he question was once asked of a highly successful businessman: "How have you done so much in your lifetime?"
He replied, "I have dreamed. I have turned my mind loose to imagine what I wanted to do. Then I have gone to bed and thought about my dreams. In the night I dreamt about my dreams. And when I awoke in the morning, I saw the way to make my dreams real. While other people were saying, 'You can't do that, it isn't possible,' I was well on my way to achieving what I wanted." As Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the U.S., said: "We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers."
They see things in the soft haze of a spring day, or in the red fire on a long winter's evening. Some of us let these great dreams die, but others nourish and protect them; nourish them through bad days until they bring them to the sunshine and light which comes always to those who sincerely hope that their dreams will come true."
So please, don't let anyone steal your dreams, or try to tell you they are too impossible.
"Sing your song, dream your dreams, hope your hope and pray your prayer."
Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender, Be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly, and listen to others - Even the dull and ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons - they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter, For always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career - However humble, it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is. Many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection, neither be cynical about love. For in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, It is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the council of the years, Gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune, But do not distress yourself with imaginings - Many fears are borne of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe. No less than the trees and the stars, you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, No doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, Keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.
The upstate NY man was rich in almost every way. His estate was worth millions. He owned houses, land, antiques and cattle. But though on the outside he had it all, he was very unhappy on the inside. His wife was growing old, and the couple was childless. He had always wanted a little boy to carry on the family legacy.
Miraculously, his wife became pregnant in her later years, and she gave birth to a little boy. The boy was severely handicapped, but the man loved him with his whole heart. When the boy was five, his mom died. The dad drew closer to his special son. At age 13, the boys's birth defects cost him his life and the father died soon after from a broken heart.
The estate was auctioned before hundreds of bidders. The first item offered was a painting of the the boy. No one bid. They waited like vultures for the riches. Finally, the poor housemaid, who helped raise the boy, offered $5 for the picture and easily took the bid. To every-one's shock, the auctioneer ripped a hand written will from the back of the picture. This is what it said: "To the person who thinks enough of my son to buy this painting, to this person I give my entire estate."
The auction was over. The greedy crowd walked away in shock and dismay.
How many of us have sought after what we thought were true riches only to find out later that our Father was prepared to give us His entire estate if we had only sought after His Son alone?
Who do you think is more courageous in facing an enemy with a machine gun, Superman or a normal soldier?
Superman does not need courage to defeat the enemy because he is invulnerable to bullets. He knows he won't get hurt. On the other hand, a normal soldier needs a lot of courage to take down the enemy. He knows he can lose his life going against this enemy. Courage is when the soldier decides to fight the enemy even if he is shaking in his boots.
You don't need courage in front of a tree. You need courage in front of a bully. Courage can only be practiced under fire.
Courage is not the absence of fear. It is overcoming your fear in front of danger. It is also taking a risk for the sake of the good.
You can never pursue your dreams without courage. Only courage can silence our fears. A lot of people have been crippled because of their fear of failure and getting hurt. Fear continually robs them of their dreams. Fear has made them mediocre, helpless and worst, hopeless.
Only courageous people can go against the river, cowards are swept away.
Courage can make the difference between your mediocrity and greatness.
You can never be great sitting on your butt waiting for the perfectly safe moment or opportunity before you act. It will never happen.
You need to have the courage to take risks if you want to go anywhere in life.
"If you don't take risks for God, you won't give anything worthwhile." - St Louis de Montfort
Mountain climbers risk their own safety to see the beautiful view at the peak. It is the same for us. If we want to go beyond mediocrity and experience the peak of life, we must be courageous. We must risk.
Will you have the courage to live life to the full?
The vast majority of us, since childhood, have been trying desperately to prove our worth. We try to prove our worth to our parents, teachers, friends and lovers. We become so absorbed in meeting their standards that we missed out finding our own potential.
To focus our life in proving ourselves to others is not only a loosing battle but a waste of time.
The downside of proving your worth to others is that different people has different standards of what being “worthy” means. To be obsessed in proving your worth to another person is to give that person control of your life. Now think how many persons are you trying to prove your worth?
Ten?
That mean 10 people are somehow stirring your life in 10 different directions.
Feeling dizzy?
If we give more time meeting other’s standards, we may sacrifice finding our own identity.
God did not create us to prove ourselves to others, but to live life to the full. Jesus Himself said: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” And we shall find life’s fullness in discovering and living out our vocation. Our vocation is God’s will, calling and plan for our lives.
To discover and realize God’s plans for our lives is to open ourselves to unlimited possibilities that we have not even come to imagine. Living out our vocation is to let the seed of greatness that God planted in us grow. And like a small mustard seed, it shall grow into a great tree.
The road to greatness is the path of discovering our God given gifts and living out our vocation. We should stop trying to meet other people’s standards and start living in His.
In every one of us lies a great potential.
You do not need to prove it.
It is there.
What you need to do is live it.
…unlimited possibilities awaits.
