I am re-blogging today from life coach Richard A. Cross’s site, Energize Your Thoughts. His post has a wonderful Better Endings theme:
The Power of Your Dream
Do you have a dream?
What is stopping you from accomplishing your dreams?
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. ~Eleanor Roosevelt
“All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible”. ~T. E. Lawrence
I want to say why most people don’t experience the life of their dreams is simply because they quit way too easily, never want to go the extra mile. At times we need the push that life presents to us. It is that push that makes us grow and become better.
However, most people don’t like to be tested.
My dream was to one day have a better life than what I was experiencing as a child. I would sit outside as I looked out in space and envisioned more for my life. As a child my dream was very simple, due to my exposure to the minimal things that life had to offer. My dream was to run as fast as I could so I would be able to win my races when it comes to track and field season. I won most of my races, but as I got older and my vision got magnified with new found ideas and challenges crept in.
At age 12 years I saw a runner by the name of Kevin Webb run past my school, and as he ran, the cheerers on the street shouted “he is the winner and he wins every year”. I said to myself that day that I want to do that, and I will do that. I said it without even knowing what the challenge would be like.
I guess when you are young your first thought is that it’s possible. The older we become the less we believe in our potential. Don’t let go of your dream. Age is just a number.
I was eager to meet this athlete because I wanted to find out how he was able to do what he was doing and so effortlessly. The first time we spoke he gave me the formula he had been using to win and he said I could use it if I wanted to win any of the road races. He said I would have to train very hard. I thought to myself, what a formula. He won the first year that I competed, but that was his last year in high school. I would train some evenings, but that was not enough to win. As a result I lost the second and third year of competing.
I could have quit and let go of working towards my goal due to me not winning. The losses were the years that helped to develop my determination. The man who achieves is dream is the man who is consistent with his action and believes he can. I became consistent and it paid off.
I won my fourth, fifth and sixth year in the road race competition at high school and my dream of doing what my friend did was now history for me. What next was a question that kept playing in my head? I wanted more and I will not stop until I receive it as I completed high school.
What I wanted most of all was to go to college but I failed miserable in my exams. Doubt set in and for a while I lost focus and the vision of going to college. I said to myself what teachers said to me-that I was not capable.
What are you saying to yourself? Make it be positive things and don’t let anybody dictate or limit your abilities.
What happen when you share you dream with someone who wants to see you achieve more out of life?
I had shared my dream of college with a sports coordinator at my last competition of track and field and what he said to me that day was I can do it, but I must believe. The sport coordinator saw me months later and asked what I was doing on the street and not college.
He asked me about my dream and I stumbled over my words. I wanted to go I said and he gave me his words that he will direct me to a program that will help me when the next year comes around. Never give up he reminded me and from ever since that phrase have been with me. I will never give up plays in my mind whenever I am faced with challenges. I meet a lot of it. I was in college the next year.
I was met with challenges, but I was already equipped with a strong mind that I should not give up.
What are you giving up on?
During college I saw student after student leaving the country on scholarships to the states and every athlete’s dream of getting one including me. I didn’t get one even though I requested one and was recommended several times. Did I give up? NO!
I watched friends leaving to the states and thoughts crept in of not getting a scholarship. For one year I didn’t work so I trained, and sometimes I wondered what I was training for. I wanted a job and out of nowhere an older man of the community saw me and asked when I became a police officer. At the time I wasn’t an officer, but that was enough to peak my interest. I’m a risk taker as my friends pointed out when I told them what my next move was. A month later I joined the national security organization even before telling both my parents knowing that they would not like the idea. I won the cross country run during training school and that was enough to let me know I was on the right path.
I received the scholarship in 2006.
If you failed at first that is not a prerequisite for you to quit. I found out that every time I bounce back I am stronger.
- Michael Jordon Had a Dream-He didn’t give up
- Thomas Edison Had a Dream-He never quit
- Abraham Lincoln Had a Dream-He pressed forward despite adversity
- Oprah Winfrey Had a Dream-She believed that it was possible
- Sidney Poitier Had a Dream-He knew that a treasure of possibility was in him
- J.K. Rowling Had a Dream- She knew what a dream could do
- Elvis Presley Had a Dream-He proved them wrong by believing in himself
I want you to know that your Dream can come to be. Do you believe in your dream? I hope you do. I want to see you be a success.
Never give up on your dream… because you never know what the Lord can bless you with. ~Kelly Rowland
You just can’t beat the person who won’t give up. ~Babe Ruth
Sometimes adversity is what you need to face in order to become successful. ~Zig Ziglar
Your Dream Is Possible: Think on these things
- You need perseverance.
- Be prepared to overcome obstacles. Your dream may be outside of your comfort zone.
- Sticking to your dream is always good.
- Believing in yourself is important.
- All great things come with challenges-greatness is within you.
- Your dreams need your effort.
- Develop the power to overcome.
- You have to push hard for your success.
- Remember to stay the course.
- People will try to stop you. If it’s your dream, go for it.
- Always prepare to grow.
- I know you can do it.
My life is better than when I was a child. I now have Greater Dreams, and I know that possibilities are endless on this journey.
Dream Big Dreams!
We all are given an opportunity and that opportunity is life. With life you can become anything you want, so dream big dreams. I hope you keep your vision of success close, and as I plea don’t lose sight of what you would like to accomplish because it’s possible.
From Richard A. Cross’s “About”/ biography:
Richard A. Cross was born in Alexandria St. Ann, Jamaica in 1982 to parents Phillip Cross and Pauline Joyce Pennant. The burgeoning motivational speaker has a devotion that has come from years of persistence, dedication and faith. He always knew he was destined for greatness, but that greatness has taken different forms over the years leading him to his current position on his journey to prominence.
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Thanks to Richard Cross for his inspirational words! I welcome all comments and insights, and stories about your own Big Dreams! I agree with Richard that when you nurture your dreams and believe in yourself, not letting anyone be a naysayer, anything is possible! – LW
Better Endings 