I met Sam because he played in a band, a band that my friends all liked, a band I eventually interviewed. We hit it off right away, maybe because we were both people talented in our fields – his advertising/marketing, mine teaching – but who did not feel this was the place we were meant to stay. Enjoy reading Sam’s story of living his dreams and let it inspire you to follow yours.
Sure, we all dream. We spend six years of our lives dreaming during sleep. We probably spend as much time day dreaming about things like sitting on a beach, crashing waves, blazing sun on our skin. I day dream of such things: vacation, owning a motorcycle, going on fantastic road trips. But these are dreams that I usually make happen as opposed to the ones I forget in my sleep. I go to the beach every summer for vacation and take some fantastic road trips on my motorcycle.
But what about the dreams that you chase after and the ones that you never catch?
In my naive early 20’s, I wanted to be a full-time musician, a rock star. Sounds awesome, huh? It was my dream. Picturing it in my brain: writing, touring, partying, playing sets of songs to screaming people. Ha. Eventually, I realized that a rock star wannabe was just another term for starving artist. Looking back, I would say that I’ve had a relatively good run as a musician. I still write music and play live regularly. I chased my dream of being a rock star but never caught it. But it’s ok, because today I collaborate musically with some amazing people and love it.
I was once a graphic artist, yet I had no dreams of working for a large advertising firm; it was just something that I knew how to do. Instead my dream was to navigate away from that and work to move my way “up the ladder” and be a corporate success – make good money, buy fun stuff and live comfortably. I chased that dream, and I chased it hard. Bystanders may say that I actually caught it. I’ll admit that I may have been on its heels, but when I realized that this chase was no longer productive to my well-being, it was time to pull back. That dream chase had reached its finish line, and it was time to focus my sights on chasing something else; another dream.
Perhaps the fact that, as a kid, I built an elaborate tree house (my Dad called it the “Fort”) was a sign for something to come in my later years. Heck, this “Fort” even had an addition. I would even “winterize” it. Who knew that two decades later, I would be winterizing my own REAL house; a rental property? Once I started acquiring more rental properties, I realized that I had a skill – that I could manage rental properties for other people too. Thus, I ended my corporate dream chase, started my own real estate company and now manage rental properties for people just like me. Who knows if I will ever catch this dream — it doesn’t matter, at least I’m chasing it. What I’ve learned in the years since I built my Fort is what really matters is family, friendship, community and love and respect for others. Allow these things to be your foundation and chase your dreams, one after another.
Sam Gorgone hails from a small town in the Northeast region of Pennsylvania and has lived in the Lancaster, PA area for 20 years. He stays close with his family, plays guitar in the Lancaster-based group Slimfit and is a licensed real estate agent and owner of Hometown Property Management Services, LLC.