I love this quote, because I think it gets to the heart of why we sometimes don’t pursue our dreams. Whatever you’re dreaming of, it’s possible to make it happen. In fact, there’s really never been a better time to follow your dreams.

I know…in difficult economic times, following your dreams sounds like the opposite of what we should do. We get the idea that we should hunker down and wait for the storm to pass–just survive, really. But as counterintuitive as it seems, dreams are the best things to pursue in difficult times, because they have the power to end difficult times. Dreams can lift us from the difficult times and give us hope.

If you think about it, every Fortune 500 company began as someone’s dream. Someone dreaming of better times or a better life or someone tinkering in the garage or the kitchen. Then they took steps to make those dreams happen, it caught on, others joined in and then businesses were incorporated and before you know it, you have a huge companies like Proctor & Gamble, Apple or Ford.

Even if you don’t want to build a Fortune 500 company, that’s ok. Maybe you want to sell handmade hair bows on Etsy or invent a greener air purifying technology or make people laugh doing stand-up comedy. Whatever your dream, by pursuing it you could make the world a better place.

We need creativity and innovation, now more than ever. And creativity and innovation start with dreams. You have the power inside of you. Don’t let your fear of that power get in the way. Embrace the light inside of you and in your dreams and make them come true. We don’t have to go down the beaten path—we can forge our own path to a new career, a new life, a new future. We can, as Ralph Waldo Emerson said, dare to live the life we’ve dreamed for ourselves. We can make our dreams come true. There’s never been a better time.