As long as Naruto could remember his dream was to be Hokage. At first it was a dream created by his desire to be recognized, respected. He saw the look in a person's eyes when they looked at the old man. Or when they talked about the great 4th Hokage. They weren't cold, they weren't bitter. They didn't make you want to shrink inside yourself, or filled you with a need to get far away from those hate filled eyes that tore into your soul,hating everything that you are. No, they were warm. Inviting. Naruto would do anything to get anyone's eyes to look at him like that.
As Naruto grew, so did his dream. He finally had people who looked at him with those warm, inviting eyes. The first person being Iruka-sensi. Iruka acknowledged his existence. He protected him, said he wasn't a monster. For the first time in Naruto's life he had someone to care for, and someone who cared for him. And Naruto started to realize that he would protect Iruka with everything he had. He meant what he said. If Mizuki dared to harm Iruka, he would make Kyuubi's wrath seem like a child's. He would show Mizuki what a real monster was, and Naruto would enjoy every second of it.
And soon others came. Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei, even Sakura started to care for him. And in return Naruto cared for them also. He wanted to protect them all. He didn't quite understand what that meant, or even what he was feeling until their first C-rank mission. Haku helped fill the gaps that Naruto couldn't on his own. Haku made everything clear, with his words in the forest and with Sasuke's almost death.
But when Sasuke left; when Naruto wasn't strong enough to bring him home, to bring him out of the darkness. All Naruto desired was to become strong enough to do so. Being Hokage was still him dream, but Sasuke mattered more. Saving him, even if it meant dying, was what was truly important to Naruto.
At times it seemed hopeless. When he first saw how much Sasuke changed when they saw him in that Snake's lair. Or when Sasuke attacked the Kages and everyone was telling him how he couldn't succeed. But in the end Naruto couldn't give up on Sasuke. After all Sasuke was the first one to completely understand Naruto, or at least understand him better than anyone else in the world could.
Naruto experienced his first true lost when Jiraiya died. He failed. He couldn't even help the Pervy Sage when Jiraiya needed it the most. He didn't even get to say goodbye…. Sasuke was right about one thing, Naruto didn't understand loss, and when he did he understood the hatred and the need for revenge that Sasuke had. However Naruto overcame that hatred. He wanted to prove to himself and to Sasuke that in the end revenge didn't matter. Your past does not control you. Naruto was glad for the short years he had with Jiraiya, it was better than not knowing him at all. Naruto would always have his memories of the Pervy Sage, and the strength that his master gave him to overcome hatred and to never give up.
After the war; after seeing his friends die that was when his dream changed completely. He realized that being Hokage meant he had to risk his friends lives every time he sent them on a mission. Learning about what his father did helped pushed that fact into his very being. Could he ever sacrifice his friend's, his family's lives like that? Could ever look them in the eyes as he gave them a mission they might not return from? No. Naruto might love his village despite his childhood, he might care for the lives of the citizens of the village, but if push came to shove and he had to make a decision; he would choose his precious people above anything else. Even the innocent lives of the civilians. How could he be Hokage when he would do so in a heartbeat?
Naruto was ok with not being Hokage, of putting his dream aside. He would always treasure his former dream, for he truly had it to thank for how far he has gotten. It helped make who he was today. But he couldn't let himself be tied down by his past, he wouldn't let it.
When Naruto refused the title of Hokage his friends were shocked to their very cores. Naruto to this day would laugh at the thought of their faces as he looked into Kakashi's eyes and politely declined. But what Naruto truly wanted out of life was to protect and love his precious ones. He would support his friends. In battle and in normal, eventless days at the village. He would be at his friend's weddings, or be there when they needed someone to watch over their children. And he would be there to protect the village, and pass on the Will of Fire.
And being there, supporting his friends and their families, being part of their families in all but blood, was what made Naruto truly happy.