THE GIFT OF A DREAM (34); DARE TO HOLD ON, AND DREAM AGAIN

"Everything negative - pressure, challenges - is all an opportunity for me to rise." - Kobe Bryant

The secret to living a “dream come true” life is to believe in your dream because it matters to you. Years ago, people went to America in pursuit of their dreams - work hard, stay focused and achieve the American Dream. For many who had attained the basic American Dream - basic freedom, own a home, own a car, have a family. Finding a dream that'll take us to the next level of achievement can become a fragmented experience.

Stallone popularly known as, "Rambo", wouldn't have become what he is today, but for his "bull-dog" tenacity. It was bad for Clint Eastwood, whose dream was to become a movie star when his ugly experience about the size of his Adam's apple almost killed his dream. Relentless effort gave him a good result in the end and he went on to star in the famous hit movie,"The Good, The Bad and The Ugly". Jim Carrey had to walk around with a signed cheque in his pocket to motivate himself towards achieving his dream. The rest is history today.

THE GIFT OF A DREAM (33); DON’T IGNORE THE SIGNS!!!

Signs

ONE of the greatest inventions of modern societies is the road traffic codes and signs. Imagine for a moment how tedious and totally unsafe driving would be without traffic lights and road signs telling us to slow down at bends, make turns, keep straight ahead, and sometimes stop for a moment before moving again. Statistics show that the violation of road signs is the number one cause of accidents especially over speeding.

After James finally learnt how to ride a bike, he enjoyed the thrill of acceleration and the rush of adrenalin in his system, he loved feeling the breeze blow across his face as he rode his bike everyday in the woods, and he enjoyed navigating corners at stop speed.

THE GIFT OF A DREAM (32); KEEP TRANSMITTING!!!

"All human beings are also dream beings. Dreaming ties all mankind together." - Jack Kerou

Keep Transmitting

ONCE you catch the dream, one ingredient will be absolutely necessary, for no great vision has ever been accomplished without it. Yes! There must be a team behind the dream, but this one ingredient if not found anywhere must be found in the dream bearer or visionary. The grace of perseverance, when a man refuses to quit, there is nothing practically impossible.

In 1972, NASA launched the exploratory space probe Pioneer 10. According to Leon Jaroff in Time, the satellite's primary mission was to reach Jupiter, photograph the planet and its moons, and beam data to earth about Jupiter's magnetic field, radiation belts, and atmosphere. Scientists regarded this as a bold plan, for at that time no earth satellite had ever gone beyond Mars, and they feared the asteroid belt would destroy the satellite before it could reach its target.

THE GIFT OF A DREAM (31); ITS TIME TO SLEEP!!!

TTS

A good sleep is synonymous to a good dream, so what I actually mean is that it is time to dream. As the year comes to an end am certain that you will begin to have dreams and visions concerning the New Year. One thing that is absolutely important that you consider as you envisage the New Year, is mapping out the team that will help accomplish your dreams. No great or significant success can be achieved alone. The lone ranger phenomenon is an outdated one.

Have you ever wondered how little bees build such magnificent hives and keep up the production of large quantities of honey? The simple answer is a vision backed up by a team. An increase in the temperature of a bee hive can hinder the production of honey and indeed the reproductive circles of the bees themselves, thus on a warm day about half the bees in a hive

THE GIFT OF A DREAM (30); THE CHRISTMAS DREAM

Jesus

As we celebrate yet another Christmas and I consider all the paraphernalia that accompanies the season, the merriment, carols, hampers, exchange of gifts, reunion of friends and families huddled together over meals and much laughter, it is easy to lose sight that the entire Christmas package was a dream in the mind of the Almighty God, a plan hatched from before the world’s foundations to save man from sin and deliver the gift of salvation.

This is how Brain L. Habor puts it in His Ministers Manual of 1993. When Pope Julius I authorized December 25 to be celebrated as the birthday of Jesus in A.D. 353, who would have ever thought that it would become what it is today. When Professor Charles Follen lit candles on the first Christmas tree in America in 1832, who would have ever thought that the decorations would become as elaborate as they are today. It is a long time since 1832, longer still from 353,

THE GIFT OF A DREAM (29); LIBERATION IS HERE

"I am leaving this legacy to all of you...to bring peace, justice, equality, love and a fulfillment of what our lives should be. Without vision, the people will perish, and without courage and inspiration, dreams will die - the dream of freedom and peace." - Rosa Parks
 

Rosa Parks

On Dec. 1, 1955, Rosa Parks famously refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white passenger in Montgomery, Ala., thus launching the modern-day civil-rights movement. Much of the media described her as a tired seamstress, no troublemaker. Rosa Parks was no tired seamstress. As she said of that brave action she took, “The only tired I was, was tired of giving in.” But the media got it wrong. Rosa Parks was a first-class troublemaker. She was raised to believe that she had a right to be respected, and to demand that respect. Jim Crow laws were entrenched then, and segregation was violently enforced. Rosa was riding on a city bus Dec. 1, 1955, when a white man demanded her seat. Parks refused, despite rules requiring blacks to yield their seats to whites. Two black Montgomery women had been arrested earlier that year on the same charge, but Parks wasn't perturbed-she had a dream.

What was all this trouble for? Some might ask. The truth is Rosa Parks, didn't care what hardship her stand would cause her; topmost on her mind was LIBERATION for the blacks.

Beloved, the same way over 2000 years ago, a saviour who is Christ the Lord, was born, to go through the trouble of seeing all men LIBERATED, from the law of sin and death - from the bonds of the devil. He wasn't perturbed by the pain, why? He had a dream. As we celebrate today, let's take advantage of the liberation Jesus Christ has made available for us all, by His birth, death and resurrection. Happy Christmas!

THE GIFT OF A DREAM (28): WRITE YOURSELF A CHEQUE

"It is better to risk starving to death then surrender. If you give up on your dreams, what's left?" - Jim Carrey

Jim Carrey

Most people have dreams, and it could be anything. But whatever it is, that dream is an important part of you; and you should go for it. The first step is, knowing what you want - that thing you envision yourself doing with your life. That passion, that makes you jump out of your skin with excitement and makes you feel whole when you're doing it. That monstrous desire of your heart that pulls you back up every time you fall. That's what I'm talking about here.

THE GIFT OF A DREAM (27); THE ONE IN THE MIRROR!

“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.” - Albert Einstein

We have been asking the question “what happened to your dream?”, that great vision you had, that passion that drove you, until you saw a duplicate that failed, someone that failed trying to do what you are dreaming of and you stopped shut in your tracks and your passion died. I have come to discover that one of the reasons why people give up on their dreams is that someone ahead of them has failed trying to do what they were dreaming of achieving and thus left them with a negative picture of their future. I call it negative peer pressure, and peer pressure can be positive when you are surrounded by many successful examples.

Em Griffin in his book The "Mindchangers" describes an experiment done by Solomon Asch with groups of 12 people. They were brought into a room where four lines of unequal length were displayed. They had to decide which two were the same length and publicly vote for their choice. Person after person after person (11 in all) voted for the wrong line-

13 THE GIFT OF A DREAM (25); FOLLOWERS OF THE DREAM II

"By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination." - Christopher Columbus

You ever heard of the aphorism, "If you don't live for something, you will die for anything."? Anyway, our beliefs - dreams that is - are capable of either bringing us to "followers" or "destroyers" of our dream. Those who'll help us fulfill or destroy them. It's up to us to decide who is what.

One day, in the year 1484, a tall, strongly built man of commanding presence stood before the King of Portugal at the Court of Lisbon. Portuguese sailors had already passed the equator, but the Cape was yet shrouded in mystery. The king could not read those keen blue-grey eyes, kindling with eager interest, as the Italian unfolded his wonderful plan. "Sail to the West and the East will be found." Such words seemed at first the words of a madman. Columbus explained his idea to the king; told him of the long years he had worked at his scheme, how sure he felt that there was a shorter way to the East, than by Africa. THE WORLD WAS SURELY ROUND. If Asia could be reached by sailing east, surely it could be reached by going west.

THE GIFT OF A DREAM (24); FOLLOWERS OF THE DREAM

"Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams." - Ashley Smith

Follow

One category of people that are indispensable to the fulfillment of any great dream is true follower-ship. We must understand clearly that there is a major difference between true followers and people that just tag along simply because your dream sounds amazing, they are different from sycophants, hired hands or praise singers. The motivation of a true follower is simply, "BELIEF".

S. I. McMillen, in his book "None of These Diseases", tells a story of a young woman who wanted to go to college, but her heart sank when she read the question on the application blank that asked, "Are you a leader?" Being both honest and conscientious, she wrote, "No," and returned the application, expecting the worst. To her surprise, she received this letter from the college: "Dear Applicant: A study of the application forms reveals that this year our college will have 1,452 new leaders. We are accepting you because we feel it is imperative that they have at least one follower."

THE GIFT OF A DREAM (23); IT CAN'T BE DONE?

"Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes shine to the stars. Enthusiasm is the sparkle in your eyes, the swing in your gait. The grip of your hand, the irresistible surge of will and energy to execute your ideas." - Henry Ford

Henry Ford

Like we have already heard in the past, "a dream isn't those pictures you see in your sleep at night, but those pictures that prevent you from sleeping at night". The Gift of a dream is the best gifts any human being can be blessed with in his lifetime. Irrespective of the fact that most dreams are divine, we should understand that their fulfillment will be fraught with difficult challenges.

He started two companies that went bankrupt before he successfully invented the Ford Motor Company. At the beginning of the 20th century the automobile was a plaything for the rich. Henry Ford had a dream, which was to build a simple, reliable and affordable car; one the average American worker could afford. Out of this determination came the Model T and the assembly line - two innovations that revolutionized American society and molded the world we live in today. Henry Ford did not invent the car; he produced an automobile that was affordable by the average American. While other manufacturers were content to target a market of the well-to-do, Ford developed a design and a method of manufacture that steadily reduced the cost of the Model T. Instead of pocketing the profits; Ford lowered the price of his car. As a result, Ford Motors sold more cars and steadily increased its earnings

THE GIFT OF A DREAM (22); ARE YOU LIKE WALT?

"Let’s have faith that right makes might; and in that faith let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it." - Abraham Lincoln

Truth be told, nobody else but you can understand your dreams better than yourself. Which is why many people, will oppose you anytime you talk about a dream you passionately wish to fulfill; because they, in most cases don't have the capacity to comprehend it. Someone once said that "dreams are not those pictures you see while asleep at night, but those pictures that prevent you from sleeping at night."

Walt Disney had a dream and he never gave up. Early in his career he was fired because they thought he didn't have "good ideas". That just made him dream more. When he was starting out in Kansas City he couldn't sell his cartoons. Some hinted that he had no talent but Walt Disney had a dream so he set out to conquer his foes. He found a minister who paid him a small amount to draw advertising pictures for his church. Disney had no place to stay, so

THE GIFT OF A DREAM (21); WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR DREAM III?

“Let the man who says it cannot be done not disturb the man doing it." - Chinese Proverb

Two categories of people with will have a profound effect or your dream or vision, they could be the deciding factor as to whether your dreams become reality or not. They are categorized as optimist or pessimist, on the road to fulfilling your dream you must keep a keen eye out for these people.

Two boys - twins - one an incurable optimist and the other a pessimist; whose parents were worried about their behaviour and attitude. So took the boys in to see a psychologist. The psychologist observed them a while and then said that they could be easily helped.

He said that they had a room filled with all the toys a boy could want. They would put the pessimist in that room and allow him to enjoy life. They also had another room that they filled with horse manure. They put the optimist in that room. They observed both boys through one way mirrors. The pessimist continued to be a pessimist, stating that he had no one to play with. They went to look in on the optimist, and were astounded to find him digging through the manure. The psychologist ran into the room and asked what on earth the boy was doing. He replied that with all that manure, he was sure there had to be a pony in the room somewhere.

THE GIFT OF A DREAM (20); WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR DREAM II?

"Let the man who says it cannot be done not disturb the man doing it." - Chinese Proverb

Dreams

As we continue to answer the question “what happened to your dream”, recall that I mentioned that a great dream could easily succeed or fizzle into nothingness depending on the people around it, either dream helpers or dream terminators. One indicator that you have a dream terminator around your dream is that you have a constant destructive critic around you, someone that never says or sees something positive about your dreams.

The story is told of a judge who had been frequently ridiculed by a conceited lawyer, who never saw anything good about the judge’s judgments. When asked by a friend why he didn't rebuke his assailant, he replied, "In our town lives a widow who has a dog. And whenever the moon shines, it goes outside and barks all night."

Having said that, the magistrate shifted the conversation to another subject; finally someone asked, "But Judge, what about the dog and the moon?" "Oh," he replied, "the moon went on shining--that's all."

There could not be a better response to a destructive critic. Be like the moon, keep shinning and pursuing your dreams. The moon doesn’t go into hiding because of a barking dog. Let me leave you with 6 pointers to a destructive critic who is a dream terminator. How they bury a good dream;

THE GIFT OF A DREAM (19); DARE TO DO

"Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt

Dreams in the context it's being used in this write-up are capable of pitching us against friends, colleagues or even bosses; but no matter whom our dreams make exit from our lives-we still won't give up.

What launched Amy Tan’s career was not a big break, but a kick in the butt. Before the million-copy sales of The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God’s Wife and The Hundred Secret Senses, Amy Tan was a writer. A business writer. She and a partner ran a technical-writing business with lawyer - like “bill-able hours.” Her role with clients was largely that of account management - but this daughter of immigrants wanted to do something more creative with words, English words. So she made her pitch to her partner: “I want to do more writing.” He declared her strength was doing estimates, going after contractors and collecting bills. “It was horrible stuff.” The very stuff Tan hated and knew she wasn’t really good at. But her partner insisted that writing was her weakest skill.

“I thought, I can believe him and just keep doing this or make my demands.” So she argued and stood up for her rights. He would not give in. Shocked, Tan said, “I quit.” And he said: “You can’t quit. You’re fired!” And added, “You’ll never make a dime writing.”

Tan set out to prove him wrong, taking on as many assignments as she could. Sometimes she worked 90 hours a week as a freelance technical writer. Being on her own was tough. But not letting others limit her or define her talents made it worthwhile. And on her own, she felt free to try fiction. And so The Joy Luck Club, featuring the bright, lonely daughter of Chinese immigrants, was born. And the manager who couldn’t write became one of America’s bestselling, best-loved authors.

THE GIFT OF A DREAM (18); WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR DREAM?

“There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.” - John Holmes

I have come to discover that dreams or visions generally just don’t die on their own or become reality simply because it is a good vision. There is one major factor that contributes or should I say determines the success of the dream, they are the people tied to that dream. We must understand that every dream has partners, people that have been called to help the fulfillment of the dream. Your dream can either fizzle into nothingness or blossom to success depending on the people around it, either dream helpers or dream terminators.

When Jan Paderewski was to leave his native Poland to fulfill his dream of becoming a world renown pianist, before his first recital in London, he asked an influential compatriot to give him a letter of introduction to a leading figure in Britain's musical world, who might be of assistance should anything go amiss. The letter was handed to him in a sealed envelope. He hoped that everything would proceed smoothly and he would not have to use it.

THE GIFT OF A DREAM (18); ARE YOUR DREAMS BIG ENOUGH?

"Dare to Dream big dreams; only big dreams have the power to move men’s souls." -Marcus Aurelius

 

One of the secrets of successful people is this; they Dream Big Dreams!

Allow yourself to dream. Allow yourself to imagine and fantasize about all your life and desires and the kind of life you would like to live. Think about the number of people you'd like to affect and have better lives because of you.

A Disney executive charged with revitalizing the Disney stores turned to Steve Jobs - Disney’s largest shareholder - for advice, to whom Jobs responded, “Dream bigger.” And, the story is told of Bill Gates, while he was younger - as a kid - he had big dreams to the point where he used to just shutdown from talking and go into hiding; thinking about his dreams and how to fulfill it. One day while preparing the meal, his mother needed him and called out to him severally, but there was no response. So, she had to leave for a minute her cooking to go find him. After some search she found him, stooping next to the dining table, stunned she calls him again but still no response. She moved closer and called out to him and in response he retorted, "Shut up mum, (I'm thinking) don't you think?" Now, I'm not advocating being disrespectful to your parents or elders, but that your dreams should be big enough to make you do unusual things. Things not everyone will do.

THE GIFT A DREAM (17); FULFILLING YOUR DREAMS III

"Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of your soul, the blueprints of your ultimate achievements." - Napoleon Hill

A dream or vision is so important it cannot be over emphasized, without one life becomes mundane and a boring routine leading to nowhere, individuals and entire nations loose zest and enthusiasm they have nothing to motivate or constrain them, they stop to aspire and settle for the present.

About 350 years ago a shipload of travelers landed on the northeast coast of America. The first year they established a town site. The next year they elected a town government. The third year the town government planned to build a road five miles westward into the wilderness.

In the fourth year the people tried to impeach their town government because they thought it was a waste of public funds to build a road five miles westward into a wilderness. Who needed to go there anyway?

Here were people who had the vision to see three thousand miles across an ocean and overcome great hardships to get there. But in just a few years they were not able to see even five miles out of town. They had lost their pioneering vision, their ability to dream again. With a clear dream of what we can become or achieve, no ocean of difficulty is too great. Without it, we rarely move beyond our current boundaries.

Beloved, what then is a dream? This is how Bob Logan described it “Vision: the capacity to create a compelling picture of a desired state of affairs that inspires people to respond; that which is desirable, which could be, should be; that which is attainable. A good vision is right for the times, and right for the people. A good dream promotes faith rather than fear. A good vision motivates people to action. A good vision requires risk-taking. A good vision glorifies God, not people”