Don't Share Your Dreams at Work: Here's Why

In this episode of The Purple Kool-Aid Podcast, I’m breaking down something I learned the hard way—why you should never share your hopes and dreams with the people at your 9-to-5 job. I know it might seem harmless to talk about your goals, your side projects, or the bigger vision you have for your life—but in most work environments, that kind of transparency can do more harm than good.

The reality is, when you speak openly about your dreams in places that aren’t built to support them, you open the door to judgment, envy, and even sabotage. I’ve seen it firsthand. People will smile, nod, and tell you they’re rooting for you—but behind closed doors, they’ll talk about you, doubt you, or worse, work against you. Some will even go out of their way to block your progress because they can’t handle the idea that you want more from life than they do.

This isn’t just about jealousy. It’s about mindset. When your co-workers can’t imagine more for themselves, they’ll struggle to imagine more for you. They can’t connect the dots between where you are and where you’re headed. And because they can’t see it for themselves, they’ll assume it’s impossible for you too.

In this episode, I share real experiences, raw truths, and the unfiltered perspective that you’ve come to expect from me. I talk about how your dreams can trigger people, how confidence is often mistaken for arrogance, and how some folks just want everyone around them to stay stuck so they feel better about not moving.

You’ll hear why it’s smarter to move in silence, protect your vision, and save your energy for the spaces and people that get it. Because trust me—if you’re dreaming big while working a job surrounded by small minds, you’re putting a target on your back.

So grab your drink, get comfortable, and listen in while I get personal about ambition, energy, and why the break room is the last place you should be talking about your future.

Transcript

What’s up everybody, this is Lois Lane Miami on the Purple Kool-Aid Podcast,
and tonight I want to talk to you about why you should not share your dreams with the people at your 9 to 5 jobs.

So I'm going to repeat that. I'm going to give you a bunch of reasons why you should not share your dreams with your co-workers or the people at your 9 to 5 job.

If you don't already know, I'm going to put you on to some game, right?
 So—and I'm old school, so I say it how I say it. When I come on here on YouTube or wherever you see me—TikTok, Facebook—and you see me doing a video, it's because I have something that's been on my mind. It's been something that I have experienced, and I want to share my experiences with you, hoping that it can help you navigate this crazy-ass world, right?

So I've watched a lot of videos on how I'm supposed to do stuff—how I'm going to set things up, lighting, tried a teleprompter. I got this little mic. It was like a special place I was supposed to put it. And I was like, you know what? I really have to do me. I need to be comfortable.

So I'm sitting on my beautiful couch that I have totally covered because I don't want it getting messed up because it is off-white and I don't really even want me sitting on it. But I do want to sit on it. But anyway, back to the topic.

Today, we're talking about my experiences and what I have learned—
reasons why you should not share your dreams with people or co-workers or peers at your 9 to 5 job. It is best that you keep those hopes and dreams to yourself, okay?

And this even carries outside of the job. You really shouldn't share your dreams with people who also do not have dreams—because people can be a mess.

So one of the main reasons you should not share your dreams at work is because:
They don't appreciate what you're saying. Most of them really don't want to hear you talk about how great you want to be or your potential—unless they are on your level. And when I say on your level, I don’t mean above or below—but unless your minds operate the same way or are on the same frequency—they’re not going to appreciate or even want to hear what you have to say.

They’ll sit there, they’re going to look at you. Sometimes they’re going to nod their head, they’re going to smile. Some of them will tell you how great it is—and then as soon as you turn around, walk out the room, or walk away from them—they’re going to go to the next person and talk shit about you.

And it sucks.
Because I know. I've done a lot of things in life, and I still have dreams—at my age—and I'm still going to make some shit happen. But I know that when I tell things to certain people—they think it's funny. They think it's impossible. They half-listen. They joke about it to friends. Or they just have no interest.

Sometimes they get jealous.

Telling people about your dreams at your 9 to 5 can stir up a lot of envy and jealousy.
It can cause people to skip over giving you a promotion—or not give you one—especially people in management or supervisor positions. They'll use excuses like:
“Oh, we don’t even know if that person is going to be around to handle this responsibility, so we probably shouldn't give them that promotion or put them in that position.”

That is their excuse.

Deep down inside, they either don’t believe you, think you’re not good enough, or they're jealous that they don’t have dreams. Or worse—they have some other ill intent.
You can tell by the sarcasm or fake laughter. They fully intend on not offering you that promotion.

They kind of want to put you out there for others to laugh at. It’s mean, and it’s fucked up—but that’s what they do.

Sometimes people do this because they can’t connect the dots.
They see famous people—athletes, actors, singers—and they almost worship them. They forget those people are human too.

They think, “I could never be that,” even though those people came from nothing. They don’t realize that with the same work ethic and struggle—they could have been that.

When people work with you every day, they can't imagine you in that position—because they can’t imagine themselves in that position.

Even a janitor might look at a teacher like they’re unreachable.
But the only difference is the teacher committed to education. That’s it.
Same with actors like Al Pacino or Robert De Niro—they took on the struggle and made it.

People can’t connect the dots. So when you say “I’m going to win a gold medal” or “I’m going to be a famous singer”—they don’t care how good you are. They just can’t see you in that light.

Especially if they’re your supervisor.

And when you share your dreams, you stir up jealousy and envy.
They’ll gossip about you.
They’ll think you’re calling out sick to go to an audition.
They’ll think you’re playing hooky.
They’ll think you believe you’re better than everyone.

Even if that’s the farthest thing from your mind—they will believe it.
And they will spread that.

Gossip is worse than COVID.
 Talking shit is like the Black Plague. It spreads—especially in toxic workplaces.

And it doesn’t matter how hard you work.
If they know you’re confident and have dreams—they will treat you differently. They will try to bring you down, mean-girls style. And yes, I said females and males, not men and women. That’s just how I talk.

So do not share your dreams with people at your 9 to 5 job.
It brings nothing but problems.
People will fire you over it—saying you “already have one foot out the door.” Even though if they hit the lottery, they'd leave too.

They’ll use it as an excuse.
 Don’t give them that excuse.

A lot of times, they’re smiling—but they’re not listening.
They don’t care.
They’re jealous.
They think, “How dare you believe you can be more successful than me?”

They’ll knock you down.
 They’ll use narcissistic tricks to put you in your place.
 They’ll call you arrogant or conceited.
 Because people don’t like confidence.

People want you to be miserable like them.
If you say, “After work, I’m going to a show,” or “I’m doing my podcast,” they’ll hate that.
They want sob stories. They like hearing how someone is struggling.

They’re always saying “be humble”—even Kendrick Lamar said it. Because they want you to stay small, controllable, and unhappy.

So I’m going to end this on that note.
This is Lois Lane Miami on the Purple Kool-Aid Podcast.
Thank you for tuning in. I’m going to do a lot more of these. I like my little relaxed setting.

I got my eucalyptus burning in the diffuser, my furry little mic, and I’m chilling on my couch.

My hope and my dream is that this podcast blows up, that I hit millions of followers, and I get to chill in my living room every night making these videos—teaching people things they can use in real life.

Thank you so much for tuning in—and y’all have a good rest of your evening. Bye.