I am not Eddie Van Halen.

(You’re saying to yourself, “duh!?!”)

My 14-year-old self would be very dissatisfied with these results.

I had dreams of loud guitars, adoring fans, a mansion, and amazing cars.

What I’ve got is a 2 bedroom apartment, a Jeep that has a penchant for overheating, several cheap guitars that I tinker with to make better, and a small practice amplifier.

But that’s OK. My dreams didn’t die; I just recognized them for what they are: dreams.

I get my “Rock n Roll Fix” at church, of all places, every week. Do I still think about playing amazing concerts in arenas across the country? Of course! But, do I obsess about it?

Nope.

Dreams are what get us going, motivate us at a young age, to get out into the world and find our little place in it. Do we accomplish our dreams? Not usually, but that, I think, is a good thing.

No, I’m not thinking masochistically!

I simply mean that while we are fighting to make those things happen that we have wanted a reality, we often create other things in our life. Families, careers, and so on are often the bi-products of a life well lived.

Have your dreams, and chase them as well. But don’t let them rule your life’s trajectory. If I had, I’d have followed my 10-year-old dream of being a Stunt Man in movies!

At least until I was 14 and heard Van Halen for the first time…

(P.S., only after writing this article did it occur to me that VH has a song that says “Dream another dream, this dream is over”… As Keanu would say, woah…)

Ben Cox is the host of “Ben Cox in the Morning” weekday mornings from 6 to 9 on KQBZ, 96.9 FM in Brownwood Texas. He is the new in-stadium voice of the Howard Payne Yellow Jackets football team, & Ben is also an event DJ for weddings, parties and the like, and can be contacted through the Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce.

The thoughts and comments reflected in this column are those of the writer alone, and do not necessarily reflect those of Wendlee Broadcasting, or its affiliates.