How to find and follow your dream in 2025

Are you just starting out in life? Eager to find a path that will deliver genuine fulfilment? Or maybe you’ve spent decades doing what you always felt you ‘should’ do but have a burning sense that life has more to offer. Simon Squibb, the entrepreneur, TikTok giant, founder of online business support network Helpbnk.com and now author of What's Your Dream? is here to help.

His book is an inspiring read, whether you have a clear dream but lack the tools you need to fulfil it, or haven’t yet identified what it is that would get you off the hamster wheel and onto the path to a more rewarding existence. Maybe it’s a business venture you might get off the ground, a move to another part of the world, or involvement in charity work that will help you give back to your community – or all three. Whatever your aspiration, Squibb’s wise and actionable advice will help you to identify and overcome the common barriers to getting started and take the practical steps you need to make your dream a reality.

To give you a flavour of what’s inside, we’re highlighting five key takeaways that stayed with us from the book.

A dream is a powerful thing: don't let it slip away

Squibb writes powerfully about the myths and fears that hold us back from living a truly rewarding life, one that is centred on the wholehearted pursuit of a personal dream. Too many of us give in to fear and doubt, shutting the door on a more enriching existence.  

“So often, we take one of the most miraculous human abilities – the capacity to imagine what the future could be – and we use it against ourselves. We imagine this beautiful future and then we deny ourselves the chance to pursue it […]. This is one of our most self-defeating traits as humans, because there is no better way to think about your life or approach the future than to frame it in terms of a dream[…].

When you have a dream in your life, you never need to question why you are doing something or if it is worthwhile. You already know – it is taking you one step closer to the thing you want to achieve and the person you want to be.”

Don't worry if you don't have a clear dream yet

Squibb knows that many people don’t have a clear sense of what their dream could be. He offers practical advice to follow if, when asked what your dream is, your gut response is that you don’t know or you aren’t sure.

“Start writing out a list of likes and dislikes. That will lead you onto your strengths and weaknesses, the hobbies that you could maybe turn into a career, and the way you really want to spend your time. Before long, you’ll be thinking about practicalities: the things you can do for yourself, and others you need help with. Where and how to start. Soon you will not just have worked out your dream – you’ll be working out how to achieve it too.”

You need to get comfortable with failure

So many of us have had it drummed into us that there is something wrong with failure and that it’s something to be ashamed of. What’s Your Dream? turns this conventional wisdom on its head, with Squibb arguing that a healthy relationship with failure is essential to the pursuit of any dream.

“Of all the myths that society and traditional education promote, the fear of failure is perhaps the most harmful[…]. This belief bears almost no resemblance to how people actually achieve things, and what it takes. Try finding a successful entrepreneur who doesn’t have dozens of stories of failure: the businesses that went wrong, the ideas that came to nothing and the decisions they lived to regret[…].

We will all experience failures that feel disastrous. We have to accept that and be ready for them. More than that, we should embrace these moments.”

Achieving your dream won't be easy

Squibb doesn’t hide the fact that it takes consistent effort, resilience and the ability to face tough moments to pursue a personal dream. None of it will come easily but here – again - Squibb reframes and reimagines the challenge, arguing that facing adversity allows us to achieve essential growth.

“We don’t want life to be hard all the time, but we do need it to be hard some of the time. Without those knocks we don’t grow as people, develop the confidence that is born of resilience, or prepare ourselves to tackle the most important challenges of our life. What’s more, the ‘hard things’ are often so much more difficult in our minds than in reality. The longer we build these things up, the more intimidating the prospect of them becomes. Whereas if we force ourselves to tackle them, we usually discover that our fears were misplaced.”

Root your dream in what you love

Unlike a lot of experts in entrepreneurship, Squibb recommends turning your gaze inward instead of looking at the existing business marketplace to identify the opportunity for you to make your mark on the world. Taking the time to understand what you love – what motivates you and drives you forward – is key to setting yourself up to succeed.

“… it’s never the idea that makes a business succeed. It’s the people and the motivation behind it – the dream that powers it. If you have this, then you can work forever without feeling like it’s work. You will push on through inevitable failures and persist when others give up. That kind of focus and desire doesn’t come from trying to fill a gap in the market, but from pursuing something that is important and life-defining to you.”

Feeling inspired? What’s Your Dream by Simon Squibb will empower you to:

Recognise the myths that commonly hold us back from embracing the chance to find our passion, love work and build a fulfilling life.
Identify the seven steps you’ll need to take to be ready to pursue your dream.
Identify and articulate your dream, with the help of three simple questions.
Learn what you need to do to turn a dream into a tangible reality.