Wide awake I can make my most fantastic dreams come true.

The words of Lorenz Hart, the great lyricist of the American stage, ring like a melody of triumph and self-belief: “Wide awake I can make my most fantastic dreams come true.” Though written in the language of song, this line carries the fire of philosophy. In it, Hart unveils the eternal truth that the bridge between dream and reality is not sleep, but action—that the power to create what we imagine lies not in fantasy, but in conscious will. To dream is divine; to awaken and live that dream is heroic. This is the essence of Hart’s art and the echo of all who have dared to turn vision into creation.

Lorenz Hart, half of the legendary duo Rodgers and Hart, was a man whose words gave rhythm to the human heart. He lived in an age when music was both escape and revelation, when the theater was a temple of emotion where truth wore the costume of song. His lyric, drawn from the song “My Funny Valentine,” embodies his own paradox: a dreamer of immense imagination who nonetheless fought his battles wide awake. Though plagued by loneliness and illness, Hart’s words were full of life and possibility. This line, simple yet profound, stands as a declaration of the artist’s creed—that even amid hardship, one may still will beauty into being through courage, discipline, and desire.

At its heart, this quote reveals the ancient law of creation through consciousness. Many dream while they sleep, but only a few awaken to realize that dreaming can continue in daylight. The ancients, too, understood this. In the myths of Prometheus, who stole fire from the gods to bring light to mankind, we find the same truth: that to be “wide awake” is to seize the divine spark of imagination and shape it into form. The sleeping dreamer receives visions; the waking dreamer builds them. Hart’s words, therefore, do not reject dreaming—they exalt it by wedding it to purpose. For it is only when the dreamer opens his eyes that the fantastic becomes real.

Consider the story of Thomas Edison, who dreamed not in slumber but in relentless wakefulness. As a boy, he imagined a world illuminated by human ingenuity; as a man, he toiled day and night to make that world real. His thousands of failures did not break him, for he saw each one as a step within the dream. Edison’s light bulb became more than invention—it was the embodiment of Hart’s principle. His life declared: Awake, I shall make my most fantastic dreams come true. It is this divine fusion of imagination and persistence that has moved civilization forward from age to age.

And yet, Hart’s line carries not only ambition, but joy. There is a kind of exultation in his words, a sense of wonder that life itself is the canvas upon which dreams are painted. To be “wide awake” is not simply to labor—it is to live in full awareness, to see beauty even in struggle, to create not out of duty but delight. The truly awakened soul does not wait for destiny to unfold; it dances with destiny, shaping it through love, passion, and art. Thus, Hart reminds us that creation is not merely the privilege of the few, but the birthright of all who dare to live consciously.

His words also speak of the responsibility of the dreamer. To bring a dream into reality demands more than desire—it calls for courage, focus, and the endurance to face disillusionment. The world is filled with those who dream and sleep again, never daring to rise. But those who remain awake—those who face the resistance of the world with open eyes—become the architects of tomorrow. Every work of art, every scientific discovery, every act of love and courage is proof of the awake dreamer’s power.

Therefore, O seeker of wisdom, let this teaching take root in your heart: do not wait for sleep to give you permission to dream. Open your eyes and let your imagination guide your steps. Let your work, your words, your choices be the tools by which your inner visions are made visible. If your dream is beauty, create it; if your dream is justice, fight for it; if your dream is love, live it. To dream awake is the highest calling of the human spirit, for in doing so, you become both artist and instrument of the universe itself.

And so, remember Lorenz Hart’s truth: that life itself is the stage upon which our dreams must perform. The divine spark within you waits not for sleep, but for consciousness. Rise each day not as a wanderer of fantasies, but as a maker of miracles. For when you awaken fully, when you live with purpose and passion, your most fantastic dreams will cease to be visions of the night—they will become the story of your life, sung boldly and lived beautifully beneath the light of day.