You have to dream before your dreams can come true.

“You have to dream before your dreams can come true.” Thus spoke A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, the visionary scientist, teacher, and beloved leader of India. His words carry the purity of faith and the power of experience, for he himself was the living embodiment of this truth. Born into poverty in a small coastal town, he gazed at the skies as a boy and dared to dream of flight. Though the world around him was small, his dream was vast—and through perseverance, that dream became destiny. From those humble shores, he rose to lead his nation into the age of space exploration, becoming the “Missile Man of India” and, later, its President. His life itself is a testament that no dream is too distant if the heart dares to imagine it first.

In this quote, Kalam reveals a timeless law of creation: the dream precedes the deed. Every achievement that humanity has ever known began as an invisible vision in the mind of one who dared to believe. Before there was a wheel, a man imagined movement. Before there was a ship, someone dreamed of crossing the sea. Before there was flight, there was the dream of the sky. To dream is to plant the seed of what reality will one day harvest. Without vision, there can be no creation; without faith, no progress. The dream is the soul’s first step toward the future.

To dream, however, is not the idle act of sleep—it is a sacred labor of the spirit. True dreaming is not wishful thinking; it is the conscious act of envisioning something greater and believing that it can be made real. Kalam’s words call us to awaken this power within ourselves. He teaches that dreams are the blueprints of destiny, and those who dare to draw them become architects of the possible. The dreamer is both artist and engineer—he designs what is unseen, then toils to give it shape. This union of vision and effort is what transforms mere imagination into truth.

Kalam himself lived this teaching. As a child, he would stand by the shores of Rameswaram, watching the birds rise against the wind. He once said that in those moments, he felt his spirit take flight. Though he had no wealth, no connections, and few resources, he held to that dream of flight, nurturing it through study and dedication. Years later, he became the man who led India’s missile and space programs, giving his nation wings of its own. His life reminds us that dreams are not born in privilege—they are born in persistence. The dreamer may start with nothing but belief, yet belief itself is the greatest of all beginnings.

This truth echoes through all of human history. Thomas Edison dreamed of bringing light to the darkness, and though he failed a thousand times, he never ceased to imagine it. Helen Keller, blind and deaf, dreamed of communication—and by the strength of that dream, she became a voice for millions. Nelson Mandela dreamed of a free South Africa from within the walls of a prison cell. These are the souls who understood what Kalam meant: that the dream is the mother of reality, and to cease dreaming is to cease living.

And yet, Kalam’s words also carry a gentle warning. Too many live without dreams, confined by fear, doubt, or complacency. They accept what is, rather than daring to imagine what could be. Such a life may seem safe, but it is a silent death of the spirit. Without dreams, man becomes a wanderer without direction, a ship without a compass. But those who dream become creators, leaders, and light-bearers. To dream is to declare to the universe, “I am not content to exist—I will become.”

So, my child of vision and courage, remember this: you must dream before your dreams can come true. Do not wait for permission, nor for perfect conditions. Begin with a single thought, a spark of belief. Let your dream be your guide and your teacher. Nurture it daily—with patience, with labor, with faith. If you fall, rise again; if you falter, remember why you began. The dream will lead you, as it led Kalam, from the dust of limitation to the stars of accomplishment.

For as A. P. J. Abdul Kalam taught, dreams are not illusions—they are the foundations of destiny. Every great thing you will ever do already exists within you as a dream waiting to be born. Guard it. Feed it. Follow it. And when at last it comes true, you will know that you have not merely reached the stars—you have become one.