What makes or breaks your dreams?

Many would say that what makes or breaks our dreams becoming reality are the people we surround ourselves with.
I read once that you are most likely to become like the 6 people you spend most of your time with. Who would your six be? When I made my list at the time of reading that concept, my top 6 were surprising to say the least. Nice people but I didn't exactly want to follow in their footsteps.

It is amazing that people we are not actually that close to (e.g. work colleagues) can have a huge impact on our character and ability to believe in our dreams.

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."

Mark Twain

Ok, so we get that to have the conviction to follow the dream in our heart we need to surround ourselves with big thinkers, the kind of people who champion us on rather than rain on our parade.

But what if we don't have a great deal of choice? What if we work or live with lovely but pessimistic individuals who would never think to encourage us or perhaps even laugh out loud at our dream and ambitions?

I believe that we can choose who we share our dreams with (it may not the be the person you see most regularly) and seek out like-minded people who can cheer us on (and we do the same for them).
There will be naysayers of course. Expect them, don't take them seriously when they tell you why you'll fail and feel blessed that you won't be dying with the music still in you.

Leo Babauta of Zen Habits has written a great article - How to Doggedly Pursue Your Dreams in the Face of Naysayers. Well worth a read.

Never stop dreaming!