The 4 Levels of Dreamers

Everyone is a dreamer, whether they know it or not.

A dream is just a stronger, bigger desire.

Desire, especially the desire that comes from the heart, is an expression of life force moving through us. It’s spirit moving through us.

As we dream and feel this desire pulsating within us, we are conjuring life force. We are conjuring creative energy.

We are conjuring the same creative energy that has inspired humanity to create every beautiful thing it has ever created or to accomplish every feat previously thought impossible.

All art, all inventions, all achievements in sports, medicine, and science, all spiritual advancements, all improvements to give future generations a better life…

It has all come from this same energy that rests within each of us.

However, not all people dream of the same things, and not all people dream at the same level.

In fact, there are four different levels of dreamers, and almost every person on the planet falls under one of these four levels.

Some dream big. Some dream small.

Some dream the same dreams as most people do. Some have dreams that are unique to them.

Some dream the biggest dreams they can imagine, and others suppress their goals, dreams, and desires.

Yet, all are dreamers.

This article will help you understand what the different levels of dreamers are, how they think, and what makes them different.

It will also help you understand what type of dreamer you are right now, and how you can dream bigger and better dreams for yourself and your life.

If you want to figure out what your life goals are, or you want clarity around your dreams and how you can expand them, this is the article for you.

Let’s dive in:

What Are The 4 Levels of Dreamers?

The 4 Levels of Dreamers are:

• Level 0 – Pre-Dreamer
• Level 1 – Survival Mentality
• Level 2 – Keeping Up With The Joneses
• Level 3 – Your Authentic Dreams & Desires
• Level 4 – Your Maximum Dream Outcomes

(It’s technically five levels, but the first is Level 0.

Four also looked better when I was brainstorming the title for this article 😉 )

Levels 0, 1, and 2 are how most people dream in life.

Levels 3 and 4 are the levels I recommend people aspire to.

Let’s break them down one by one:

The 4 Levels of Dreamers

Level 0 – Pre-Dreamer

Level 0 dreamers are the “pre-dreamers.”

Pre-dreamers are not actively dreaming of anything more than where they are right now.

Some already have everything they desire and are content. However, I believe this is a small minority of the population.

In most cases, Level 0 dreamers are not dreaming due to some type of self-limitation, lack of vision, or fear.

Some don’t believe they can accomplish their dreams, so they don’t try. They don’t allow themselves to mentally entertain those desires.

Many grew up with a lack of self-esteem, fear of failure, fear of what others might think if they dream “too big,” or even fear of success, so they don’t allow themselves to dream.

Most people who say they don’t want more in life are more than likely suppressing their desires.

It doesn’t mean their desires aren’t there. It just means they’re not allowing their desires to rise up to the surface where they can act on them.

They may be bitter or pessimistic, and they may try to tear other people down for their goals and dreams in life.

In reality, it’s just a reflection of how they feel about themselves. It has nothing to do with anyone else.

They may have had rough starts in life, created negative beliefs and perspectives based on that, and now the rest of their lives have been rough, as well.

Level 0 dreamers don’t have to stay this way, however. They can choose to expand their dreams and their vision of the future and, in doing so, step into the next level of dreamers.

Level 1 – Survival Mentality

Level 1 dreamers dream with a survival mentality.

They probably have bigger dreams within them, but, similar to Level 0 dreamers, they’re not allowing themselves to feel those desires and act on them.

So they settle for the smallest dreams their current mindset and self-perception allow them to:

Survival.

Not thriving. Just surviving. The bare minimum life has to offer.

Level 1 dreamers are dreaming of “just enough to get by.” Their true desires are likely much bigger, but their current worldview and self-image limit them to acting on receiving the bare minimum in life:

• A job they tolerate but don’t like.
• Just enough money to support themselves and their family.
• Health that’s good enough but not great.

Level 1 dreamers are often uncomfortable with the idea of thriving. Even though they would take it if offered to them on a silver platter, their mindset is so out of alignment with striving for anything more that they keep themselves in a limited state.

This doesn’t mean they aren’t capable of more. It just means their current perspectives and worldviews aren’t allowing them to rise up.

This is due to one key aspect of dreaming:

We will only dream to the level of what we believe is possible for us and our lives.

It doesn’t matter if a person is capable of changing the world, if they don’t believe they can achieve more than the minimum of what life has to offer, it’s unlikely they will.

On the flip side, if a person believes in infinite possibilities (like I do), they will entertain their dreams and act on them.

Most Level 1 dreamers are capable of so much more, but they’re stuck in a survival mentality.

Once they move out of their survival mentality, as many people do when they decide to change their lives for the better, the next level of dreaming opens up to them.

Level 2 – Keeping Up With The Joneses

The phrase “Keeping up with the Joneses” originated over 100 years ago in 1913.

It started as a comic strip by Arthur R. “Pop” Momand that ran for 37 years in various newspapers.¹

The strip centered around the fictional McGinis family who were in a constant struggle to keep up with their neighbors, the Joneses.

The Joneses were always going to nice shows, wearing nice clothing, buying nice cars, eating at nice restaurants, and basically living a “better” life.

Their inability to keep up with the Joneses consistently put the McGinises to shame.

You could say, the McGinises’ whole purpose in life was to keep up with the Joneses, which they ultimately failed at for 37 years.

There’s a reason why this comic strip was so popular, why it remained popular even after it stopped running, and why it became one of the most well-known idioms in our society today.

It speaks a powerful truth!

A big, wide, absurdly loud truth that still hasn’t gotten through to most of us…

If your whole aim in life is to keep up with the Joneses, even if you succeed, you will still fail at what matters most:

Finding your own happiness in life.

If your whole aim in life is to keep up with Joneses, even if you succeed, you will still fail at what matters most: finding your own happiness in life.

Allow me to explain…

Level 2 dreamers are trying to “keep up with the Joneses.”

They want a good car, a good house, a good job, and to live in a good neighborhood.

They want everything to be “good.” Not great. Not amazing. Not fantastic. Just good. Because that’s what everybody else wants.

They want a Gucci this, a Prada that, and a designer jacket that costs $10 to make but sells for $1,000.²

They want a boob job, a lip job, a facelift, a tummy tuck, an injection here and there, a calf implant, and an ass implant.

They want to take their butt skin and put it on their forehead (or whatever people are doing to themselves these days).

They want the smartphone everybody else has. They want the jeans everybody else wears. They want the dog breed going viral on TikTok that week, and they listen to the music everybody else listens to.

They believe headlines without consuming the content. They allow headlines and pundits to form their opinions and beliefs of the world, so they end up with the opinions and beliefs most of the world has.

They want the promotion with the fancy title and a bigger office, even if they hate the job itself.

They want to be rich because everybody else wants to be rich, or they don’t want to be rich because they think rich people are “snobby” or “bad.”

Essentially, Level 2 dreamers want what pretty much everybody else wants in life, they believe what the masses believe (i.e. they rarely think for themselves), and their decisions are largely influenced by outside forces instead of their own volition.

These days, we could easily update “Keeping up with the Joneses” to “Keeping up with the Kardashians,” the modern-day version of the Joneses a lot of people are trying to aspire to these days, consciously or unconsciously.

Even the Kardashians are trying to keep up with the Kardashians!

Why are we all trying to keep up with one another, instead of tapping into our authentic desires – the things we want regardless of whether other people want them or not?

Meaning, the stuff we really want?

These “Keeping up with the Joneses” types of desires are still quite big in the grand scheme of things. People who acquire them are probably living in the top 1% of the planet in terms of wealth and financial abundance.³

But these desires are not unique.

If you were to ask 100 random people what they want in life, 95% or more would say the same things. Yet, it’s unlikely these things would lead to lasting happiness and fulfillment for them.

There’s a vast amount of individuality within most people that either they’re not expressing or they don’t know exists.

Yet, it’s in our individuality where we often find our true purpose, our true joy, and our true freedom.

In some ways, Level 2 dreamers are afraid to stand out.

They’re afraid to be unique. They’re afraid to be judged for who they really are, so they keep their true selves locked up inside and agree with everyone on the outside to avoid the pain of rejection.

Or they don’t know who they really are and what they want in life, so they follow the crowd.

They seek approval and validation from others for how to live their lives, instead of looking internally to discover their authentic selves.

Is this a bad thing? Is it “bad” to try to keep up with the Joneses, the Kardashians, or your family/friends, even if it isn’t what you really want in life?

I’d say not necessarily. Everything has its place. Level 2 dreamers are at least striving for something.

But I’d argue that what they’re striving for is not the authentic version of themselves or what will make them happiest in life.

It’s not the version that’s true to who they really are.

Level 2 dreamers exhibit a carefully crafted facade designed to fit in, as opposed to the courageous individual essence that could be expressing itself freely in the world.

One version is living by default.

The other is living by design.

To start living by design, Level 2 dreamers must tap into the next level of their inner wants and desires.

Level 3 – Your Authentic Dreams & Desires

Level 3 dreams are the desires many people have but few people act on.

These are your authentic goals, dreams, and desires. These are the things you want in life regardless of whether other people want them or not.

It doesn’t matter if you’re the only person on the planet who wants these things, you still want them. They’re authentic to who you are as a person and what you want out of life.

Some may even be the same as those “Keeping up with the Joneses” desires.

A Level 3 dreamer may want a nice house, in a nice neighborhood, with a nice job, and a nice family.

The difference is the underlying intention. It’s why they want these things.

They don’t want these things just because other people want them or they feel like they’re “supposed” to want them because that’s what society expects of them.

They’ve taken an honest look at themselves and decided they want these things for themselves, not based on anyone else.

A Level 3 dreamer may find that nobody else in their life wants what they want. For example, they may find that their friends and family all want to live a normal life, while the Level 3 dreamer wants more adventure or to do something off the beaten path.

I believe that most people have Level 3 dreams. The difference is that Level 3 dreamers are allowing themselves to actually dream their Level 3 dreams.

Level 3 dreamers’ dreams aren’t just hopes or wishes. They’re actively considering these desires and taking action on them.

While most people probably have Level 3 dreams, most don’t act on them.

A Level 3 dreamer acts on their authentic dreams and desires.

Level 3 dreams may not be a person’s biggest dreams, but they’re more authentic and unique than Level 2 dreams.

They often require more thought, more introspection, and more self-knowledge to uncover.

A Level 3 dreamer may want to travel the world, to quit their job and follow their passion instead of go back to college, to start their own business, or to join a social or environmental cause they care about – whatever is authentic to them and chosen primarily by them, not other people’s desires or expectations.

Level 3 dreamers are high-level dreamers. A relatively small percentage of the world acts on their Level 3 dreams, which puts them into a unique category already.

But to become a Level 4 dreamer, they must think even bigger (and bolder).

Level 4 – Your Maximum Dream Outcomes

Finally, we have the Level 4 dreamers.

Level 4 dreamers are the biggest dreamers in the world. These people are dreaming of one thing:

Their maximum dream outcomes.

They’re thinking as big as their imaginations can go. Their thinking is as unlimited as it can be in their current state of personal development.

Level 4 dreamers dream with the purity of a child. No limitations.

I’ve met more Level 4 dreamers over the last 5 years than I had met in the previous 26 years. This is probably because I’ve become a bigger Level 4 dreamer myself.

My Level 4 dreams include becoming a #1 New York Times best-selling author, creating one of the most popular personal development blogs in the world, playing a live DJ set of my own music to thousands of people at a big festival, starring in a movie that makes a powerful positive impact on the world, becoming a world-renowned inspirational speaker, and becoming an angel investor for conscious brands, among others.

Whenever you see someone pursuing or achieving something that probably 0.1% of the population is going after, that person is probably a Level 4 dreamer. Maybe less than 0.1% of the world genuinely dreams of these types of desires.

It’s the athlete who genuinely believes they will become a champion (and sees themself as a champion already).

It’s the entrepreneur who sets out to build a company that changes the world.

It’s the philanthropist giving everything they can to help others rise up.

It’s the person who has set out to become one of the best in the world at what they do.

Just because 0.1% of the population goes after these dreams, that doesn’t mean 0.1% have these dreams.

If people allowed themselves to dream freely, I believe most people would uncover at least one Level 4 dream within themselves. You probably have at least a few Level 4 dreams within you.

Level 4 dreams are your biggest goals, dreams, and desires. They’re the biggest things you can imagine wanting for your life.

Once you know what these dreams are, to be a Level 4 dreamer, you must also act on them.

The difference between hopes and wishes and goals and dreams is one thing: ACTION.

The difference between hopes and wishes and goals and dreams is one thing: ACTION.

Related: Don’t Be Realistic

How to Dream Bigger Using The 4 Levels of Dreamers

Now that you understand The 4 Levels of Dreamers, let’s put it to practical use to help you dream bigger.

First, where do you stand right now? What level of dreamer are you?

If you’re not dreaming at all, you’re a Level 0 dreamer (Pre-Dreamer).

If you’re only allowing yourself to dream at a level of survival (bare minimum), you are a Level 1 dreamer (Survival Mentality).

If your desires are mainly based on what other people want or what’s expected of you, you are a Level 2 dreamer (Keeping Up With The Joneses).

If you are tapped into your authentic dreams and desires, regardless of whether other people want them or not, you are a Level 3 dreamer (Your Authentic Dreams & Desires).

Lastly, if you’re dreaming of your maximum dream outcomes, you are a Level 4 dreamer (Your Maximum Dream Outcomes).

Second, how big do you want to dream? Do you want to dream bigger than you are now? If so, what level of dreamer would you like to be?

For example, you might be a Level 1 dreamer right now, meaning you’ve mostly been acting with a survival mentality instead of a thriving mentality.

Maybe you want to progress to a Level 3 dreamer (taking action on your authentic goals, dreams, and desires).

Personally, I believe Level 3 and Level 4 dreamers are some of the happiest and most fulfilled people in life.

At the same time, there’s nothing wrong with being at any level, if that’s where you want to be.

The purpose of this framework is to bring awareness to where you are right now and use that as a jumping-off point to start moving toward where you want to be.

Third, once you know what level of dreamer you want to be, ask yourself this question:

What do I need to do to dream bigger?

Do you need more clarity on your goals and dreams? Do you need to increase your self-confidence? Do you need to learn from someone who is where you want to be in life or has accomplished what you want to accomplish?

Once you know what you need to do to dream bigger, start taking action on it.

This action alone will automatically make you a bigger (and bolder) dreamer.

1. Keeping up with the Joneses – Wikipedia
2. What Is the Right Price for Fashion? – Vogue
3. As an experiment, let’s say “Keeping up with the Joneses” means you’re making $100,000 per year (post-tax) and have a household size of one. This would probably afford you most of what Level 2 dreamers want. According to the How Rich Am I? calculator from Giving What We Can, you would be in the top 1% of the richest people on the planet. Just to put this into more perspective, if you make $40,000 post-tax, you’re in the top 3% of the richest people globally.