You have to have a dream so you can get up in the morning.

The words of Billy Wilder, master storyteller of the silver screen, ring with the quiet wisdom of a man who understood the soul’s hunger: “You have to have a dream so you can get up in the morning.” Though simple in sound, this saying holds within it the eternal rhythm of life itself—the pulse that drives humanity forward. For what is a dream, if not the torch that burns against the darkness of routine, the promise that gives purpose to the weary dawn? Without that inner fire, the hours lose meaning; but with it, even hardship becomes sacred.

Wilder spoke as one who had wrestled with despair and triumphed through creation. Born in the ashes of Europe’s old world, he fled the rise of tyranny and came to America with little but his wit and his will. There, in the uncertain light of a new land, he forged his dream—to tell stories that would endure. From that dream came greatness: Sunset Boulevard, Some Like It Hot, The Apartment—works that blended laughter and tragedy, hope and irony, with the mark of one who had lived all these things himself. For Wilder knew that the dream is not mere fantasy; it is survival. It is the thread that pulls a soul from despair into creation.

The ancients, too, knew this truth. When Odysseus wandered far from home, it was his dream of Ithaca that gave him strength to endure storms and monsters alike. Without that vision, he would have perished long before reaching his shore. Likewise, every age has its wanderers, exiles, and workers who rise each morning not for the coin they will earn, but for the vision that lies beyond the toil. The farmer who tends his field dreams of harvest; the scholar who studies late into the night dreams of understanding; the parent who labors in silence dreams of a better world for the child. These are not idle wishes—they are the fuel of existence.

To wake with a dream is to rise with purpose. To wake without one is to drift, as a ship without wind or destination. Wilder’s words remind us that life, when stripped of vision, becomes mechanical—a slow decay of spirit. The dream is what transforms repetition into ritual, what turns the common morning into the beginning of a quest. It gives dignity to the laborer, courage to the artist, and patience to the seeker. It is the divine whisper that says, “There is more yet to do, more yet to become.”

But a dream, to be true, must be more than comfort—it must challenge. It must pull us upward, even when the climb is steep. Consider Nelson Mandela, who endured long years in captivity with only a dream to sustain him—the dream of freedom for his people. Each dawn in that narrow cell was another chance to hold fast to that vision. And when he emerged, the world learned from his endurance that dreams, though fragile, can outlast walls of stone. This is the hero’s path: not the easy possession of the dream, but the steadfast pursuit of it, even in the face of despair.

Thus, O traveler in the modern age, take heed: you must choose your dream wisely, and guard it fiercely. Let it not be small or selfish, for such dreams fade quickly. Let it be a dream that uplifts others as well as yourself—a dream that calls you to grow, to serve, to create. Nurture it each morning as the ancients tended their fires. For as long as the dream burns, the soul remains alive. Without it, no wealth or comfort can rouse you from the numbness of existence.

If you find yourself weary, unsure, or wandering, return to the quiet of your heart and ask: What is the dream that gives me breath? You may find it in art, in love, in service, or in discovery—but find it you must. For the dream is the dawn within you, and only by its light can the world be seen anew.

So remember the wisdom of Billy Wilder: “You have to have a dream so you can get up in the morning.” The sun may rise for all, but it shines most brightly for those who rise with purpose. To dream is to live. To live without dreaming is merely to endure. Therefore, kindle your vision, awaken your will, and greet each morning as the first step toward the destiny you dare to imagine.