Utilizing
the Power of Your Dreams
Rob
McCarter,
MS, LPC/NCC
Art Linkletter tells an
anecdote in his book Yes, You Can!, of a drive to a piece of deserted
property near Anaheim, California, with a man named Walt Disney.
As the two walked the property, Disney began to paint a picture of a theme park
that he wanted to build. He described in great detail the different
"lands" such as "fantasyland" and "tomorrowland."
During his description Linkletter recalled thinking that Disney's dream was a
fantasy that wouldn't appeal to people. The purpose of their visit was for
Disney to give Linkletter an opportunity to buy the land surrounding his theme
park. Linkletter could, in turn, sell it to developers who would build
motels and restaurants on the property. Linkletter, not able to dream
Disney's dreams, respectfully declined. Of course, all of us know that
Disney went on to build Disneyland on the property. Linkletter estimates
that he lost approximately one million dollars per step that day by not buying
into Disney's dream.
Was Linkletter wrong?
No. One person's dream is not another's. Everyone has to discover
and develop his or her dream and not someone else's. I have studied the
lives of successful people and have found that each of them had a dream they
grasped and developed. Each of them likely followed the same basic
process. To fully utilize the power of your dreams you must:
Just as a camera is used to
record pleasant memories so do we need to develop a picture of a future event.
Begin by asking yourself, "What do I really want?" Beginning
with the end in mind will guide your dream-utilization actions.
The second step is to
refocus and refine the picture so that it becomes clear and well defined.
This process is called imaging. You can create anything that you can
imagine! If you imagine negative and bad consequences from life, then you
will obtain them. Many times this is easier than the alternative,
optimistic imaging.
Optimistic imaging is the
conscious process of vividly picturing a desired dream in your mind until it
sinks into your subconscious mind thus producing results in the physical
dimension.
Enthusiasm is a word taken
from the Greek word enthousiasmos, which means, "having the God
within." Perhaps this is apropos as the ability to reach seemingly
impossible dreams goes beyond our ability. How can we be assured if our
dreams are worthy of enthusiasm?
Ask yourself:
1. Is my dream within
moral limits?
2. Will the pursuit or
fulfillment of my dream lead to a greater contribution to myself, family and/or
the world?
If you answered yes to both
of these questions, then your dream is worthy of enthusiasm. You will not
reach your dreams if you do not apply enthusiasm continuously throughout the
process.
The expression, "Sticks
and stones will break my bones but words can never hurt me," is a myth.
Words can hurt and destroy dreams.
Thankfully, words can also
heal and help to make dreams a reality. Utilize the power of optimistic
affirmations to reinforce your dream.
Lastly, to reach your
dreams, you must be able to minimize distractions. A distraction is
anything that blocks you from fulfilling your dreams. To be successful we
must minimize distractions in our lives and FOCUS on our dreams.
DREAM
The five steps spell the
word, "DREAM." Do you think there would be a Disneyland if Walt
Disney had not followed these steps? I don't think so for it was Walt
Disney who said, "If you can dream it you can do it, remember this whole
thing was started by a mouse."
Likewise, if you follow these steps you will fulfill your dreams. Show me a person who can describe their dreams and I'll show you a person who is in charge of their life. At the end of each day ask yourself, "What have I done today to further my dream?" If you can answer the question by citing positive action, then you are on your way.-