Shiny new cars, fabulous new shoes and clothes, high-tech gadgets, expensive homes and the furnishings within. We live in a world of abundance and it's so easy to get wrapped up in wanting more – more money, more toys, more clothes, more cars and so on. That's the way of our culture, right? Just look at the increasing number of self-storage units popping up across the country! We are a nation of collectors, hunters and gatherers. And we need money to get more of the things we simply have to have!

There's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting these things that give us feelings of achievement and rewards for our hard work. Just check yourself that you’re not selling out your dreams.

The reality of the business world and corporate politics gives many of us a quick education on how "important" it is to keep up, dress up, and buy up. And what's needed in order to support this endless cycle? Money, of course. So we work harder and longer chasing after the higher paying jobs thinking we are fulfilling our dreams or even forgetting about them altogether. In the process, we tend to give up ourselves and our dreams for instant gratification and end up living someone else's or society's plans for us.

Consider stepping off that treadmill of working only for a paycheck once in awhile and think about your innermost goals and dreams for yourself. You may have forgotten them – how much you wanted to devote your work life to non-profit organizations, or your college plans of starting a small business. It's very easy to get caught up in today's fast pace world, our busy personal and work lives. Take some time to dig a little deeper and you'll find those long-forgotten dreams. Grab pen and paper and write them down, no matter how unrealistic or silly they may seem to you now, years later. Take a look at your list – these are the things you imagined for yourself back when you were less restricted and more likely to let your imagination play a bigger role in your life. Honor these dreams – they were important to you at one point and for some reason that only you know.

Are there some dreams that still sound interesting to you? Some ideas that you could actually find a job doing or turn into a small business? Prioritize your list according to what still ignites some passion in you and start taking small steps in seeing them through. Devote an hour a day to internet research, comb business directories for companies where you might live out a dream, find people to talk to who are living out that dream. Build some goals and action plans around them and see where they take you.

If you really want to stop that crazy cycle of just chasing the money, it's never too late. Dust off those old dreams or re-evaluate a newer one and change your track. Find more happiness and fulfillment by being true to yourself and your very own original, inspired dreams.