The Power of a Drean

If you envision something, you are over halfway to achieving it.  That is the power of a dream.

When we were all a lot younger, as children we imagined all sorts of things.  “When I grow up…”
We were going to be astronauts, explorers, Captains, Doctors, World Class Athletes.  The sky was the limit, and even that didn’t hold us back.  Disney's Lion King illiterates this well.  The lion cub Simba dreams about what it will be like to be king:

Simba's dream was derailed, and our own hopes and dreams get side tracked.  Life has a way of interrupting what we would like to do.  Things didn’t always turn out the way they were supposed to.  Reality comes in.  Very often we settled for something else. We put the dream in a box, mark it "someday" and put it on a safe shelf to collect dust.

However, if there is still something you really, really want to do, it can still happen.

You have to envision what it will look like.  See yourself there.  My writing buddies all want to hold their books in their hands.  I have seen a few of my online writing friends do just that.  Now writing a book is a huge undertaking and most authors fail on their first attempt, but that doesn’t stop them.  They figure out what is stopping them, and find ways around it.

That dream, that vision of holding the book keeps them going.

So, if you are going to dream, dream big.  Think about it.  Daydream about it.  Think of every aspect you can imagine and work it out.

The mind is a powerful tool, and once you’ve set your mind to it, the mind works on ways to make the dream into a reality.

Years ago homes were being built near us.  I love to walk through construction sites.  I like to see homes being built.  I can see how the plan flows, and what the home will look like.  So I asked my wife if she would go look at the homes with me.

She said something that I’ll never forget.  She said, "No."

“Why not?” I asked.

“Because you’ll start dreaming about a new house, and I’m not ready to move yet.”

Wow.  That was a complement.  I loved hearing it.

We did eventually go walking through the buildings, and yes, I did build a home and we did move.  It was a lot of fun.

In fact,  I may start thinking about a new home…

“In today’s market?  No way!”

Ah, that is what stops the dreams.  Those who do not share in your vision.  If the dream takes hold, and you feed it, your mind will find a way around In today‘s market?

Do dust off the old dreams.  Where do you want to be?  What do you need to change?
What will you change?  What are your dreams?  I’d sure like to hear about them.

Beware of the Dream Slayers

I'm back.  I'm back from my self imposed blogging hiatus.  I've worked on my own priorities and found that blogging really is a higher priority for me than I had realized.  So I've dusted of my laptop and made my way back to The Write Time ready to share thoughts and tips once again.  Thanks for waiting.

Did you know you do not need to keep a lid on a bucket of crabs to keep the critters in place? Not one crab will ever get out of a pail full of crabs.  No, not one.

The reason that no crab ever gets out is because if one gets near the top another crab reaches up and pulls it down so it can climb on top and begin to climb out, only to be pulled down by another crab below.

Life can be like a bucket of crabs.  We all have dreams, plans, goals, expectations, and desires.  It seems when someone begins to get ahead someone else comes along and shoots them down.

Lots of reasons, jealousy, greed, envy, just to list a few that come to mind.  Case in point, Jennifer Lawrence and her post Oscar press conference.  Someone asked her if she was peaking too soon.

Someone didn’t like the fact that she is so successful at such a young age.  Other folks reach up and try and pull you down.  They have not achieved their dreams, for what ever reason, so they take pot shots at other people’s dreams.

I know I’ve put my own dreams on a shelf.  My current job demands a lot of my time.  I’ve dreamed of publishing a book.  I’ve learned that my writing has a long way to go and a lot of work is still needed on my manuscript before I dare try and get it published.  Yet, it is still my dream.  I try and spend a little bit of time on that project everyday.  I share this because a lot of people have told me, “Oh, you’ll never be able to publish a book.”  They mean well. (At least I hope they mean well.)

However, good intentioned or not I call these people Dream Slayers.  As a youth I had all sorts of plans and expectations.  As life goes along and more and more responsibilities pile up, and more things demand my attention, my dreams take a back seat.

Then other folks give advice, and room for my dreams get pushed out.  Then there were life’s inevitable set backs.  Trying to come back from those, then the dreams are put on a shelf.  Dust accumulates on the boxes the dreams are stored in, and then cobwebs form.

After time the dreams fade to memories.  The Dream Slayers win and you are left with disappointments and regrets.

Time to fight back.  Be brave and get dreams back.  Do not let the Dream Slayers steal your hopes, your goals.

I failed more spelling tests than I care to admit.  My English grades were not the best.  But I have a passion to tell stories, to share my thoughts.  Writing is the only way I can do that.  I had many people tell me not to bother, but I’ve worked on spelling and grammar.  The stories are finding there way to paper.  Someday….
My dream is alive and well, and the Dream Slayers can just go attack someone else.

How do you keep your dreams alive?

Envision Your Vision

Everything that has ever been built has a set of blueprints.  An idea, a dream.

The idea takes shape, a plan is made.

Then with effort, work, and desire the idea slowly evolves into reality.

Set backs come, but that is part of the challenge.  Making a dream come true does not happen overnight.  It takes work, it takes tenacity.  Step by step things take shape until one day the vision becomes a reality.

I've talked with writers who want to publish their books.  I've even published several interviews with writers, and I've joined with several other writer/bloggers in our Blog Ring of Power and done extensive author interviews.  The thing they all have in common is wanting to see their work in print.  They learned their trade. Worked alone, crafted their stories, edited, queried, sent out letters. Waited. Waited.  Waited some more.

 Then success a publisher/agent was interested in their story. 

More editing, more work, but eventually their dream became a reality.

Sticking to the task.  Working when they really didn't want to work.  Just a little more.  Eventally the hard work paid off.  A lot of times the concept and reality don't match up.  But if the dream wasn't envisioned then it would never have become a reality.

So go ahead and dream, but dream big.  Don't be afraid to have big dreams.  If they are to come true the work needed to make them a reality may be hard, but if the dream is worth it, the work needed will be worth it as well.

Everything is created twice.  Once in the mind, and then again in reality.

Follow up on the dreams, learn what it will take to make it come true.  If it is you passion, and you have the drive and if it is something worth pursuing then the dream will be a reality.

Don't quit, never give up.  Stick to it.  Set those goals, put time aside to work on it.  Eventually you will succeed.  Dreams have power.  Use that power to succeed.