The dream is featuring for England in the 2019 Rugby World Cup but Denny Solomona has learned not to take anything for granted with day to day life focused on improving and establishing himself as a role model to those needing advice.
Solomona spent Wednesday morning helping launch the new Project Rugby initiative, aimed at taking rugby to those communities who may not usually be exposed to it. He spoke passionately about the programme, which clearly struck a chord with a man who just 12 months ago was playing rugby league.
Now he is an England international and a prolific try-scorer for Sale Sharks, but with that comes responsibility and he is aware of his duties as a public-facing role model.
"I want to improve as a player and a person people can look up to and approach if they've got any problems," Solomona tells ESPN. "I want to take that role on and if I can do that at Sale, then hopefully [I'll] improve.
"That's what I want to do, hopefully if I can help a younger guy like an 18-year-old settle quickly -- even if that's just tips on how to do this or that. But that comes back into the project as well."
Solomona's try-scoring record is astonishing. Traditionally, bar a handful of select malleable cross-code stars, making the switch from league to union is a difficult path.
There have been fiercely talented rugby league players who have tried to make the switch, but have returned little under a year later to more familiar surroundings.
But after a handful of games, playing at the same club where Jason Robinson established himself as a union star after 10 years in league, Solomona is firmly in the mix as a potential England winger for the World Cup.
With high-billing comes expectation. It can be hard to handle, but the pressure is something he has learned to use to drive his own standards, rather than as an escape route.
"It's not necessarily the outside pressure, it's what I put on myself. I put a lot of pressure on myself to perform, not only for myself but for my teammates and to win the Premiership -- that's our long-term goal. It's good, I enjoy it, I had a great transition and it's a credit to the boys and the coaching staff who made that transition smooth and made my job easy.
"It gives you that extra boost of confidence that you can convert and become a great rugby union player. Jason's the front-runner for that. He's had an amazing career and he's influencing other rugby players to do what he's done."
Solomona is carving out his own history now, on a winding international path. From exploding on to the scene in Argentina -- scoring the match-winning try against the Pumas in the first Test -- to then being sent home by Eddie Jones from a preseason training camp for ill-discipline, it has not been straight-forward.
But Jones is a fan of Solomona, seeing what he terms 'x-factor' and a try-scoring ability to rival the best.
"Everything's happened for a reason, you make your own luck and all I do is try and work hard to improve and whatnot. It's all part of the journey that everyone's on and I can't wait for what's to come."
Next week, Jones -- who contacted Solomona after Sale's match against Toulouse at the weekend to ask how he felt he had performed -- will name his England squad for the autumn internationals.
Solomona hopes to feature and has been working on his positioning with ex-England fullback Jon Callard, an area Jones identified as needing improvement. "Everyone that plays English rugby aspires to be in the squad. If you're not like that as a player then you're in the wrong profession," Solomona says, but the focus is constantly on the present -- not the past, nor future.
"I've learned not to take anything for granted, to live every day and to be present," he adds. "Everyone's too busy looking too far ahead of themselves, or too far behind them but you need to live now and take the most out of what you can do now."
It is this credo, and appreciation of his important standing to future rugby hopefuls that saw him at the AJ Bell Stadium Wednesday morning supporting Project Rugby. He spoke animatedly about the experience, enthusing about how wonderful it was to see children from myriad different races, religions and backgrounds all playing the same game.
But one individual stood out for him. "I met a kid out here today who was struggling with anxiety and couldn't go to school for three years," he says.
"He was struggling, nervous to say hello and be around people. Rugby made him come out of his shell to enjoy being around people and meeting people. That's great and to hear that, to be a part of this today is amazing.
"As a human being it tugs the heart strings doesn't it, to be a part of this you're doing your work as a person and a human being to help another person to take the next step in their lives and make sure it's a positive one. It's made my day."
Solomona says his professional focus is just on playing Lyon at the weekend, but as Jones looks to fine-tune his plans for the 2019 World Cup, the clamour around the Sale winger is only going to increase.
He has learned to block out the outside noise, though, only focusing on the present and being the best role model he can be.