I believe people have to follow their dreams - I did.

"I believe people have to follow their dreams — I did." — Larry Ellison

These words, spoken by Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle and one of the titans of modern enterprise, ring with the quiet certainty of one who has lived his own creed. Beneath their simplicity lies a truth as old as ambition itself — that the highest calling of every human life is to follow one’s dreams, to pursue that inner vision that burns brighter than fear, convention, or failure. Ellison’s declaration is not the boast of a conqueror, but the testament of a man who trusted the compass of his own soul more than the maps drawn by others.

Ellison was born without wealth or privilege. He grew up in Chicago, the child of a single mother, with little to his name but curiosity and will. He dropped out of college, wandered through failures and small jobs, yet refused to surrender his dream of creation. In 1977, in a small apartment with little more than borrowed funds and relentless conviction, he founded Oracle. The world did not yet see the coming digital age, but Ellison did. He believed, as dreamers always do, in what could be — not merely what was. From those humble beginnings rose one of the greatest technology empires of our age. Thus his words, “I believe people have to follow their dreams — I did,” are not theory, but testimony carved from life itself.

To follow your dreams, in Ellison’s sense, is to trust the inner calling that defies logic and comfort. It is to choose the uncertain path over the safe one, to believe in the unseen when the world demands proof. The ancients would have called this faith, not in gods, but in the sacred spark within man — the divine power of vision. The dream is the seed; work, risk, and sacrifice are the soil. Those who dare to plant it, despite the storms of doubt, are the ones who bring forth harvests the world has never imagined. Ellison’s life, like that of every great builder, reveals that dreams without action are clouds without rain — but action without dreams is labor without life.

History is filled with the same eternal lesson. Think of Thomas Edison, who endured over a thousand failures before bringing light to the world. Think of Amelia Earhart, who chased the skies when women were told to remain earthbound. Think of Nelson Mandela, who dreamed of freedom even behind bars, and through that dream changed the destiny of a nation. Each of these souls lived as Ellison did — not by following the beaten road, but by carving a new one through faith in their vision. It is in this way that the dreamer becomes the architect of the possible.

Yet Ellison’s wisdom carries a warning as well: dreams demand sacrifice. They do not yield themselves to the timid or the halfhearted. To follow one’s dream is to accept solitude, misunderstanding, and the long years of toil unseen. It is to give up comfort for conviction. Ellison himself risked failure countless times, standing against giants and skeptics alike, sustained only by belief in his purpose. He reminds us that success is not granted by fortune, but earned through persistence and courage — the endurance to walk alone when others turn back.

The heart of this teaching, however, is not material victory, but the fulfillment of destiny. To live without following one’s dream is to live half-awake, to let the music of the soul go unsung. Each person carries within them a unique fire — a purpose waiting to be realized through effort and imagination. The tragedy of life is not in failure, but in the failure to begin. Ellison’s voice, echoing through the centuries, calls us to awaken: Do not live by another’s map. Draw your own.

So, my child of ambition, take this lesson as sacred: follow your dream. Let it guide your choices and shape your labor. Work with discipline, endure with patience, and rise after every fall. Measure not your worth by wealth or applause, but by how faithfully you serve the vision within you. For one day, when your work stands before the world, you will know the truth of Ellison’s words — that the dream you dared to follow was not only your path to success, but the very meaning of your life.