Excerpt from ‘Paper Airplanes by Oliver The Penguin’

If you cut me from my dreams

(they construct what I am made of)

will I only fly like a paper airplane?

Every now and then, you will find a song that defines something you are thinking about precisely, in a few sentences. For today, it’s Paper Airplanes by Oliver The Penguin. (not to be confused with Paper Planes by M.I.A). The thought is: What defines someone, and what gives them the will and purpose to live?

The purpose of this post is twofold. One, it’s to introduce you to a great indie band. The second is to express, share, and send a message.

Oliver The Penguin consists of: Tommy Walters & Rie Sinclair.

First part: Music recommendation for you, dear blog reader

This is most likely going to be an ongoing blog topic - some of my favourite music.

While I can remember the lyrics and sing along to Britney Spears, Danity Kane & Paris Hilton while listening to the car radio when driving. It keeps me awake. When I am in clubs, R&B and techno is great for a night out.

However, when I am at home, I prefer my own music collection. A lot of them are indie bands, most of which most people have never heard of (and a surprising amount of them have animal names).  Mostly guitar and synthesizer based music, encompassing borderline pop, indie rock, electronica and more. Here’s one of them:

Oliver the Penguin is a highly enjoyable, intimate two piece band that you very likely have not heard of, consisting of a guy and girl. Synthesizer driven pop, with soft female vocals.  If you like mainstream bands/artistes such as The Cardigans, Sixpence None The Richer, The Cranberries,  Bic Runga or perhaps on the indie side: The Eels (Tommy Walter was part of The Eels), Stars, Tegan & Sara, or even My Little Airport this is probably your kind of thing.

Go check out the song I’m talking about: Paper Airplanes by Oliver The Penguin on Myspace

The rest of the tracks are pretty great too. One of my favourite new bands - new in the sense I just got to know them, and new too in the sense that they’ve only released a few tracks so far. If you think they’re good, become a fan on their Facebook Page so your friends can discover them too.

And the second part of the post: On dreams.

There are several things that define you as a person.

Numbers can tell you a lot about a person. Their height, weight, date of birth, income, can give you an idea of what kind of lifestyle they might live. Or even what they experienced while growing up.

Upbringing and religious affiliation, can give you an idea on what a person is likely to do in a given situation.

A persons perceived personality is the combination of words and actions that may have been spoken to you or witnessed. This also explains why a person could either be a complete asshole or a remarkable human being depending on who you ask.

'recurring dream' by flickr user Zerone Eric Ouano

However, I believe how you can define a person most is by their dreams.

Dreams as in, not what their subconcious mind processes at night into images & sounds. But, what they desire in life.

Your dreams will define your choices, how you go about things, and what you choose to give up.

Cost of Achievement, Return on Investment

A lady who wants to say, settle down and get married, and have a baby may settle for a less exciting guy, for one that is stable and loyal. The sacrifice in this case are the other potential relationships that could have been pursued.

The 300 Spartans fought the threat of losing their independence, and lost their lives defending Sparta. However, they were avenged shortly afterwards by their fellow Spartans and immortalized in movies years after.

Howard Hughes wanted to do great things: build airplanes, be a movie director, date Hollywood celebrities. He accomplished all that and great wealth, but went insane towards the end of his life.

The indie musician will resist writing more accessible music, cutting a deal that will make them compromise, or taking up a conventional fulltime job or path in life. The payback is largely in achieving the audible vision of what they wanted to achieve, rather than a substantial income.

Whether your life purpose and dream is to achieve something before you die, or affect as many people positively as possible, or achieve wealth, make your name legendary, or raise a family - remember that dreams construct what you are made of.

The cost of continuing with your dream is largely irrelevant as long as you are still pursuing it and achieving some things with a certain degree of success. There will be sacrifices throughout the journey, and even at the end.

You know you want it. There is no explanation needed. The only potential hurdles are failure, and cost.

Things that can be overlooked, because, achieving success brings infinite satisfaction and returns.

You alone determine whether the cost of achievement is justified.

Conclusion

Unless you were born unambitious, realize that life simply going to be is listless and unfulfilling without a sense of purpose and ownership. Purpose, in terms of knowing what to do with your life. Ownership in the sense, of whether your life and decisions are largely going to be defined by yourself and supporters. Instead of others that will frustrate your ambitions. Failure is only temporary mostly, as long as you’re still alive and in possession of your mind.

At some point, you will need to rely on certain people, either friends, collaborators, or partners that share your purpose and vision to accomplish what needs to be done. Pray that you will meet those that will be willing to fight alongside you for the same ideals. That they will believe in you enough to realize that you are in the best position to fulfill your vision that they can benefit from too. If you are in this position to help someone fulfill their dreams, be supportive.

No one wants to cheat you of your dreams too, and if you can accomplish them together, why not? It may take some time, but if you’ve already invested the time since you believed in the person to start with, give it a little more time to pay off.

The sooner that you can decide what you really want in life, go for it. And once you’ve found it, don’t stop. Circumstance, finances, limitations and objections be damned.

Imagine at the end of the day, in the last few hours of your life, what thoughts will go through your head. Thought about it? Yes, that’s what’s important. Either continue to defend what you’ve fought for, or go ahead and conquer what you’re meant to have.