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”