Keeping the Dream Alive

When we were kids we all had dreams....

Of what we wanted to be when we grew up.

Of what great adventures and journeys we would experience.

And as we grew into our adolescents and young adulthood, we aspired for Love and Family and Fame and Fortune.

The World was our Oyster....

Look out World... Cause Here We Come!

And then came....

Life.

And the inevitable....

Mistakes in Life....

Lost Money here....

Lost Love there....

A Job that becomes a Drudgery.

You make Your Own List.... I have mine.

Now there are those among us.... And those we See and Know....

Who ran the Gauntlet.... Who threaded the Needle.... Who somehow made the Right Decisions....

And kept their Head.... while we were losing Ours...

And they Made it.... They are Living and Experiencing their Dream....

They are still married to their High School Sweetheart....

Their Vocation has yielded the equivalent of 10 lifetimes of 401K's.....

Their College-educated and Successful Kids still call them weekly....

They are the Pillars of Prosperity, Wisdom, the Puritan Work Ethic and have their own plaque on the Habitat for Humanity Wall of Fame.

But for the Rest of Us.... the ones who fell a few Rainbows short.... who Missed their Mark on this World....

Or left the wrong kind of mark.

What do we do now?

Well - it always helps to start with the positive.

Tomorrow morning, when you wake up, when you have that first coherent thought, say out loud to yourself...

"These are the things I have..... These are the things I'm thankful for".

And then speak out loud 10 Positive Attributes / Features / Elements in Your Life / About Yourself.

"I am healthy".
"I have a Wonderful Daughter and Son".
"I am independent".
"I have a Vocation and Training that allows me to Support Myself".
"I am good at Math".
And on..... And on.... Till you complete your list.... and it doesn't have to stop at 10.... and it probably won't.

Ofttimes a Dream begins with a Positive Self Assessment.

You know how it goes.... the Journey begins with the First Step.

Success begets Success.

I've seen it happen over and over again.

A person has a series of failures and gets down on themselves.... and the downward Spiral continues.

Until one day, something changes.... They become involved with a Different Crowd.... An Aspiring Crowd... or they meet someone who sees and professes their potential.... or they finally realize that just because they've failed before doesn't mean they have to keep on failing.

And their head comes up... and their vision shifts forward.... and their eyes brighten....

And a Dream is Born.