“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” – Walt Disney
There you have it.
As working class adults you are witnessing unprecedented times. As many of us are parents, the fear that times may get worse and our children will be suffering the same or worse fate than us a frightful thought. The world in a period of extreme concern. Civil unrest, terrorism, unemployment, poverty and personal struggle have put our dreams on hold.
Then again, some of us never pursue our dreams. We get comfortable in knowing a pay check is coming every week and lose sight on what our true passions are because of the risk. The risk of losing money and falling out of our comfort zone.
As a child, we all dream about being something amazing. Then we grow up, work 9-5 Monday through Friday and drink beer watching our athletes achieve all their goals. Is that the legacy you want to leave behind?
Why are we holding back our dreams?
There are many success stories I have heard in the last few years about people leaving their jobs and starting their own businesses or moving to remote locations to starting something amazing. One of the things that makes every human unique is the talents, courage and the compassion we are all dealt at birth. Harnessing these qualities and translating them into something that is fulfilling, memorable and reflective is what so many of us lack.
We take comfort in:
1. Income – The ability to pay our bills
2. Following – Living vicariously through the lives of our favorite celebrities and trends
3. Routine – Having the comfort of going to the same places and seeing the same people
4. Low risk – Not taking too many chances or risks in our lives
5. Technology – Why would I put that in there? Easy: Technology makes life easier and more efficient.
That does not always mean better.
What would it take to throw it all away?
I hear stories of people traveling around the world, moving to Alaska and starting a band, climbing to the clouds, writing the great novel, helping children around the world find homes and families, run community gardens so everyone can have a nutritious meal or volunteering so that everyone has a fair chance at life.
That is only the tip of the iceberg.
Unfortunately, these are isolated stories. Stories of inspiration for us to glance over on our social communication channels but not absorb and understand.
Life is a continuous path of education and learning. Through shared experiences we become stronger. In this strength we find personal fulfillment and greatness.
What are you waiting for?
I’m talking to all of you.
Find it in yourself. Do not hold back. Never look to your past and say to yourself, “I never tried”.
Is that what you want?
Take some time and think really hard about your life and if you can answer the question, “Am I happy and where I want to be?” with a positive answer, then you are on the right path.
Life is unpredictable, surreal, beautiful, magical and enchanting with each moment and each breath
It is the music, the sunsets, the long slow kisses, the rainbows, the emotions, the risks, the adventures, the smell of the flowers, the glow of the stars, the warmth of the sun, the coolness of the spring breeze. It is the snowfall in winter and the leaves of all colors in the Autumn. Every turn is magic. We are mystified by our actions.
Why then do we waste it in the safety of our comfort zone? How often do you think about death? Once is too much. It will happen. It is a course of our life that will eventually greet us. Why then stop the amazing journey that is life with the thought of something you have no control over?
Take a moment to let that sink in.
When we are young we want to fall in love.
When we grow up we want a great job.
When we get older we want financial security.
When we retire we want a place to relax and play.
Now let us look between the lines.
Dreams
Passions
Desires
Goals
Achievements
Remember all those amazing ideas running through our heads?
Of course you do.
What are you waiting for?
I don’t know either.
This truly complex thing that houses blood, organs, muscles and a brain is a remarkable thing. More importantly, it gives you options to soar to the clouds.
It takes a strong person to be a dreamer. It takes a strong person to take the leap and pursue those dreams.
What fascinates me is that we lose ourselves in fantasies, action films and supernatural and rely on cinematic magic to help us escape our own lives, even for a few brief moments. The irony is that all the magic is around us. It is in the ability to breath in life each day. It is watching a human life grow. It is watching a plane fly through the sky and defy gravity. It is watching men watch us from space. It is about the endless possibilities available.
Maybe if we put the guns down, stop the hatred, look pass the prejudice, take those dreams we write on paper and take a chance. Even if each of us took one risk. Just one. That is 6.3 billion risks. We may not all achieve the goals we are looking for but just think about what a great world it would be if just a small percentage of those risks become realistic dreams. Wow.
Don’t wait for a catalyst or life changing event to get off your ass and become the person you want to be.
Here is your catalyst; the sunrise.
Make tomorrow the starting point of a life worth living.
Take advantage of your gift and make it special.
That is what I would like you to take away from this.
“The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and love and live.”
- Leo F. Buscaglia
How many times in our lives do we start over?
A marriage
A divorce
A life altering event
A new job
A new home
It seems we need life to guide us into a state of change or motivation instead of letting our emotions, passions and glimpse of irrationality lead us to the true happiness we seek.
How many of us can wake up each morning, look at the life we have chosen and say we are truly happy. I sense many are comfortable with a family, financial stability, routine, security and very limited risk. Is this a safe harbor or true happiness? Yes, of course it is safe, but not where you saw yourself when you were ten years old thinking about the future.
As a child, you are at the peak of imagination and with clarity and vision, you dream the impossible and somewhere along the line life hits you over the head and puts you in a box. When were you planning on breaking those four walls and racing for those dreams?
For most, never. Unfortunately, retirement may be the day you open your eyes and look back and what you could have done and thus a sense of self imposed sorrow runs through your body. For others, there needs to be an event, a moment, a seemingly global tragedy to awaken the senses.
Take a few minutes with a sheet of paper and pen and write down all the things you thought about being as you started growing up.
Here is my list:
Astronaut – The unparalleled feeling of being thrust through the atmosphere to the great abyss and for a few days experiencing absolute freedom while still being paralyzed by the fear of the great abyss.
NBA Basketball Player – I had a great jump shot and I was quick. Not as quick to my right but unfortunately genes did not bless me with a 6’8″ stature. I was given the opportunity to coach 10 and 12 year old girls and boys for a number of years and to this day I am still friends with a few and I am thankful for that.
Actor – Not just an actor but I wanted the whole package; worldwide stardom. Then again with the rise of MTV, I was OK with rock star. I can’t sing and acting, maybe a little community theater. I can’t even fake sing. If there was a Halloween costume for an anti-singer, I could pull it off with my voice alone.
Cowboy – I grew up in Anywhere USA quiet suburban land. It was the American Dream….In the 1950′s. My town had one major newsworthy crime in about 30 years. After a report on Wyoming and a stint of horseback riding in Pennsylvania, I knew. I was meant for the open trail. The dust in my face and the sun being my guide. What a thought. I’m not quite John Wayne so for now, I have to stick with True Grit.
Lawyer – I thought I could change the world. I interned for a Superior Court Judge and the thrill I got each morning, doing case summaries and research knowing I was taking part in justice. I knew that decisions I made would help the judge balance fairness for all that walked into her courtroom. I witnessed domestic violence cases, theft, deception and hatred and realized the courts couldn’t correct the system. Only people can look in the mirror and take responsibility for their actions.
History Teacher – I don’t know about you, but seeing the glimmer in a students eyes; you know the one that expresses them deep in thought and truly engaged in the education process it is priceless. We as humans are a sponge with the capability of continuous learning. Every day is a chance at educational growth and knowledge expressiveness. We are blessed with the give of intelligence. It is a sexy gift we should all strive to never give up. At the end of the day, I could transfer some of my expertise to a group that wants to absorb and further educate others. It is noble, fulfilling, warm and accomplished. It doesn’t pay well and it can wear you out faster than it can help you grow. Another dream by the waste side.
Writer – Writing is therapy. Some see it as a gift, a birth rite, a sign from the heavens. Writing is the true expression of all emotion bottled up and then released in an explosion of color and emotion. It is the novelists, historians, poets, musicians and journalists that not only record history, but help us understand ourselves. Writers help you see what you are afraid to see. Writers bring out a surge in your senses that are hidden away. Writers have a duty to themselves and their readers. They take your hand and guide you to another place. Maybe a fantasy land or a personal memory but they open the door to the imagination of everything. Wait, I suppose I am a writer. But am I an unconditional committed writer??
All of us have a lifetime to create a legacy. Unfortunately, aside from a website that tells you when you will die, we do not know our expiration date. Now is the time.
What makes a legacy? Hmmmm
1. Live each day of your life with purpose and never stop dreaming. Live each day with happiness, sadness, love, respect, and admiration for your chance to not only live a complete day but to see another sunrise.
2. Love your family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, animals and strangers. We are all part of the this miraculous circle of life. We share this planet and though there are some rules and regulations, it is the freedom to take risk and find personal greatness that will write the final chapter of your legacy.
3. Teach the next generation to release the chains of society and lead your own path.
4. Challenge yourself. When you feel the odds are overwhelming or the obstacles too large to overcome, challenge your senses and let your dreams become a reality.
Don’t wait for a recession, an attack, a tragic crime or the safety of a picket fence to hold you back. This is not applicable to all. Many of us are so complete right now and it is a feeling of wonder. If you are on a path of robotic melancholy with a destination already determined; stop walking. You have the chance to turn around and start a new journey.
“Only those who truly love and who are truly strong can sustain their lives as a dream. You dwell in your own enchantment. Life throws stones at you, but your love and your dream change those stones into the flowers of discovery. Even if you lose, or are defeated by things, your triumph will always be exemplary. And if no one knows it, then there are places that do. People like you enrich the dreams of the worlds, and it is dreams that create history. People like you are unknowing transformers of things, protected by your own fairy-tale, by love.” – Ben Okri
“Obsessed by a fairy tale, we spend our lives searching for a magic door and a lost kingdom of peace.”
Eugene O’Neill
“Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale of all.” – Hans Christian Andersen
“Child of the pure, unclouded brow
And dreaming eyes of wonder!
Though time be fleet and I and thou
Are half a life asunder,
Thy loving smile will surely hail
The love-gift of a fairy tale.”
- Lewis Carroll
“When the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies. And now when every new baby is born its first laugh becomes a fairy. So there ought to be one fairy for every boy or girl.”
- James M. Barrie
“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”
- Albert Einstein
“Every man’s life is a fairy tale written by God’s fingers.”
- Hans Christian Andersen
“Every time a child says ‘I don’t believe in fairies’ there is a a little fairy somewhere that falls down dead.” – James M. Barrie
“I always felt and still feel that fairy tales have an emotional truth that is so deep that there are few things that really rival them.”
- Alice Hoffman
“I am your fairy tale. Your dream. Your wishes and desires, and I am your thirst and your hunger and your food and your drink.” – Klaus Kinski
To kiss in the rain……
It’s the perfect ending to a fairy tale story!
Just to stand in the pouring rain and as he is walking away,
with his head down faced to the ground.
With you faced to your door, playing with your keys,
running a movie through your head trying to find out what it would be like.
Then just to turn around…
walk out in the pouring rain,
and just to feel those first drops of rain hit your body,
like tears running down your face.
And just to scream right then and there…
“I LOVE YOU!”
To run towards your true love
and…
to jump in his arm,
like a child to a parent.
Then to just run you fingers,
through his now soaked hair,
and look in to his eyes,
how perfect they are,
you can just read them like a book!
Then you just kiss him,
the best kiss you will ever have,
the one kiss that you deserve.
In your head you can just hear…
the audience cheer!
As the screen turns black,
and the credits roll.
The end to the perfect date,
To the perfect life,
the perfect Fairy tale ending!!!
Multitasking has taken on an entirely new meaning for one UT student who can recite the first 100 digits of the mathematical constant pi while solving a Rubik’s Cube and balancing 15 books on her head.
Lauren Moore, a liberal arts honors and philosophy freshman, performed her unique talent on the “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” on Friday, which was also her birthday.
“It’s really not that interesting of a story,” Moore said. “In high school, in one of my math classes, there was a poster on one of the walls with pi around the edges. I’d be doing my homework and said, ‘I could actually memorize pi,’ so that’s how I got to 100 digits.”
She acquired her Rubik’s Cube skill during her sophomore year at Cypress Community Christian School in Houston when one of her friends taught her a fast way to complete the puzzle.
“The fastest I’ve solved it is in 40 or 50 seconds,” she said.
The book-balancing came more recently. Two summers ago, while with her church youth group, Moore realized that she could balance multiple books while doing other tasks.
“I was with my church youth group a lot, and I was always balancing Bibles on my head,” she said. “So, it just kind of happened.”
Although Moore has been able to do each component of her trick for a few years, it was not until last summer that she combined all three elements.
“We did a talent show and thought, ‘Hey, I should do all three of these things I can do at the same time,’” she said. “So I did it, and everyone knew me as this crazy girl who could balance books on her head.”
Moore has balanced 21 books without the other tricks and 16 in conjunction with reciting pi and solving a Rubik’s Cube. The books she uses varies from textbooks and novels to children’s books.
As for the Rubik’s Cube, Moore usually solves it completely in two minutes. A video of her doing the trick is on YouTube.
“In the [YouTube] video, I have it about halfway solved so that I’ll finish solving it at the same time I finish reciting pi,” she said.
Moore said her video has gone viral, and the response from her internet audience has been substantial. At press time, her video had 447,273 views.
“There are pretty much three categories of comments,” she said. “‘Marry me,’ ‘You’re faking’ or something really disgusting that I can’t repeat.”
Moore was confirmed in November in the Universal Record database as the first and only person to do all three things in about 30 seconds. She also earned first place in the Liberal Arts Honors Talent Show.
As for other hidden talents, Moore is not lacking.
“I have an excellent chameleon impression,” she said, as she moved her eyes in different directions individually.
Even though combining the three skills demands balance and poise, Moore claimed that those are not two of her most prominent qualities.
“People assume that just because I can do this that I’m coordinated,” she said. “But I’m actually wildly clumsy.”
Writer / Blogger / Social Media and Talent Acquisition Consultant / Life Geek / Photographer
Human Resources, Talent Acquisition, Global Social Media and Marketing Solutions including: organizational development, team building, change management, compensation structural development and implementation, social media and talent community development, growth and advancement, training, rewards and recognition, recruitment, attrition control, affirmative action administration, labor relations and M&A.
Trainer
So You Think You Can Interview - ProNet August, 2010 Personal Branding and Social Media Resources - ProNet June, 2010 Personal Branding and Social Media Resources - Lee Hecht Harrison July, 2010 Personal Branding and Social Media Tooling - Lenova Women in Leadership September, 2010 Your Life Bag - ProNet October, 2010, The Effects of Social Media in the Workplace - Carolinas Payroll Conference November 2012
Published Author
Sonni's Abyss (June 2008)
A Beautiful World (February 2011)
This Time Around (Scheduled for February 2013 Publication)
