When dreams come true

What do you do when your dreams come true?

In October 2014, I visited Palo Alto—the mecca of tech—for the first time. But I wasn’t there as a tourist. I was there for work, meeting some of my Groupon coworkers.

I still remember walking back to my hotel, thinking: I get to tell my family that I worked—even if just for a week—in Palo Alto. That’s how proud I was. That’s how much it meant to me.

After work, a colleague took us on a tour of tech’s biggest names: Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Oracle, IBM. At LinkedIn, I even joked about sliding my paper resume under the door. I was like a kid at Disney, wide-eyed, amazed by everything around me.

Two years later, I had the chance to move there full-time. And I didn’t take it.

The dream had changed. Palo Alto was still Palo Alto, but I wasn’t the same person. The lack of social connections, the quietness of the city—it didn’t feel as exciting anymore. So, I chose Seattle instead.

In 2010, I visited New York for the first time. I loved it immediately. I declared that one day, I’d live there.

Twelve years later, I was living in Manhattan, working in front of the Empire State building. And while I still love the city, the excitement was nowhere near what it once was.

Having dreams is what keeps life interesting. Not necessarily achieving them.

So, back to my question: What do you do when your dreams come true?

Dream something new. Something bigger.

That’s the real value of dreams—not checking them off a list, but allowing them to pull you forward. To keep you excited, motivated, and amazed by whatever comes next.

Because when there’s no new dream on the horizon, life starts to feel dull.

So, amigo, don’t get frustrated when your big goals take time to materialize. That’s what keeps you alive, showing up, and pushing forward.

What about you? Have you ever reached a big goal only to realize the real excitement was in the journey?

PS: I like this quote from Jim Carrey: "I hope everybody could get rich and famous and have everything they ever dreamed of, so they will know that it’s not the answer." It hits different once you’ve experienced it.