DreamsTo accomplish great things, you must dream great dreams.But dreaming alone isn't enough,you must believe in your dreams and you must act.Without action, even the most grand of dreams evaporate into the air when left unnurtured in the misty realms of the mind.Do you dare to be a dreamer? Prepare to go it alone.Dreamers build bridges between the known and the unknown.As you dance your dreams into reality,those who can't hear the music may think you a fool.Pay no heed to those who would kill your dreams;small minds always do that. Great minds will encourage you thatyou can become great too.Afraid you haven't got what it takes?Then get it! Feed your mind the mental food it hungers for.There was a dog breeder who had two dogs that raced every weekend. He took bets and always won. One week he'd bet on his black dog, and the black dog would win. The next week he'd bet on the white dog, and folks seeing the black dog win the week before would bet,but this time the white dog would win. Why?One week he'd feed the dog he wanted to win a grand diet,and just give the other dog enough to survive.The dog that was well fed was stronger and would always win the race. Your mind is the same way;it grows stronger or weaker with what you feed it.The diet of the mind is what gives you the confidence, courage, knowledge, and the direction you need to succeed in your dreams,or keep you from them. You can build your mind up or tear it down. The choice is yours and you make it every day.Have you been waiting for the right time to reach for your dreams? Have you been waiting for the right circumstancesto reach for your dreams?Have you been waiting for the right opportunity to reach for dreams? My, you're patient, aren't you? You could be waiting forever, you know. Time is an illusion. Circumstances are what you make them. Opportunity is a whisper that waits for your invitation,it doesn't burst in and shout its arrival.Now is the right time. Circumstances change when you take action. Opportunity is yours for the making.So what are you really waiting for?The Power of Imagination Imagination is the ability to form a mental image of something that is not perceived through the senses.It is the ability of the mind to built mental scenes,objects or events that do not exist,are not present or have happened in the past.Memory is actually a manifestation of imagination.Everyone possesses some imagination ability.In some it may be highly developed andin others it may manifest in a weaker form.It manifests in various degrees in various people.It manifests in various forms, one of which is daydreaming. Though too much idle daydreaming may make one impractical, some daydreaming, when not being engaged in somethingthat requires attention, provides some temporary happiness, calmness and relief from stress.In your imagination you can travel anywhere in the speed of light without any obstacles. It can make you feel free,though temporarily, and only in the mind, from tasks, difficulties and unpleasant circumstances.A developed and strong imaginationdoes not make you a daydreamer and impractical.On the contrary, it strengthens your creative abilities,and is a great tool for recreatingand remodeling your world and life.This is a great power that can change your whole life.It is used extensively in magic,creative visualization and affirmations.It is the creator of circumstances and events.When you know how to work with it,you can make your hearts' desires come true.Imagination has a great role and value in each one's life.It is much more than just idle daydreaming.We all use it, whether consciously or unconsciously,in most of our daily affairs.We use our imagination whenever we plan a party,a trip, our work or a meeting.We use it when we describe an event,explain how to arrive to a certain street, write,tell a story or cook a cake.Imagination is a creative powerthat is necessary for inventing an instrument,designing a dress or a building,painting a picture or writing a book.The creative power of imagination has an important rolein the achievement of success in any field.What we imagine with faith and feelings comes into being.It is the power beyond creative visualization,positive thinking and affirmations.Visualizing an object or a situation,and repeating often this mental image,attracts the object or situation into our lives.This opens for us new, vast and fascinating opportunities.This means that we should think only in a positive mannerabout our desires, otherwise we may createand attract into our lives, events,situations and people that we don't really want.This is actually what most of us do,because we don't use the power of imagination correctly.If you do not recognize the importance ofthe power of the imagination, and let it run riot,your life may not be as happy and successfulas you would have wanted it to be.Lack of understanding of the power of the imagination isresponsible for the suffering, incompetence,difficulties, failures and unhappiness people experience.For some reason, most people are inclined to think in a negative way. They do not expect success. They expect the worst,and when they fail, they believe that fate is against them.This attitude can be changed, and then life will improve accordingly. Understanding how to use your imagination correctly,and putting this knowledge into practice,for your own and others' benefit,will put you on the golden path to success,satisfaction and happiness.Advise Proposed by Albert Einstein Every day I remind myself that my inner and outer lifeare based on the labors of other men, living and dead,and that I must exert myself in order to givein the same measure as I have receivedand am still receiving.—Albert EinsteinAlbert Einstein was an amazing physicist.He figured out so many universal principles and equationsthat he was way ahead of his fellow scientistsat any point of time.But he is also remembered for another thing,a quality which made people call him a genius:his words. Prof. Einstein was a philosopherwho clearly understood the laws of successand explained them like the way he did with his equations.Here is a list of 10 things out ofthe numerously wonderful things he had said;10 golden lessons that you can put to use in your everyday life.1. A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. Most people don't try new things because of their fear of failure. Failing is not something to be afraid of.It is often the loserswho learn more about winning than the winners.Our mistakes always give us opportunities to learn and grow.2. Education is what remains after one has forgottenwhat one has learned in school.30 years from now, you won't possibly rememberwhat chapters you had in your science book;you'd only remember what you learn on your way.Life lessons stay with you forever.Real education starts from within.3. I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge.Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.When you reflect on how far we humans have come fromthe prehistoric caves to mind-blowing technological advancements, you would feel the power of imagination.What we have now was built from the imagination of our forefathers. What we will have in future will be built from our imagination.4. The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources. Creativity and uniqueness often depends onhow well you hide your sources.You can get inspired and influenced by other great people;but when you are on stage with the whole world watching,you must become a unique,individual force that learnt different values from different people. 5. The value of a man should be seen in what he givesand not in what he is able to receive.Try not to become a man of success,but rather try to become a man of value.If you think of all the top people in the world,they would have added something of value to the world.You must give in order to take.When your purpose is contributing or adding value to the world,you will be elevated to a higher level of living.6. There are two ways to live:you can live as if nothing is a miracle;you can live as if everything is a miracle.When nothing is a miracle,you gain the power of doing anything you wantand you have no limits. And when everything is a miracle,you stop by to appreciate even the smallest ofbeautiful things in the world.Thinking both ways will give you a productive and happy life.7. When I examine myself and my methods of thought,I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasyhas meant more to me than any talent for abstract, positive thinking. Dreaming about all the great thingsthat you can achieve is the key to a life filled with positivity.Let your imagination run amuck and create the worldthat you would wish to be in.8. In order to be an immaculate member of a flock of sheep,one must above all be a sheep oneself.If you want to become a very successful entrepreneur,you must start a business right away.Wishing to become one, but fearing the consequences will not help. The same applies to everything—in order to win a game,one must above all play the game.9. You have to learn the rules of the game.And then you have to play better than anyone else.Learn the rules of your game and start playing it best.Keep competing like your life depended on it.And after a while you will have no one elsebut you to compete against. At that point, better your best.10. The important thing is not to stop questioning.Curiosity has its own reason for existing.Intelligent people ask. Keep questioning yourselfand others to find solutions.This will help gain knowledge and analyze your growthin all walks of life.Criteria of ExcellencyMy l4-year-old son, John, and I spotted the coat simultaneously.It was hanging on a rack at a secondhand clothing storein Northampton Mass,crammed in with shoddy trench coats and an assortment of sad, woolen overcoats—a rose among thorns.While the other coats drooped,this one looked as if it were holding itself up.The thick, black wool of the double-breasted chesterfieldwas soft and unworn, as though it had been preservedin mothballs for years in dead old Uncle Henry's steamer trunk. The coat had a black velvet collar, beautiful tailoring,a Fifth Avenue label and an unbelievable price of $28.We looked at each other, saying nothing,but John's eyes gleamed. Dark, woolen topcoats were popular just then with teenage boys,but could cost several hundred dollars new.This coat was even better,bearing that touch of classic elegance from a bygone era.John slid his arms down into the heavy satin lining of the sleeves and buttoned the coat. He turned from side to side,eyeing himself in the mirror with a serious,studied expression that soon changed into a smile.The fit was perfect.John wore the coat to school the next dayand came home wearing a big grin.“Did the kids like your coat?” I asked.“They loved it.” he said, carefully folding itover the back of a chair and smoothing it flat.I started calling him “Lord Chesterfield” and “The Great Gatsby.”Over the next few weeks, a change came over John. Agreement replaced contrariness, quiet,reasoned discussion replaced argument.He became more judicious, more mannerly,more thoughtful, eager to please.“Good dinner, Mom.” he would say every evening.He would generously loan his younger brother his tapesand lecture him on the niceties of behaviour;without a word of objection,he would carry in wood for the stove.One day when I suggestedthat he might start on homework before dinner,John—a veteran procrastinator—said,“You're right. I guess I will.”When I mentioned this incident toone of his teachers and remarked that I didn't knowwhat caused the changes, she said laughing.“It must be his coat!” Another teacher told himshe was giving him a good mark not only becausehe had earned it but because she liked his coat.At the library, we ran into a friendwho had not seen our children in a long time,“Could this be John?” he aske d,looking up to John's new height,assessing the cut of his coat and extending his hand,one gentleman to another.John and I both know we should never mistake a person's clothes for the real person within them.But there is something to be saidfor wearing a standard of excellence for the world to see,for practising standards of excellence in thought,speech, and behaviour, and for matchingwhat is on the inside to what is on the outside.Sometimes, watching John leave for school,I've remembered with a keen stingwhat it felt like to be in the eighth grade-a timewhen it was as easy to try on different approaches to lifeas it was to try on a coat. The whole world,the whole future is stretched out ahead,a vast panorama where all the doors are open.And if I were there right now,I would picture myself walking through those doorswearing my wonderful, magical coat.The Thanks We GiveIt's not the turkey alone we're grateful for.Not the cranberry sauce or the stuffing or even the pumpkin pie. Some of the people seated at the tableare strangers—friends of friends,cousins of in-laws—and some are almost desperately familiar,faces we live and work with every day.In any other week, today would merely be Thursdayand the gathering of all these people—the cookingand serving and cleaning—a chore.But today it doesn't feel that way.The host—perhaps it's you—stands up and asks that we give thanks,and we do, each in our own way.And what we're thankful for is simply this, the food, the shelter,the company and, above all, the sense of belonging.As holidays go, Thanksgiving is in some ways the most philosophical. Today we try not to take for granted the thingswe almost always take for granted. We try,if only in that brief pause before the eating begins,to see through the well-worn patterns of our lives towhat lies behind them. In other words,we try to understand how very rich we are,whether we feel very rich or not.Today is one of the few times most Americans consciously set desire aside, if only because desire is incompatible with the gratitude—not to mention the abundance—that Thanksgiving summons.It's tempting to think that one Thanksgivingis pretty much like another,except for differences in the guest list and the recipes.But it isn't true. This is always a feast about where we are now. Thanksgiving reflects the complexion of the year we're in.Some years it feels buoyant, almost jubilant in nature.Other years it seems marked by a conspicuous humilityuncommon in the calendar of American emotions.And this year? We will probably remember this Thanksgivingas a banquet of mixed emotions. This is, after all,a profoundly American holiday.The undertow of business as usual seems especially strong this year.The shadow of a war and misgivings over the futureloom in the minds of many of us.Most years we enjoy the privacy of Thanksgiving, but this year, somehow, the holiday feels like part of a public effort to rememberand reclaim for ourselves what it means to be American.That means giving thanks for some fundamental principlesthat should be honored every day of the yearin the life of this nation—principles of generosity,tolerance and inclusion. This is a feastthat no one should be turned away from.The abundance of the food piled on the table should signifythat there is plenty for all, plenty to be shared.The welcome we feel makes sense only if we also extend it to others.Entering the New Room of Your Life It must be one of the most frequently asked questionsin the English language—“What do you want to be when you grow up?”And for most of us the answer is simple—“I don't know.” And that's just fine.For teenagers all over the world it is difficult to imaginelife outside the familiar school groundsand comfortable family home.But when the university entrance exams finishand high-school graduation wraps up,it is time to move on to a whole new stagein one's life—adulthood.One day when you are 40, you may look back on your life and wonder exactly how you became an adult.When did you change? Quite often the answer will lie between your first day of universityand the first day of your professional career.While you cannot pinpoint an exact time,somewhere in the “roommate days” or “dorm days”you learnt things far more valuable than anythingyou could learn in a classroom.For it is in this time we learn independence-Mum and Dad can't take care of you anymore; responsibility—you have to clean your own bedroomand make your own meals; maturity—suddenly joking about “girl's germs” doesn't seem so funny when you actually have a girlfriend or boyfriend; respect—you should take care of John's computer,he spent a lot of money on it; and budgeting—should you spend your last $50 on new shoes or pizza? And a big part of the living-away-from-home processis communication. High-class celebrities andhighly paid psychologists are always telling us,to fix our relationship problems,“the key is communication.”And nothing can provide better training indeveloping communication than living with other people. “Whose dirty socks are these?”“Where is your share of the rent money?”“Let's have a party on Friday night!”“I think I'm going to break-up with my boyfriend.”This special period of time is guaranteed tomake you feel every emotion possible,but at the same time it will provide youwith the best memories you could ever dream of.When the “dorm days” come to an end,we finally know where we belong in the world.And finally, we know exactly what we want to be when we grow upThe Paradox of HappinessDo you recall a time—let's saywhen you were about 5 years old—what defined happiness back then?Was it getting a puppy for Christmas? Or maybe,you were a child of divorce,and all you wanted was for Mom and Dadto get back together again?Then as you got older, you were hopingthat someone would ask you to the promthat would've made your day,maybe your life for the moment. During college,good grades made you happy, but it was short-lived.Because in the real world, you had to look for a job,and competition was stark.It's an employer's world you thought.But then, you got the perfect job—now you could be happy—or could you?Life requires more than just what we want.Inevitably, one must understand to truly find “happiness”,he must make his own happiness “happen”.Sounds a bit redundant, but truthfully,there is no set guidelines that will bring one happiness.There is no “magic wand” we can waveto bring joy into our lives.Human nature thrives on the thrill of the chase.We dream and we hope for the next big area—it is the grand adventure of living.We are hopeless creatures of comfort.We like having and accumulating things.Whether one admits to it or not, to a certain degree,we all try to “keep up with the Jones”.We work so we can pay our rents, mortgages,credit card debts, school loans, car payments...the list goes on and on. And at some point,we realize, that aside from having most of what we want,we still aren't happy. Now since we've learned toadapt to new standards which we've created for ourselves,we find that we have less time, less patience,less sleep, which equates to more stress,more worry and more aggravation.So, is happiness honestly just comprised of “things”? Sometimes, we virtually read our lives fornot only basic necessities, but for excessive itemsand services as well. We become so obsessedwith finding happiness, that we lose sight of the factthat happiness is within—always.Certainly you've heard of individualstrying to “find themselves”,or “rediscover themselves”.The reason they are attempting these innovative approaches is because they are seeking inner happiness.But the point has been missed:happiness is already there.Disappointments and tragedies in life will come and go,but happiness never leaves you.The human's capacity to be resilient todifficulties is unfathomable.We can lose our jobs, but be grateful for our spouses.We can lose our homes to nature,but be thankful to be alive.Happiness is a perception of each individual.We are instincively compelled to find fault in our lives.By human nature, we begin our “fault-finding” missionthe moment we're capable of free-thinking.It is then, that we lose sense of self-worthand the bigger picture of vitality altogether.Stuck in the patterns of the happiness paradox,we simply cannot find where our happiness has gone.It's not a matter of bargaining,it's not an issue of money or fame—instead,happiness is what you resolve to accept.If we live through optimistic hope;if we dare to dream; if we empower ourselves to fully live; then we have regained our sense of happiness.There is no in-between. There is no other replacement.We only have one physical life to live.We have no choice but to make the most of it.。
