They don’t stop where you think they should. Just when you believe you’ve reached the peak, life shows you another mountain. And if you stay grateful, if you stay hungry, you’ll realize that the dream was never just about the achievement. It was about the person you became along the way.

So be grateful for the ability to dream. Because the moment you stop is the moment the world gets smaller.