The Dream We All Speak Of

Everyone says they have a dream. It is a phrase that sounds noble and inspiring. You hear it in school essays, in corporate speeches, even in casual conversations. But not all dreams are equal.

Some are daydreams. Some are real dreams. And sometimes, there are dreams that go beyond both.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech is perhaps the most famous dream in history. But it was not a daydream. It cost him his life. Nelson Mandela’s dream of freedom cost him 27 years in prison. Thomas Edison’s dream of light cost him thousands of failures before success. Mother Teresa’s dream of serving the poor cost her decades of obscurity before her influence spread across the globe. Anne Scheiber’s dream of stewardship cost her 50 years of careful discipline before she left behind 22 million dollars to charity.

Dreams that outlast the dreamer always require sacrifice.

And this is the paradox: A daydream avoids pain, but a real dream embraces sacrifice.

Even in nature we see the same truth. A butterfly cannot fly without the struggle of the cocoon. A seed must first die in the soil before it can grow. Bones strengthen only through tiny fractures under pressure. Children who grow up in overly sanitized environments often develop weaker immunity because they were shielded from the very exposure that would strengthen them. Coal becomes diamond only under immense heat and pressure.

Growth without struggle is not growth at all.

The Mirror of Conversations That Changed Everything

If I look at my own journey, the real turning points did not come from a long strategy document or a five-year plan. They came from conversations. One meaningful conversation has the power to redirect the course of a life, a business, and even a generation.

Insight 1: 2018 in Australia, “Think Global, Act Local.”

I had gone to Melbourne, visiting preschools, speaking to different people, and immersing myself in their way of thinking. That was when I first heard the phrase, “Think global, act local.” It stayed with me because it captured the paradox of education and leadership in Malaysia.

I admired the best of Western education: creativity, confidence, public speaking, collaboration, inquiry-based learning. But I also realized there were values we must never lose: respect for elders, thrift, hard work.

Even something as simple as pronunciation carried this insight. In Melbourne, people call IKEA “I-Kea.” In Malaysia, we call it “E-Kea.” Which is correct? Officially, “I-Kea.” But if I insist on that here, I lose connection. To act local is to speak in a way that people understand.

It also goes deeper into culture. In Malaysia, you do not casually shake hands with a Malay woman. When you go to a government office, you wear long pants and dress properly. Even the way you speak, in your tone, in the respect you show, and in your manner of addressing others, matters deeply in a multicultural society. To thrive here is not about losing yourself, but about living beyond yourself.

That one phrase, think global and act local, changed the way I saw everything. It shaped how Stellar would grow in a diverse community. It reminded me that purpose sometimes demands adaptation.

Insight 2: 2019, Raising a Generation of STARS.

The following year, another conversation became a turning point. We were in the early stages of building Stellar International School. Out of that dialogue came the vision that has carried us ever since: raising a generation of STARS for a sustainable future.

From that conversation, the STARS framework was born: Self-Awareness, Teachability, Attitude, Relationships, and Significance. What began as a phrase became our compass. It was no longer only about education as a product. It was about character, leadership, and values. That single conversation became the DNA of who we are.

Insight 3: 2025 in Johor, “You Are Dreamers.”

Recently, we hosted a group of friends from KL who came with fresh eyes. They observed us for 24 hours, listened to our conversations, watched how we worked, and joined us at the table. At the end of it all, one of them asked, “What is the one word that really describes Stellar?”

We tried many: creativity, innovation, legacy. But they said no. The word is dreamers. You are people who dare to dream.

That struck me deeply. Because from our purpose, to inspire the dream of a better world through innovating education and transforming lives, to our vision of raising STARS, it all ties back to the same essence. We are dreamers.

One conversation in 2018. Another in 2019. A third in 2025. Three conversations, three insights, each changing the game forever.

The Lens of Real Dreaming

From these conversations I learned to see the difference clearly.

• Daydreams avoid pain. Real dreams embrace sacrifice.
• Daydreams chase fruit. Real dreams dig into roots.
• Daydreams wait for others to change. Real dreams begin with self.

Let us test this across life’s ten dimensions.

God and Purpose. A daydream says, “I want to live a purposeful life.” A real dream sets a strategy, counts the cost, and makes it a priority. My own dream is to unleash potential in 100,000 people. That does not happen by accident.

Health and Fitness. A daydream says, “I want to stay healthy as I grow older.” A real dream means waking up early, sweating, disciplining your diet. According to U.S. News & World Report, 73% of New Year’s resolutions fail by February because most fitness dreams are daydreams without roots.

Love and Romance. A daydream imagines effortless romance and perfect harmony. A real dream requires faithfulness, prioritization, and self-control. The National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia found that relationships where sacrifice is practiced consistently experience 5x greater satisfaction than those built only on self-interest.

Home and Family. A daydream imagines obedient children and a perfectly peaceful home. A real dream accepts the price of patient teaching, late nights, and daily consistency.

Knowledge and Wisdom. A daydream says, “I want to be wise.” A real dream chooses silence, study, and attention. Wisdom requires the sacrifice of time and noise.

Money and Finance. Many say, “I want financial freedom, to spend without worrying about the price.” That is not freedom but indulgence. The National Endowment for Financial Education reports that 61% of lottery winners go bankrupt within 5 years. A real financial dream is built on stewardship, discipline, and delayed gratification.

Friends and Social. A daydream longs for loyal friends who serve you. A real dream identifies like-minded people, invests in trust, and gives before receiving.

Business and Career. Many dream of being CEO. The reality is that 80% of businesses fail within 5 years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A daydream wants the title. A real dreamer digs into value creation, learns through failure, and persists until the roots are strong.

Play and Relaxation. A daydream imagines endless holidays. A real dream saves, plans, and sacrifices in order to create meaningful rest. Even joy has a cost.

Community and Contribution. A daydream wishes for a thriving community. A real dream requires opening your home, giving up privacy, and walking with people in their struggles. The community we have today did not appear by magic. It was built over years of serving, discipling, and sacrificing personal comfort.

At every level, the same pattern emerges. Daydreams chase fruit, but real dreams always dig into roots.

The Vision Beyond Logic

Yet there is also a third kind of dream.

Not all dreams come from ambition or discipline. Some dreams come from above.

After completing my master’s degree, I nearly settled in Melbourne. I had an offer for temporary residence and even a sponsor for my work visa. It was stable. It was logical. It made sense.

But then I had a dream. Not a daydream. Not even a self-driven real dream. It was vivid and supernatural. I saw my grandmother passing. I saw my father passing.

There was no rational reason for it, yet it struck me deeply as a son and grandson.

So I sold everything in Melbourne, turned down the visa, and came back to Malaysia. That dream became a calling.

Looking back, I thank God for that dream. It allowed me to live something no career could buy: the chance to spend quality time with my grandmother before her passing, and to now cherish every moment with my father.

This kind of dream is different. You cannot manufacture it. You cannot chase it. It chases you. It calls you. And if you obey it, it becomes a legacy far beyond logic.

The Questions Every Dreamer Must Ask

Not every dream is the same. Some give life, while others only take it away. The real test is to ask yourself the right questions.

• Is this dream just a daydream, avoiding pain and waiting for magic?
• Is it a real dream, rooted in sacrifice and growth?
• Could it be a supernatural dream, a calling from above that I must obey?
• Am I chasing a borrowed dream, handed down by others but never truly mine?
• Is this a broken dream, one that life has derailed, but which can still become the soil for something greater?
• Is this a collective dream, bigger than myself, requiring shared sacrifice and community?
• Or is it a false dream, an illusion sold by culture that will leave me empty?

The power is not in labeling the dream but in discerning its nature. Because the kind of dream you pursue will shape the kind of life you live.

The Step Into Legacy

Here is the paradox that reframes everything.

The life you are living right now is already someone else’s dream.

Your family may be someone else’s dream. Your education, your career, your community, all of these may be the very things others pray for.

The choice is yours. Will you treat your life as harvest to enjoy, or as seed to multiply?

Because here is the truth.

A daydream dies with you.

A real dream outlives you.

A supernatural dream outlives even logic.

This is why Stellar’s purpose is not a slogan but a foundation: to inspire the dream of a better world through innovating education and transforming lives. And this is why our culture insists on the truth that resilience leads to results.

To dream is human.

To sacrifice for the dream is leadership.

To obey the dream is faith.

And to live the dream is legacy.

That is why I can say with conviction: I have a dream… not a daydream.