As I was surfing the net today, I came across this article. Perhaps it struck a cord with me because I AM a dreamer and a visionary. Sometimes I think "if I could just get paid to spew my ideas, I would be rich". :)
Anyway as I was reading this article these sentences really struck a cord with me "Little children aren’t afraid to ask. They aren’t afraid to demand what they want. They dream, and the sky is the limit for them. But somewhere between childhood and the teenage years, these children quit dreaming." This is so true! I look at my son and he isn't afraid to tell me what he wants and he does so with a wide smile and laughing all the way. He has not yet faced the rejection (well he has but doesn't yet understand) what comes with the word no and how it can dash dreams in an instant.
We can all take lessons from the children around us. Let's start to view the world through their eyes. Don't be afraid to have a vision and to allow the vision to come to fruition. Sometimes all we need to do is speak it. Granted I am not the biggest Microsoft fan, but remember years ago the vision that Bill Gates made public? The one where he said that he wanted a personal computer in every house? I remember people laughing at that comment. But look at us now. Did we ever stop to think "what if Bill Gates never made that comment? Would we be where we are today?" Others might not agree, but I am not sure that we would be as technologically advanced as we are today. Because sometimes it takes the spoken word to bring things to fruition.
I hope you enjoy "Who Gave Day Dreamers A Bad Name?"
Becki
Who Gave Day Dreamers A Bad Name?
By: Marnie Pehrson
There’s a phenomenon I’ve noticed in myself and my associates that drastically undermines our ability to achieve success. It is written, “ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you, seek and ye shall find.” But what if we don’t ever ask? What if we don’t knock or seek? Then we can never find, can we? I believe the majority of adults never ask specifically for what they want. We might gripe or complain about what we don’t like, but we don’t get positively specific about what we do want.
One Bible Dictionary offers this definition of prayer: "Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work, and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings."
When we fail to ask, we are missing out on blessings that God is ready and willing to give to us! But how many of us really ask specifically? I think most of us do not. Why don’t we? Because, honestly, we don’t know what we want! We’ve forgotten how to dream. As a mother of six children, I’m familiar with toddlers to teens. Little children aren’t afraid to ask. They aren’t afraid to demand what they want. They dream, and the sky is the limit for them. But somewhere between childhood and the teenage years, these children quit dreaming.
They learn not to ask for certain things, because they know they won’t get them. Perhaps they learn that the family can’t afford it or that their peers will think they are silly. Maybe their parents tell them it’s not possible or that it’s foolish to expect to make a living as a musician or an artist. As parents we often want our children to be practical. After all, is it really probable that your child will become an astronaut that goes to the moon or President of the United States or the first person on Mars? Is it financially feasible for your sixteen-year-old to have his own Jaguar? Shouldn’t you protect your child from wasting his time on dreams that can never be and that will only dash his hopes when they don’t materialize?
So, we, as parents, start teaching our children to be reasonable, practical and responsible. In the end we do more damage than if they had pursued a dream and failed. We kill their ability to dream. We make them feel guilty, impractical or foolish for dreaming. With the death of dreams dies the ability to “try on for size” different possibilities and opportunities. After all, how do you know you want to be a famous rock star if you haven’t thought it through completely, learned about what is involved and daydreamed a little about the possibilities?
I think back to my own parents. I was one of those kids who wanted to be an archaeologist one week, an artist the next, and a chemist the week after that. My parents never told me it wasn’t practical or that I wouldn’t be successful at any of these endeavors. They trusted that if I explored the avenue, I’d find out for myself whether it was something I really wanted to do. They didn’t squelch my dreams. Rather, they provided everything I needed to explore my interests: bought me a geology kit, a chemistry set, a banjo, gave me piano lessons, and let me experiment with my mother’s acrylic paints. They made me believe that I was smart and that anything was possible that I set out to achieve.
Yet, still through the course of my life, I managed to forget how to dream. Perhaps it was when I became a parent and had responsibilities and obligations to my own family. After all, I couldn’t just take off and leave for Hawaii with babies to care for, a business to run and a household to maintain. I pushed my dreams to the side in favor of being responsible and practical. Those dreams would have to wait. As J. Pierce of Texas explains, "I put my dreams on hold for later, because I have to take care of practical things right now." The reality is that few of us ever come back to the dreams we’ve put on hold. Instead, we live on a treadmill of repetitive tasks where today looks very much like yesterday with very little (if any) progress toward our aspirations.
Over the years, I put my big dreams on hold and kept the small manageable ones. But, in time, financial challenges and setbacks killed any of the larger dreams. Why window shop when you can’t afford what’s in the window? Why dream about a new car when there are large car payments attached to it and you’re already in debt? Why dream of being a best selling author when a book tour is unfeasible with six children at home?
All the practical sides to life start eating away at our ability to dream. Plus, as A. Webb of Oklahoma explains, “I like so many things that I’m afraid to choose only one thing. What if I make a mistake? What if I choose something that’s wrong for me, and I’ve ruled out something else I’d rather have? In the end I don’t make any choice, and I get nothing as a result.” What if we spend all our lives working toward what we feel is the ladder of success, only to find we had it leaned against the wrong wall?
The fear of making a poor choice is the thief that steals success and kills dreams. The only way to overcome our fears is to face them. Daydreaming (envisioning) in detail what we think we want is a great way to try on a dream to see if it fits. Take time each day to build a dream of your ideal life – what it will look like, feel like, sound like, and be like in every detail. The great thing about daydreaming is that you can tweak it until it’s just right… until it’s perfect in every way. You can think through all the “yeah but’s” and the “what if’s” ahead of time. Sometimes you’ll envision it enough to realize it isn’t what you actually want. And that’s fine. Tweak it until it’s the way you want it.
Once you’ve envisioned this ideal life, pray about it, get a confirmation that it is what God wants for you as well. Ask for it! Then, commit it to paper. Write it down, read it frequently – daily, morning and night. Make it a part of you. The wonderful thing is that as you do this, doors of opportunity will open that you never saw before. Walk through them. Ideas will come to you in the middle of the night. Act immediately upon them. Step by step, little by little, your life will transform into your vision.
To learn more about this concept, watch this insightful presentation at http://www.jackrabbitfactor.com.
The Challenge: I challenge you to sit back for even three minutes and dream a little. Get your mind off your problems, and allow yourself to think about anything you’d like. Then be grateful for the thing you’ve envisioned. Express your gratitude to God for this creative ability and the good things that are on their way to you.It might be difficult at first. It might take you weeks or even months to relearn how to dream, but whenever you have a spare moment, take time to envision your ideal life. Even if you take only three minutes here and there throughout the day to stop what you’re doing and take time for yourself to dream, it will make a profound difference in your life. I know this from experience because I’ve been polishing my dreaming skills for some time now, and things are coming together as I’ve envisioned. I’m documenting my progress in my blog, if you’re interested in a real life example – http://marniep.typepad.com
Give it a try, and remember to express gratitude for everything along the way!
About the Author:
Marnie L. Pehrson is a wife, mother of 6, author and consultant who helps talented professionals discover, define and deliver their message to the online world. She is the creator of IdeaMarketers.com, BelieversAtWork.com, LocateACoach.com, and SheLovesGod.com. You may reach her at marnie@pwgroup.com or visit her projects through http://www.pwgroup.com and read her books at http://www.MarniePehrson.com.