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Hold On To Your Dreams

5/30/2014

How many times have you abandoned an idea, project or dream because someone made a disparaging remark or rolled their eyes when you told them about it?

Relinquishing your dreams

All too frequently we allow others to dictate what is good, right or possible. We allow them to steal our dreams. Notice I use the word "allow." No one can put you down, stomp on your dream, or kill an idea of yours unless you allow them to.

Consider this:

The movie Star Wars was rejected by every movie studio in Hollywood before 20th Century Fox finally produced it. It went on to be one of the largest-grossing movies in film history.

As a child, Sylvester Stallone was frequently beaten by his father and told he had no brains. He grew up an unhappy loner. He floated in and out of schools. An adviser at Drexel University told him that based on his aptitude tests he should pursue a career as an elevator repair person. It's not a bad profession but it's certainly not where "Rocky" ended up!

Einstein was criticized for not wearing socks or cutting his hair. He didn't speak until he was four, and didn't read until he was seven. One observer noted, "He could be mentally retarded."

An expert said of Vince Lombardi:"He possesses minimal football knowledge and Lacks motivation.

Beethoven handled the violin awkwardly and preferred playing his own compositions instead of improving his technique. His teacher proclaimed him hopeless as a composer.

Walt Disney was fired from his job as a newspaper editor for lack of ideas. He also went bankrupt several times before he created Disneyland.

Henry Ford failed and went broke 5 times before he finally
succeeded.

Louisa May Alcott, the author of Little Women, was encouraged to find work as a servant or seamstress. She would certainly never be a writer.

In 1944, the director of the Blue Book Modeling Agency told modeling hopeful Norma Jean Baker (Marilyn Monroe), "You'd better learn secretarial work, or else get married."

It Takes Courage

So what are your ideas? Your thoughts? Your dreams? Your
plans?

It doesn't matter if anyone supports what you want to do. The important thing is for YOU to believe. For YOU to ignore the people who say you can't do it - and DO IT ANYWAY! It takes courage. It takes persistence. It takes believing in the "voice inside" when no one else does. Ideas, dreams and visions are planted within you because you have the ability to make them happen. You’ll learn, grow, scramble, fail, and get back up again! The important thing is to simply never give up. The people I mentioned earlier never gave up - and they made great things happen!

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Thinking Outside The Box

5/20/2014

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You've heard the expression "thinking ouside the box," but do you know how to do it? There are some simple techniques for coming up with solutions "outside the box."

When innovators talk about thinking outside the box, they mean coming up with creative ways to solve problems - new ways to look at things. How do they do it? How can you do it too? We first have to ask what the "box" is. Then we can look at how to get outside of it.

The "box" is the normal way of doing things and looking at things. It is the assumptions that almost everyone involved is making. The best way to start thinking out of the box then, is to identify and challenge all the assumptions that make up thinking inside the box.

Thinking outside the box require you to think differently. Sometimes You may think that your ideas are are absurd or far fetched but that is just a vice from the enemy who is trying to hinder you in your progress. All your ideas have value and some are more important than the others. But when you have things that are brewing in your mind you are harnessing that new mixture of ideas. Once that mixture is ready you will be able to pour out that energy onto a platform for written material. That's the power of thinking outside of the box.

Ways To Get Outside The Box

Challenging assumptions is a powerful creative problem solving technique. The difficult part is to identify the assumptions. If you are designing a new motorcycle, write down assumptions like "speed matters," "it has to run on gas" and "it needs two wheels," not because you expect to prove these wrong, but because challenging these can lead to creative possibilities. Maybe the time has come for an electric three-wheeled motorcycle.

Another way to get to creative solutions is to "assume the absurd." This is either fun or annoying, depending on how open-minded you can be. All you do is start making absurd assumptions, then finding ways to make sense of them. The easiest way to do it is by asking "what if."

What if a carpet cleaning business was better off with half as many customers? It seems absurd, but work with it. Hmm...less stressful, perhaps. More profitable if each customer was worth three times as much. Is that possible? Commercial jobs that involve large easy-to-clean spaces (theaters, offices, convention halls) make more money in a day than houses, with fewer headaches. Focusing on getting those accounts could be the most profitable way to go - not so absurd.

So you see, a box is just an imaginary barrier that prevents you from thinking more freely about things you can do and accomplish. If you can just get your mind focus in the thing that you desire and the place that you want to be, then that would make all the difference.Get it done Family!

Be Blessed!

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Put Wings on Your Dreams

5/8/2014

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We Need Dreams

Dreams are important. Not the dreams you have when sleeping. I'm
talking about the dreams you have for your future -- the dreams that keep you going
-- the dreams that make each day worth living.

Dreams Aren't Enough

As important as dreams are, they arent enough. Why? Dreams don't take
you where you want to go. A dream needs wings -- to become a tangible
vision -- a passion that will take you where you REALLY want to be.

Bethany Hamilton lives in Hawaii -- her passion is surfing -- her dream
is to become a professional surfer. She spends every available minute
in the water, even home-schooling so she can have more time to pursue
her vision. At 8 years of age she entered her first major competition
taking the division championships that year. Bethany's dream had become
her passion -- a tangible vision.

When Your Vision Is Attacked

Bethany's vision was viciously attacked on Halloween morning, 2003,
when she was 13 years old. Bethany was lying on her board -- left arm
dangling in the cool water.

She remembers a flash of gray, pressure, and a couple fast tugs. She
also remembers watching the jaws of a 15-foot tiger shark cover the top
of her board and her left arm.

The shark was gone as fast as it appeared. So was her arm.

What It Takes To Keep Your Vision Alive

Fast thinking friends and surgery saved Bethany's life. Everyone --
including Bethany -- believed her surfing days were over. But within a
week her vision returned -- she rejected the fear and thoughts of defeat.

Less than 30 days after the attack Bethany was back in the water. Her
family and friends were there to cheer her on.

Her first attempts were failures. She struggled to push herself up with
one arm and keep her balance. Her fear was that her dream would die in
the water that day -- the shark victorious after all. Bethany pushed
down her fears, gritted her teeth, and kept trying. And then it happened.

Tears rolled down her face -- the crowd cheered -- she caught her first
wave and rode it in.

The Dream Takes Wings

Only months after the vicious attack, Bethany amazed thousands by
achieving the unimaginable -- taking 5th at the 2004 National Scholastic
Surfing Association Nationals Championships. In September she struck
again, winning the Open Women's Division of the NSSA's Hawaiian conference
season opener. Having placed in the finals of the National Surfing
Championships Bethany has secured a spot on USA's National Surfing Team. She
has truly conquered her fears!

Five Ways To Put Wings On Your Dreams Bethany's story shows how to put
wings on your dreams:

1) Your dream must become your passion -- a tangible vision.

2) Everything you do needs to fuel your vision.

3) When your dream is attacked, face the adversity squarely and choose
to overcome it with whatever it takes -- face your fears and do it
anyway!

4) Make necessary adjustments -- regain your balance -- and keep your
eyes on your goal.

5) Accept help when it comes -- with grace and gratitude -- let it fuel
your vision.

From Dream to Vision to Reality

Bethany's vision overcomes her fear of sharks and her continued
nightmares. Her story teaches how to create dreams with wings that push you
toward your life-goals. Follow her example and your dreams will become
reality, too.

Be Blessed Family!

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Hold On To Your Dreams

Thinking Outside The Box

Put Wings on Your Dreams

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