IT'S O.K.
TO BE BEHIND
Even
those who are passionate about winning will agree there is one time
that it's OK to be behind - and that's when you are chasing your dreams.
Dreams are necessary because they give us focus and direction, a marker by
which we can measure our progress and, most important of all, a sense of purpose.
I personally don't believe there is any inherent purpose to our lives. We are
simply here. After all, if you take a male and a female human and put them
together close enough for long enough, there will eventually be little humans
running around. These offspring exist, not because of some master plan, but
because the act of procreation is so much fun. Life is what you make it. It
is up to each of us to find some purpose to our lives and there is no better
way of doing that than to have a dream. Dreams help us to make a difference.
It doesn't matter whether your dream is focused on yourself, your family, your
business or on others in the wider community. Nor does it matter whether you
are looking to become something, achieve something, or experience something.
The important thing is that you have a dream that excites you, for enthusiasm
is the fuel that drives the world forward.
Don't worry if your dream doesn't excite others. Not too many people got excited
when Mother Theresa started helping the poor and the sick in Calcutta. It was
only years later when people realised the good she was doing that they became
excited, and she became a celebrity.
And, don't worry about whether you can achieve your dream. To have it is enough.
Maybe your dream will become reality and maybe it won't. Does it matter? I
don't think so. What does matter is that you had something to aim for, and
that you tried. Many successful people will tell you that they did what they
did, not because they believed they would succeed, but because they just had
to find out what would happen if they tried. I wrote my first book five years
ago because I wanted to see if I could do it. I finished my fifth last week
and I have four others in various stages of completion.
What do you dream of doing? Have you talked yourself out of trying? Well, why
not give it a go? What have you really got to lose? The power to succeed is
within you, if you have the will. And if you are excited, you will have both
the desire to try and the determination to succeed. Believe in yourself. Big
things come from little people. As Walt Disney once said: "If you can
dream it, you can do it. Always remember that this whole thing was started
by a mouse."
As the year ends and you spend some much needed time relaxing on the beach,
in the bush or in the garden, take a moment to reflect on your dreams. It doesn't
matter that we start a new millennium. What's important is that you have, with
any luck, been given the gift of another year of life - a year full of promise,
opportunity and new experiences. Take full advantage of this gift. You will
have only one chance to live the year 2000.
Look at life - especially your life - positively. Don't complain about the
thorns on the roses. Rejoice that there are roses on the thorns. In the end,
it all comes down to having dreams.
As Helen Keller once said: "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."
Sweet dreams!
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