At 11:31 a.m. EST on Thursday, a member of our DASH family gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Needless to say, we all celebrated the newest addition to our extended family. As a father, it made me think back to the births of my three children. I began to reminisce about the early days of their lives and the joys of holding them in my arms for the first time.

It's funny how the birth of a child will do that to you. We all get a little sentimental at the thought of a new baby. In fact, I've seen hard-nosed female investment bankers literally squeal at the sight of an infant. And I've witnessed normally profane equity traders break into baby talk: "She's a little snuga-wuggums. That's what she is - a little snuga-wuggums."

The birth of a child is truly an exciting time for everyone. However, for the parents, it's more than just exciting; it's exhausting. Babies, while precious, are extremely demanding. They require constant care and attention. They must be fed, changed, held and rocked continuously. Caring for a child at this stage is a 24-hour commitment. This is simply the price parents must pay for the joy of giving birth to a child.

Well, the same thing can be said when we give birth to a new dream. In its infancy, a dream requires constant TLC. For instance, if you've just given birth to a company, you must constantly perform to the expectations of your new clients. You must constantly market your company to new prospective clients. You must constantly work with your employees to help grow and mature in their new positions. The same is true if you are starting a new job. You must continuously seek to learn about the job. You must continuously attempt to master the new skills involved. And just as you can't leave a baby alone for two weeks while you vacation in the Bahamas, you can't leave your business or new job for any length of time during its infancy.

Over a very short period time, this all-consuming commitment is easy to maintain. However, as the days, weeks and months pass, it becomes harder to give your all. Yet, that's just what is required - your all. You may be currently experiencing these demands as you work to make the most of your dash.

For instance, perhaps you've started taking night classes to finally get your degree. Now, every day after work, you head to off to school. You then return home to complete your homework assignment and before you know it, it's time to go to bed and start the whole thing over again the next day. During the first two weeks, you were exhilarated by the experience of being back in the classroom, learning new and interesting theories. Now, you would give your right arm for a decent night's sleep.

So how do you make it through the tough times? The answer is the same way that parents make it through the 3 a.m. feedings, the truckload of soiled diapers, the nightmare of trying to spoon feed an infant strained carrots, and the teething. They know that their babies will grow out of it one day.

Well, your dream will grow out of the difficult stage as well. Eventually, your employees will be able to stand on their own two feet and fend for themselves. Eventually, your customers will stop calling you every three hours to confirm the status of their order. Eventually, your suppliers will send your materials to the right address - on the first try. Eventually, you will graduate from college. Eventually, your novel will finally be completed. Eventually, you will have finally saved the money for your dream home.

Therefore, if you have recently just given birth to a new dream, hang in there! It's tough now but, just like raising a child, it's worth it!