Impossible is Just a Word
Everyone, at some point of his or her life, has dreamed of being somebody special, something big.
What guy hasn’t fantasized about being the one who hits the game-winning home run? What girl hasn’t dreamed of being the homecoming queen? And how many times have we dreamed of being rich, or successful, or happy with our relationships?
We dream big dreams and have great aspirations. Unfortunately, too often our dreams remain just that – dreams. And our aspirations easily become faint memories in the past.
It is truly a sad story – instead of experiencing exciting adventures in self actualization, we get caught up in the humdrum of living from day-to-day and just barely existing.
You know what? I used to be there. I lived there. And I have a feeling that you are familiar with it all too well. Life could be so much better, if only . . .
If only we learned to aim higher.
The most common problem to achieving our dreams is the word “impossible”. Like me, most people get hung up thinking they can’t do whatever is set before them. It’s too hard. It’s too impossible. No one can do it.
However, if everyone thought that, there would be no inventions, no innovations, and no breakthroughs in human accomplishment. But thank goodness for the creators who have created these wonderful things that have changed and blessed our lives. Thank goodness indeed!
Remember that scientists were baffled when they took a look at the humble bumblebee. Theoretically, they said, it was impossible for the bumblebee to fly. Unfortunately for the bumble bee no one has told it so. So it flies anyways.
On the other hand, some people suffer from dreaming totally outrageous dreams and not acting on them. The result? Broken dreams, and tattered aspirations.
If you limit yourself with self-doubt, and self-limiting assumptions, you will never be able to break past what you deem impossible. If you reach too far out into the sky without working towards your goal, you will find yourself clinging on to the impossible dream.
Those who just dream towards a goal without working hard end up disappointed and disillusioned.
On the other hand, if you told someone a hundred years ago that it was possible for man to be on the moon, they would laugh at you. If you had told them that you could send mail from here to the other side of the world in a few seconds, they would say you were out of your mind. But, through sheer desire and perseverance, these impossible dreams are now realities.
Thomas Edison once said that genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Nothing could be truer. For one to accomplish his or her dreams, there has to be had work and discipline. But take note that that 1% has to be a think-big dream, and not some easily accomplished one.
Ask any gym rat and he or she will tell you that there can be no gains unless you are put out of your comfort zone. Remember the saying, “No pain, no gain”? That is as true as it can be.
So dream on, friend! Don’t get caught up with your perceived limitations. Think big and work hard to attain those dreams. As you step up the ladder of progress, you will just about find out that the impossible has just become a little bit more possible.
What Is Your Destination?
“The very essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision.”
-Theodore Hesburgh
There is a well known proverb that says, “Where there is no vision the people parish” (Proverbs 29:18) This is true.
Start on a trip without a destination and you will never know if you arrive, because you don’t know where you are going. There has to be a destination, some place that you are trying to get to. Wandering aimlessly will lead to aimless discoveries and locations.
Too often people live this way. They never chart a course, look at a map and much less never know if they are even heading in the right direction. They say they know where they want to go and what they want to do with their lives but they have no idea where they are headed.
Creators start at the end. They ask the vital question, “What do I want to create?”
Most of the time we go through life as if we have been given a car and told to drive down the freeway of life with no particular destination in mind. The signs let us know an exit is coming up soon, and we must make a choice, “Do I stay on the freeway or do I take the exit?” When we feel a need – hunger, pain, thirst, etc. – we turn off looking for relief. We make a choice. Once we are satisfied we usually get back on the freeway driving aimlessly in no particular direction.
Many of us stay on the freeway of life because it’s the easiest; society hands us a set of keys and tells us to go for a drive. We may not have anywhere special to go but parents and peers expect us to take our place on the freeway. So, we just keep driving until we have to make another choice out of need.
Creators start with their destination fully locking in their mind. It may be across the mountains where there are no roads. If that’s the case, they get rid of the car and get a mule or start walking. If it’s on the other side of a lake, they find a boat. The process becomes dependent upon the desired destination.
The destination is the creation. The true creator knows what they want to create and they set out to create it.
“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.” -The Koran
In order to create you must have a destination, a vision of where you want to be when you finally get there. Even though great artists’ works sometimes look like they just threw the pain on the canvas, and many times that is just what they did.
World famous Jackson Pollock is a good example of this (Look Above). But the absolute truth is he never did it without calculations. It was purposeful and in a destination of his vision. He set out to make a painting look a certain way or represent a certain feeling or emotion, or elicit a purposeful response, or was designed to generate many different responses – but that was the vision in the very first place – not aimless wandering, or aimless splattering of color on a canvas.
If you don’t know what outcome you want, or even a slight idea, how can you possibly know what to do or how to do it to generate any outcome that would be valuable or important to you as the creator.
Creators create creations of value – remember that. Set your course and create!
Do You Know Your Purpose in Life?
Do you know what your purpose in life is? How would you like to find out? And then once you found out how would you like to be guided by that purpose to create the life you desire.
Most true creators are guided by a mysterious thing called “purpose”. They follow their purpose and create lives that are filled with value and splendor.
We all want a purpose, yet to many it seems like an all-important unobtainable thing. So how do you find your prupose in life?
First, accept that it may take time to find your purpose in life. It may reauire trial and error before you get it right. Mistakes are a great way to uncover your purpose because you have the opportunity to find out what you like and don’t like. After many, “don’t likes”, and “why do I keep doing the same things over an over again”, comes a time of personal freedom and peace. Once you figure out what’s not working, you can make room for what does work.
Second, believe that you will know when you find it. How will you know? You will feel it in the pit of your stomach. It’s something that feels so right that you can’t imagine doing anything else. And, you will feel a strange “high” when you’re doing it. This “high” feeling may even frighten you. Don’t be afraid, it’s your inner power talking to you, letting you know that you are doing the right thing.
Third, you know you have found your purpose in life when it doesn’t revolve around you. It’s not the bigger house or the shiny new car that will make you happy. These are just goals, but they are not a substitute for your purpose in life. Your purpose in life will bring you happiness and that happiness only comes when serving and contributing to other people’s lives and making a difference for others. We were put on this earth to help each other, and that is the greatest feeling of all!
So, How Do You Create Your Purpose? Ask yourself these following questions – the answers will lead straight to your purpose:
“Who Am I”?
What kind of person are you? What’s been true of you since you were younger? Write down all the attributes that you can think of that are truly you. List the things you naturally have learned and developed over the years. You probably take these things for granted, not recognizing them for the special, significant and unique gifts they actually are.“What Do I Love To Do?”
What do you absolutely, truly enjoy doing in your life? Consider the gifts that have helped make doing those special things possible. Your purpose will involve doing something that you love.“What Experiences In Life Are Really Fulfilling For Me?”
Look for the times in your life that are fulfilling for you. These are times when you are just being yourself. Consider, what is it like for you while you are doing those things? What are you feeling? What’s important, special or meaningful for you? These answers hold the key to what you should be doing with your life.“What Is My Purpose In Life?”
Once your purpose becomes clearer, create a purpose statement. A Purpose Statement contains: an action, a focus, and an intended impact. Once you write it down, you have a roadmap to follow.“Who Can I Tell?”
Speaking your purpose will bring it into reality; and once you tell people, it becomes real. Plus, you’ll have the support of those around you who want to encourage you to live that purpose to its fullest extent.
And what if you’ve done all this work and it hasn’t come to you yet? Be patient, it will. We were all created for a reason. And, if you are determined to find your purpose, it will come your way. When something that strong is in your heart, it’s only a matter of time before you discover it. The answer is found within; it’s just a matter of time, before you can begin to create the life you truly desire.
How To Determine What You Want to Create in Your Life
What do you really want to create?
Most people don’t discover what they want to create until it’s time to die – and that’s a shame.
Most people spend the best years of their lives watching television or doing things they dislike. An author described humanity by saying, “Most people die at twenty and are buried at eighty.” Are you one of the living zombies?
What do you really want to create?
Some people struggle in answering this question. When asked what they want or what their goals in life are, many are unsure. They dillydally in their decision, hardly giving any thought about what they want. They live their life on auto-pilot – never realizing they have the power to create whatever they desire.
They are people without definite goals, or plans, or ideas and are letting time pass them by. Are you one of these people?
If you are undecided about what you want to create in your life, do not worry. There are many ways of discovering your purpose in life.
To discover what you want to create, try looking deep into your heart. Oftentimes, people are ruled by logic. People live by what they think they should be or by what others would like them to be.
The discovery process is the perfect time to listen to your heart. What your heart desires comes from the whispers of your authentic self. Your authentic self is the real you; the creator.
Listen to your heart to be able to listen to your authentic self. What your heart says usually feels right. What your heart desires is what you usually love. And what you love represents your passion, and most often your passion is what you want to create. Anything done with passion is like play where the task is accomplished without hesitation. You pour out your very best and feel no pressure or resistance. You create the creation you are passionate about.
You will totally enjoy creating things that are your passion. Setbacks, difficulties, and obstacles will arise and make it more challenging, but should not deter you from pursuing your goals.
Naturally, there may be barriers that may prevent you from reaching your goal, but your heart’s desire will find ways to overcome these barriers so that you may ultimately create what you want to create.
Remember this: the universe supports people who are pursuing their passion and those who are pursuing their destiny. The earth was created by a creator.
However, this does not mean that you don’t use your head. People are born with both the mind and heart. Your duty is to live your best life and be in harmony with your mind and heart.
The poet Rumi wisely said, “Live completely in the head and you cannot feel the breath and rhythm of life. Live completely in the heart and you may find yourself acting like a love-struck fool with poor judgment and discipline. It’s all a fine balance – the head and heart must forge a lifetime partnership if one wants to live a beautiful life.”
Listen to your inner voice. Your authentic self communicates with you and guides you via an inner voice. They are those gentle nudges that urge you to act and follow a certain path. Your role then is to listen attentively.
Often times, we listen to what others say and allow them to run our lives. Parents often do this to their children. “We come from a family of doctors, so my son must also be a doctor.” How often do we hear this from parents who have good intentions for their children?
Parents unconsciously block the true expression of their child’s real self and calling. Friends and critics will discourage you and point out the impossibility of your dream. Before heeding their advice, evaluate the accomplishments of the critics. Did they achieve theirs dreams? Do they dream big at all?
Remember, it is your destiny that is in line, not theirs. It doesn’t mean, though, that you will not listen to what other people say. Hear them out just the same. But the final decision should be yours.
There is only thing to remember: Every person, to live truly and greatly, must define how he wants to live and what his brightest life will look like. Listen to your instincts and follow your heart’s desire. You will never go wrong. Set out to create – and do so: create creations!
You Are Your Own Creation
First Things First
The first thing I want to do is define the word “Create.” Who better to do that then Webster himself.
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Merriam – Webster Dictionary |
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Main Entry: 1cre·ate |
To bring into existence.That’s it. Pretty simple really. The act of creation is to bring into existence that which was not there before. Let me explain. One day I was surfing the Internet and came across a personal web page of some internationally renowned speaker. I have searched for that same site since and cannot find it. I’m sorry that I don’t have more specific information to give you.On the site he had some downloadable snippets of some of his speeches. I downloaded and listened to many that day, but one caught my particular attention. It went something like this:(I paraphrase because I don’t have the actual)
“Have you ever seen a dog give birth to a cat? Have you ever seen an elephant give birth to a parakeet?
“God created the Heavens and the Earth and everything that in them are. And He created man in His own image. We are created in Gods image. God is a creator. We are created in His image. We are creators.”
That was pretty profound. We are all creators. Creators of what? Creators of our own lives. In fact what I am about to say I want you to never forget – YOU CANNOT NOT CREATE!
Stop and think about it. Everything you do is a creation. Everything!
With that in mind think about it. YOU CANNOT NOT CREATE! Everything you do is to bring into existence something that was not there before. Take it to its rudimentary form – the next breath you take did not exist until you created it. The thought that you are thinking did not exist until you brought it into existence. When you really think about it, everything that you do is to create.
That being the case then understand this next truth. You are the creator of your life. Believe it or not, you have been creating you from the first breath you drew as a baby. Every experience you have had since that first breath has been yours and only yours to do with as you wished. Nobody forced you to act, or react, or think the way you do. Indeed, you have had free will since that very first breath.
You are where you are, doing what you do, and thinking what you think, and being what you are because you created it that way. Whether you are happy or unhappy, rich or poor, fat or thin, successful or unsuccessful, you made it that way.
 Your assignment today is to do a simple exercise. Walk outside and yell at the top of your lungs, “Hello world, I’m (say your name) and I’m here to create the greatest day I’ve ever had!” Then go out and do it. At the end of the day get out a piece of paper, a journal, anything and write about what you created. How did it feel? What was different about it? Did you notice anything new? |
Literally, you are your own creator.
To your creations,
Michael Claridge
