Much effort goes into the development of a being. First, there is the issue of deciding what the being wants. Dreams lay the groundwork for making those decisions but more often than not the dreams seem to form from out in left field. It must be understood that what I am writing is autobiographical and it is hoped that it may be of some value to others in reaching some understanding of why and how.
My dreams have come from a variety of places, none seem to have been all that premeditated. The big ones, sailing, ships, horses, Dale Carnegie instructor, manager in a large company, using digital technology, dancing, traveling the world, especially Europe, a business, a house, and now acting, all came from out of nowhere. A possibility is that they are leftovers from previous lives.
All of them were sourced internally. Then developed through reading about similar activities, not of others but fiction and nonfiction sources. These are what embellish the dream, make it seem like it can be achieved.
And, while all of that is important, now I want to dwell on the realization of the dream and what it takes to do that. There is a developmental period through which one goes as he sets out to realize a dream. Often starting from just a dream, a statement parsed as, "I want to..." and then thinking, studying, discussing, seeing and taking the necessary steps, identifying the required skills, practicing them, and patiently doing the work.
Along the way, one reaches a point where he knows that he has the capability but lacks the ability to perform successfully. This is when he must reach an understanding of the skills required, hone that knowledge into the basic parameters of performing, and practice those skills until they are part of him.
This having been done, he reaches a point where mental discipline is required to reach new, and better, performance levels. And that starts with the rules. Every endeavor, be it a career, a sport, or a hobby comes with a set of rules. Following the rules is a matter of integrity and it takes a certain mental discipline to do so. And the more skilled one becomes in an endeavor, the more important it is to have the mental discipline to follow the rules.
Then there are aphorisms that describe the way one lives his daily life. While these are not rules, they are guidelines upon which one can rely to make decisions on how to react to what is happening around him. Keeping them in mind, perhaps not in the forefront but always there as a framework for actions, is a big part of mental discipline.
Distractions are what take us away from disciplined action and there are several that are described in the Fourth Way and once reading the descriptions, they become readily apparent. Recognizing them and stopping them in their tracks is also an aspect of mental discipline. In the Fourth Way, mental discipline can be seen as being present, being awake, and being aware instead of our normal state of being asleep (distracted).
One can only develop attention in increments. It can start with a few moments of concentrated effort on a skill and build to a more sustained amount of time. It seems that a good target for practicing, and otherwise being involved in a skill, is twenty minutes. And even this may be difficult to achieve at first, but it is a target. Once achieved, it can be expanded to whatever time is comfortable.
When successfully employing mental discipline, realizing one's dreams becomes a full-time job. Just like learning a skill, it can only be developed through practice. It is not quite the same, however, as the skills to which were we referred above, but practice through realizing when one is, and is not, paying attention to the fulfillment of dreams.
