The Power of Dreams

This week has been a roller coaster ride especially in the marketplace. I believe many of you out there are affected in one way or another during this time of economic downturn globally. It does not matter where you are as the global recession is moving in.

At my workplace, I have received news of people being retrenched in the various locations in different countries. It further hit home when 2 of the sections in 2 different countries of my department are closed down due to this downturn. People whom I have known personally and worked with would no longer be around. I was affected and disturbed by the news. What about you, my friend? Are you also in a similar position?

Despite the gloomy surroundings, my friend, I would like to share a song to bring a ray of sunshine to you – that it is POSSIBLE to believe in your Dreams!

Stay tuned for my next post about having small sparks lighting your life during times as such!

I Believe I can Fly

I came across this quote and wanted to share this.

Success is not final.

Failure is not fatal;

It is the courage to continue that counts

As we hear more of distressing news around the world, how have your heart been?

Have you been weighed down by the burdens or Are you lifted high despite what has happened?

I believe you know as well as i do that deep within YOU there is a strength, a courage to forge on, don’t you?

A small spark to light your way and move on.

I Believe you know that you can not just Fly but Soar in our present challenging times.

Choose to Fly, Soar TODAY….

The Wishing Well

On top of a hill overlooking a babbling brook stood a dilapidated stone well. The wooden frame which had once been used to raise water was broken and a discarded bucket sat on the ground nearby. The only thing that made this old well special was a small tarnished plaque that carried a three word inscription which read ‘The Wishing Well’.

One morning a young man named Richard came upon the well and read the small plaque. Richard was a cynical young man and he scoffed at the idea of a wishing well. However, he was also very greedy so he closed his eyes and wished for a large pot of gold…just in case. He opened his eyes and looked around but nothing had changed.

As he prepared to leave, Richard happened to glance down into the well and to his amazement he saw a huge pot of gold floating at the bottom of the well. He immediately tried to reach down into the well but he could not reach the gold. Next he tried to use a piece of wood to retrieve the gold but again he had no luck. After many frustrating attempts, Richard finally gave up. He cursed the wishing well and walked away. Instantly the pot of gold disappeared.

The following day a young man named William came across the well and he too read the small plaque that identified it as ‘The Wishing Well’. What William wanted more than anything else that morning was an engagement ring so that he could propose to his sweetheart Rebecca. He closed his eyes and made his wish. At first he saw nothing, but then as he glanced down into the well he saw the most beautiful diamond ring floating in an ebony box at the bottom of the well. Like Richard, William first tried to reach down into the well and then tried to use a nearby piece of wood – all to no avail.

After a great deal of frustration, he sat back and reviewed his situation. Then suddenly, in a flash of inspiration he knew what he had to do. He picked up the old bucket and walked down to the babbling brook at the base of the hill. After filling the bucket with water, he walked back up the hill and poured the water into the well. To his delight, he noticed that the level of the water in the well rose ever so slightly.

With a hint of success to spur him on, William began transferring bucket loads of water from the brook to the well. He worked steadily all day carrying buckets of water up to the wishing well. With each bucket of water he poured into the well, the ring floated closer to the surface. Finally as the sun was beginning to set, William poured in another bucket of water and the ring came within his reach. He grasped the stunning diamond ring and with a spring in his step he set off to propose to his Rebecca.

——-

The best part about this story is that the Wishing Well really does exist and is available to each and every one of us. Whenever you set a goal, your objective instantly becomes a ‘possibility’. It is as though it appears in the bottom of the wishing well. You can see it, but it is beyond your reach. Many people like Richard look for a quick and easy way to reach their goal but they inevitably get frustrated and walk away.

Those who achieve true success understand how life’s Wishing Well works. Like William, they recognise that they must put in the time and effort to fill their well before they can collect their prize.

Today I’d like to encourage you to decide what you really want from life’s wishing well and commit yourself to the process of filling your well in order to transform your dreams into reality.

Your Past Has Passed

One of the most liberating realisations you can have on your road to success is that your past does not dictate your future.

Many people make the mistake of referring to their past in order to obtain a prediction of their future. They say things like:

“My last two business ventures have failed so I guess I’ll never have a successful business”

Or

“I’ve always had problematic relationships so I guess I’ll never meet the right person”

It’s very important to realise that no matter what has happened in the past, your future is still an open field of possibilities.

Many of the world’s most successful people have achieved their success after perservering in the face of hardship and failure. For example:

• The Beatles were turned down by the Decca recording company but they went on to become one of the most successful bands of all time.
• Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basket ball team but he went on to become one of the most successful basketball players in the world.
• Joanne Rowling struggled through a collapsed marriage and occasionally had to skip meals to make sure she had enough money to feed her four month old baby but she went on to sell over 400 million copies of her books and become the highest earning novelist in history.

As these examples show, past failures and hardships do not exclude you from future success. In fact it is often through failure that people develop the skills and strength of character they need to succeed.

No matter how many times you have failed in the past, always remember this important fact:

Your Past Does Not Dictate Your Future

As you read this article, your future is filled with endless possibilities – there are new opportunities waiting to be discovered, new relationships waiting to blossom and new adventures waiting to begin.

So I encourage you today to turn away from the failures of the past and instead look forward to creating your future success.

It’s Never Too Late

Many of us have regrets in life. We look back on ‘what might have been’ and wonder how things would have turned out if we had made different decisions in the past.

One of the most empowering things you can ever learn is that…

Sometimes the only thing stopping you from becoming the person you might have been is the mistaken assumption that you have missed your best opportunities.

The moment you reject this negative assumption, a whole new world of opportunities opens up to you. Let’s look at some real life examples that will illustrate exactly what I’m talking about.

My friend Kate grew up with a love of dancing and musical theatre. Throughout her adult life, she often wished that she’d had the opportunity to sing and dance on stage when she was a young girl. However, for many years, she assumed that she had missed her opportunity.

After encouragement from her husband, Kate joined an amateur theatre company where she fulfilled a lifelong ambition to sing in the chorus of a musical production. Was it Broadway? – No, but for Kate it was one of the most satisfying and enjoyable experiences of her life.

Another great example is one of my music students Alan who started playing the clarinet as a young boy but had to give up when he left school to get a job. As an adult, Alan loved jazz and often regretted the fact that he had stopped playing. One day Alan came to see me and asked if I would consider teaching him. I agreed and over the next year he prepared for his grade one AMEB music exam.

Alan received an A+ in his exam and a special commendation for his effort. He was 74 years old. Will he ever play in a professional jazz band? – Probabaly not, but Alan now enjoys playing the clarinet a lot more than thinking about his lost opportunity.

Today I’d like to challenge you to think about ‘the person you might have been’ and I encourage you to reject the assumption that you have missed your best opportunities. Instead, become aware of the many opportunities that are still open to you and look for ways to reconnect with your childhood dreams and passions.

Always remember that your future holds far more opportunities than those you may have missed in the past. Once you understand this fact, you will discover that it really is never too late to become the person you might have been.