"Do you really like to play basketball?" was the question posed to Bill Bradley, now a former Senator from New Jersey and Democratic presidential hopeful, one night in the 1970s at a post-game reception in Chicago. "Yes, more than anything else I could be doing now," Mr. Bradley replied.

The man who asked the question then explained the reason he asked. "I once played the trumpet. I think I know what you feel. I played in a little band. We were good. We'd play on weekends at colleges. In my last year, we had an offer to tour and make records. Everyone wanted to except me."

When Mr. Bradley asked why he chose not to continue playing with the band, the man replied: "My father thought it wasn't secure enough. I guess I agreed. The life is so transient. You're always on the road. No sureness that you'll get your next job. It just doesn't fit into a life plan. So I went to law school and I quit playing the trumpet, except every once in a while. Now I don't have time."

"Do you like the law?" Mr. Bradley asked.

"It's okay. But it's nothing like playing the trumpet," the man replied.

How sad it is that this man, and many like him, choose to shortchange themselves by engaging in occupations and activities which may be safe and conventional but don't deliver satisfaction, fulfillment and joy in living.

Growing up we all have dreams, hopes and aspirations for ourselves. Unfortunately, various social, emotional and practical pressures conspire to create fear, uncertainty and self-doubt. The result: we feel forced to submerge our glorious dreams and hopes for ourselves.

If you're reconsidering your career choices, the following guidelines can help you to fend off fear, tap into your inner passion and follow your dreams.

Let your intuition lead you. Intuition is a valid source of information. Learn to listen and trust your inner voice when it tells you to act. Explore the possibilities and take appropriate steps.

It was intuition that led Suzanne Kind to become a member of the U.S. Olympic cross-country ski team in 1994. Newly married and living in Marquette, Mich., she began cross-country skiing and racing. "I started training and ski racing when I was 22, almost a decade later than most Olympic athletes," Ms. Kind recalls. At the end of the first season, she placed fourth at one of the national collegiate championships in the women's 10-K. She then began winning even larger competitions.

The following year Ms. Kind felt she had a realistic chance of making the 1994 Olympic team. "But I also questioned the legitimacy of my goals. I thought, ‘I'm just a ski bum, what's going to come of it?' Yet all the while, my intuition told me that this was OK, and over time, I began to accept my decision as valid and worthwhile." Ms. Kind made the U.S. Olympic team in both 1994 and 1998. "Now I teach, so I've turned my passion into an ongoing pursuit."

Practice the art of creative visualization. Shakti Gawain, author of "Creative Visualization: Use the Power of Your Imagination to Create What You Want in Life" (New World Library, 1995), explains how this simple but powerful process works: "In creative visualization you use your imagination to create a clear image of something you wish to manifest. Then you continue to focus on the idea or picture regularly, giving it positive energy until it becomes objective reality; in other words, until you actually achieve what you have been visualizing."

Legendary hotelier Conrad Hilton knew how to use this technique. The Great Depression was exceptionally hard for Mr. Hilton. After the stock market crash of 1929, people didn't travel as much, and when they did they didn't stay in the hotels Mr. Hilton had acquired during the roaring 1920s. Business at his hotels was so poor that by 1931 his creditors were threatening to foreclose. He was so financially destitute that even his laundry was in hock and he had to borrow money from a bellboy to eat. That year, Mr. Hilton came upon a photograph of the Waldorf Hotel. It had six kitchens, 200 cooks, 500 waiters, 2,000 rooms and a private hospital and railroad in the basement. He clipped the photograph out of the magazine and scribbled across it, "The Greatest of Them All."

"The year 1931 was a presumptuous, outrageous time to dream," Mr. Hilton would later write. Nevertheless, he put the photo of the Waldorf in his wallet, and when he had a desk again, slipped the picture under the glass top. The magazine photo was always in front of him. As he worked his way back up and acquired new, larger desks, he would slip the cherished photo under the glass. In October 1949, 18 years later, Mr. Hilton bought the Waldorf.

The lesson from this story is that you must conceive an idea or goal to achieve the life you want. Develop a mental picture in your mind of what you hope to accomplish. Have something for your mind to focus upon and it will become a cue for your behavior.

Challenge your assumptions. Many of us operate on flawed assumptions. We mistakenly assume that we can't do more, be more or enjoy more. But you must challenge your assumptions to rise above them. A good example is Marilyn Rousso, who suffers from cerebral palsy. She had no contact with other disabled people while growing up.

"I just didn't know anyone else who was disabled, and disability was then shrouded in secrecy and stigma. So it never occurred to me that there could be interesting, smart, attractive, witty and successful disabled people," she says. Then, at 22, Ms. Rousso started working for a female economist who also had cerebral palsy.

"That association had a profound effect on me," she recalls. "I saw that she could make it in a man's field. But I was even more impressed [that] she was married. My parents and I believed that a person with cerebral palsy couldn't date, marry or have children. That woman made me challenge my assumptions about myself."

Dare to go where no one else has gone. Embrace a risky task. Paul Reese, 81, has gone where others didn't dare venture. Eleven years ago he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and endured radiation treatments.

Three years after the treatments ended, at 73, he decided to make a statement about aging and activity. He made it in a big way by running 3,192 miles across the U.S. in 124 consecutive days. Then, from 1992 through 1997, Mr. Reese made runs across individual states until he had been through all 50. He encourages others to try "something big," but cautions, "you'll have to do it bit by bit, one step at a time."

Tell yourself that "I can remake my life." Remember that you have the power to shape your destiny. Destiny is more a matter of choice than chance. Choose to remake your life if you're feeling unfulfilled and unhappy. Consider the example of Sheryl Draker. As an attorney in a Dallas law firm, she was uneasy leaving work early to see a doctor about a persistent stomach problem. After a medical exam, Ms. Draker was alarmed to learn she had a pancreatic tumor. Three days later she arrived at the hospital for surgery only to learn that the doctors couldn't find the tumor. "I don't know whether it was a medical error or a miracle, but I took it as a wake-up call," she says. "The message was clear to me that I wasn't living a life I loved."

Ms. Draker quit her job with the corporate law firm and began working as a contract lawyer. A more flexible schedule allowed her to study for a master's degree in psychology and become a jury consultant. This job combines her background in law with her interest in psychology. Today Ms. Draker is self-employed as a legal and communications consultant in Austin, Texas. She typically works no more than 80 hours a month, yet earns triple her pay as a lawyer working 60-hour weeks. The extra time allows her to do volunteer work such as cooking dinners for families of pediatric cancer patients at Ronald McDonald House.

When working to make your dreams come true, always maintain a hopeful, optimistic attitude. If the going gets a little tough, remember the words of American philosopher William James: "It's our attitude at the beginning of a difficult undertaking which more than anything else, will determine its outcome."