Dare To Dream
I’m sincere, because many people believe in me.
I am pure, because there are many people who care about me.
I am strong, because there is much more to endure.
I’m brave, because there is still a lot of work to do.”- Howard Arnold Walter
********
FAMILY STORY
Memories take me back to 1935 in Newton,
Massachusetts.
It was a time when the country was in an economic recession,
so like everyone,
our family faced many difficulties.
The factory where my father worked for more than 30 years was forced to close,
cutting off the family’s main source of income.
Finding a new job at the time was not easy,
especially for a 57-year-old man like my father
who hadn’t graduated from high school.
Suddenly my father found himself
– a Walter Chapman with no job,
no money and no dreams!
All he had at that time was me,
his 7-year-old baby daughter,
my brother James 4 years old,
and his pregnant wife almost 20 years younger than him.
I still remember the night before Christmas
when I was in bed getting ready for bed
when I heard the doorbell ring.
Few people visit our tiny home at this hour,
so I jumped up to see who it was.
“OH! Dorothy!” my mother’s voice was full of surprise.
I looked through the gap in the door to see
who Dorothy was and saw an elderly woman
with a very elegant way of dressing and dressing.
I thought to myself that this person must be very rich.
“Katie, I don’t know how to begin the story,” she said.
“You know, my wife and I can’t have children,
so we really want to have an adopted child.
We are fully qualified to ensure the best life for a child.
I know you and Chappie have a hard time raising two older children,
so please allow us to adopt the new baby.”
She wants to take my baby?
It can not be! I felt like I was suffocating
but I still tried to stay close to the bedroom door to follow the story.
“Katie, you can still visit her often.”
Visiting? Why didn’t she visit the baby but my mother!
My parents have put the baby cot next to my bed.
I burst into tears
when I saw the empty cradle.
I love James so much,
I love to play with him,
I love brushing his blonde locks,
dressing him in my old clothes
and pretending to see him as a little girl.
I was ready for another baby,
and this woman wanted to take my brother away
before I could even hold him in my arms.
“You are right! Maybe we can’t afford to raise him.”
I heard my mother’s resolute voice.
“But if God had given us this child,
He would have found a way to help us raise it.”
They talked for a while longer,
and then Mrs. Dorothy left.
Before walking out the door,
she was still hopeful
when she turned
to my mother and said,
“Katie, when you change your mind,
let me know!
I can come pick him up at any time.”
Anytime? I thought to myself:
“From now on I have to pay attention to this!”.
On the morning of January 25, 1936,
my mother tenderly hugged me
and James and informed me that she was going
to the hospital to give birth to a baby.
I remember hugging and kissing my mom goodbye and promising her to stay home, a promise I was always forced to say when we parted.
I wanted a sister because I already have a brother but my mother gave birth to a boy.
When I heard the news from my father, I wondered if she would put the baby up for adoption because I knew she liked girls too. I decided that I had to take good care of the baby and that if Mrs. Dorothy came back I would hide her immediately.
When the parents brought the baby home, I looked at her and immediately fell in love with her. I sat next to her crib for hours and read to her stories she couldn’t understand. I also wrote poetry about her for Wee Wisdom magazine. My first work, the poem My Baby was published in the April 1936 issue. Maybe now, this poem does not make a special impression, but on the 50th anniversary. On its founding, Wee Wisdom magazine found the poem My Baby and reprinted it.
When the baby was a few days old, the parents started discussing a name for the baby. I was named after my paternal and maternal grandmothers Florence and Marcia. James was named after his grandfather and had a middle name of Walter, the same name as my father. It was clear that in the previous two namings, my mother had convinced my father, so this time he expressed a firm attitude: “I want to name you after my two best friends, Ralph and Fred”.
So my brother got his holy name Ralph Frederick Chapman. Both Uncle Ralph and Fred were childless, so they were very emotional when they found out that my father had named him after them. A few months later, with the financial support of these two friends, my father purchased the Riverside Variety store in Haverhill, Massachusetts and moved the family there.
The place we moved into was a shabby brown house with yellow decorations on the outside, and two garages in the back yard.
Inside the house was a shop stocked with sweets and cakes.
This place has become in the living room,
dining room and living room of our whole family.
Behind the store there is a small kitchen;
a tiny bedroom for all five people
and an extra free space just enough
for a couch and a piano.
The shop is so small that if we talk in the inner room,
the customers standing outside can still hear it very well.
Also, my whole family has loud voices,
so my dad made a convention
that if we were talking about someone
that walked into the store,
he would signal by singing
“Holy, Holy, Holy”.
This convention is so ingrained in my memory
that now whenever I am speaking
and suddenly hear this tune,
wherever I am,
I immediately stop by a very natural reflex.
Life at the new store proved
to be a fascinating world for Ralph
because Ralph had a certain audience every day.
From the moment he was able to speak a complete sentence,
the boy displayed an excellent sense of humor
and a precise sense of time.
Ralph quickly absorbed what I taught
and was able to repeat TV commercials accurately
with a tone so funny
that many people were willing
to spend money to hear him speak.
When the store was empty,
I took Ralph down to the auto repair shop to play,
and the repairmen also gave money
to hear him read poetry.
But when it came to school age,
Ralph’s humor caused a lot of trouble.
Not all teachers like the boy’s sometimes exaggerated sense of humour.
Some teachers even had to say in disappointment:
“Why aren’t you as smart as your siblings!”
My mother was also afraid to hear the teachers’ criticism of Ralph,
so I had to replace her at parent-teacher conferences.
And when I go home and tell my mother,
I usually hide Ralph’s mischief.
When Ralph entered high school,
my mother had to help him many times with literary essays.
Latin and algebra were equally tormenting for Ralph.
I still remember the time she was trying
to solve a math problem
that required calculating the ratio of tons of Colombian coffee
to Brazilian coffee in the mix.
Ralph looked at his mother and said,
“The only way you can do this math is to call and order two tons of coffee,
pour it all out in front of the store,
mix it up,
and we’ll take out a big spoon to measure it.”
That time, my mother,
who had no sense of humor in her mind,
couldn’t help but laugh.
My brother spends most of his time listening
to the radio and learning the lyrics
to songs that are popular at the time.
Ralph saves money to buy Spike Jones discs.
Soon she was able to sing all of Spike’s songs
and became a favorite at local concerts.
Together, my sister and I saved up to buy an old tape recorder,
and Ralph started recording his own music
Ralph asked a friend to accompany him on the piano
to record the song Mule Train
and take the disc to local radio station WHAV in hopes of playing his song.
We couldn’t believe at the time
that this radio station could agree to play a home-made record
and make it famous.
But Ralph’s hope came true.
When Ralph was in high school,
I became a teacher and taught at his school.
Every day, we still go to school together and come back home.
I have always cared about Ralph as his mother, sister and teacher.
I still often share all the experiences
and knowledge I have learned with Ralph.
The two of us are considered a close couple
and are often invited to parties.
Our presence makes the party atmosphere more lively.
We keep up to date with news on the world situation
and prepare some ideas for hot topics.
Then we waited until someone brought up these topics
and started discussing them.
This “prepared outburst” makes us the soul of all the fun.
Perhaps the only thing Ralph showed interest in at school were bands and choirs.
I learned to play the trumpet and practice my voice.
Her natural talent has made her an excellent student in both areas.
But Ralph still didn’t stop his mischief.
When the band is out of action,
all instruments are stored in a locked barn and chained fence around.
The instrument store was located near
where I taught and Ralph was given the keys to the store.
When she saw that no one was nearby,
she opened the door
and arranged the tuba
so that the mouth of the trumpet poked out of the hole in the fence.
When class started, she approached the storeroom
and smacked the trumpet hard.
When the teacher in the school heard the sound of the trumpet
and ran to find the vandal,
only to find the instrument store was empty and still locked.
No one understood how the trumpet could sound on its own in that locked vault.
The school’s teacher council met
and agreed to assign a teacher the task of guarding the door
of the instrument store all day.
But the trumpet still sounded.
After many searches for the culprit unsuccessful,
the teacher was forced to refuse the job.
Ralph’s next trick is to turn the typing class into a band.
Before class started, Ralph informed the new students
to type the song that Ralph had chosen.
When the teacher entered the classroom
and gave the class a typing assignment,
all eyes turned to Ralph.
When Ralph nodded his head as a signal,
the class typed in the lyrics of their chosen song.
Alexander’s Ragtime Band is a favorite typewriter
because the bell rings at the end of each line,
and Jingle Bells is the most popular Christmas song.
In order for her not to fail in this subject,
I had to promise the class teacher that Ralph would stop typing songs
and that I would never allow him to do his typing assignments
without him by teacher consent.
It is impossible not to mention the gardening movement
also in high school of Ralph.
Students who participate in gardening each summer
will receive a quarter of an activity achievement point.
To get this 1/4 point,
each student must plant his or her own garden,
make detailed notes on the time of sowing and harvest,
and submit a report at the start of the new school year along
with a sample of the product.
Ralph signed up for the movement
to get extra grades for his final graduation.
However, during all three summers,
I did not plant any trees.
Every new school year, my brother
and I had to run to Mrs. Lil’s garden
and buy everything in the garden.
Then I wrote her a report on the time of sowing,
germination
and growth and attached it to the basket of produce
she brought to the teacher.
If he didn’t have a quarter of the points in gardening,
Ralph probably wouldn’t have graduated
from high school.
On graduation day,
while sitting in the parent seat,
my mother whispered:
“We should have received our diplomas today.
We’ve done almost everything for Ralph!”
Yes, Mom and I did most of the work,
but it was Ralph who was able to convince us to do it.
At that time, my mother
and I never thought that Ralph would be as successful
as he is today because my mother was always afraid:
“If he still doesn’t take it seriously
and really work in the future,
maybe his life will be different,
can’t go anywhere.”
By the time he was a college student,
Ralph had collaborated with WHAV in reading
the news and doing live product broadcasts.
Ralph also gets the privilege
of doing his own fifteen-minute show twice a week.
Every morning, I turn on the radio
to listen to Boston’s WBZ-AM Carl de Suez.
Carl is a famous and beloved figure in England.
Ralph quickly followed suit
and soon he was able to sing all of Carl’s songs on the air.
Ralph admires Carl because:
“He is the source of my motivation
to wake up early every day.
To him, it seems
that every morning is a great start to a new day.
Carl makes me feel comfortable
and excited to work.”
Since then, Ralph has woken up early
to listen to Carl’s program,
to start a new day full of vitality
and to feel the meaning of life.
And with her outstanding musical ability,
sharp thinking
and exceptional sense of humour,
she accomplished many things
that no one in our family had ever thought of.
********
THE SOURCE OF DREAMS
We do not always find the right environment
to nurture and nurture our dreams.
Sometimes dreams are dominated
by past prejudices and obsessions.
Some people believe
that they will never do anything great
because their parents often comment on them like that.
Others are embarrassed by their lack of education
or their own shortcomings,
so they consider themselves not qualified to succeed.
Some people achieve their goals
and earn a lot of money,
but deep down they still feel dissatisfied
with themselves.
Surely any of us have asked many times,
“Who am I really
and what place do I have in this life?”,
but not everyone can find a clear
and satisfying answer.
So, from now on,
let’s boldly step out of the rut of previous judgments
and prejudices to start a new journey ahead.
The starting point for all the good things in the future is
to dare to dream.
Yes, it’s always easier to rest than to try,
it’s always easier to give up than to hold on.
But if we wait passively until the road
to success is completely opened in front of us,
perhaps our whole life will be sitting on the swing
in front of the house.
Imagine you are standing on the deck of a ship,
watching the vast ocean
and sunny blue sky in a completely free mind.
You can feel the sweet scent of the success flower,
but if you want to pick them,
you have to leave your place
and suffer the pain of its sharp thorns.
As a result, some people would rather sit in place
to relax than get up and move.
Others are content with it’s more relative
than trying to get the best.
They want to be in a safe position rather than risk their dreams.
Some people even think that there is no need to dream
because fate has arranged everything.
This book won’t teach you
how to achieve financial success,
but rather encourages you to get up
and off the swing
in front of your house.
No matter who you are,
your personality,
your background and social status,
you can find your own image in these life stories.
Don’t sit on the swing any longer!
Don’t stuff your dreams in your pillow and oversleep!
Do not hesitate,
hesitate only
because of stagnation and indecision!
I want to encourage you to step out of the gate boldly.
Keep going and go straight to the starting line!
********
GOING TO THE STARTING LINE
Dreams direct you to something new and different from reality.
Dreams help you nurture your desire
to go beyond the ordinary.
Dreams bring you creative joy
and many interesting things in life.
But above all, you have to be the one
to decide your dream.
Change the habit of living depending on the guidance
and advice of others
to define your own dreams for your life.
I know many people who one day wake up
with a burning desire in their hearts.
Immediately, they realized their true dream
and determined
to make it to the end to become successful
and famous people.
What about you,
what fire of desire is burning in your heart?
Do you feel your enthusiasm boiling hot
when you think about your dreams?
The time has come for you
to awaken the will to live
and the dreams that may have been dormant in your soul
for a long time.
But where is the starting point?
How can dreams be identified?
********
FROM THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE AROUND THEIR
In the process of growing up and self-improvement,
I have constantly received many good things by reading books
or directly chatting with people around.
Each person has a different world of work,
thinking,
and life attitude,
but I find that as long as you listen
and ask questions at the right time,
you will discover many valuable things for yourself.
********
Accept the challenge
Right in the first conversation with John Smart sales manager
of an Australian food company,
I highly appreciated his ability.
John attracts the opposite person with expressive eyes,
friendly gaze and attractive way of talking.
He grew up under the stereotype
that he would never be successful.
After a failed business trip that plunged him into despair,
he met an important woman
who not only helped him
become Australia’s best salesman,
but also helped him become more confident about his business. myself.
John made me curious to learn about the special woman
who changed his life
and how she helped him
from the abyss of discouragement
and despair to the heights of success and glory.
And John was moved to tell me about Rosemary Moore,
the woman who never accepted the answer “no”.
*************
Do not accept the answer “No”
Rosemary is an Australian of the sixth generation
of the first people to immigrate
to Australia. Samuel Pratt Winter,
her paternal ancestor,
at the age of 14 left Ireland for Australia,
settling in a valley near the border
between Portland and Wannon River,
Victoria. Samuel Winter Cooke, his grandson,
has been one of Australia’s members of Parliament since its inception.
Rosemary’s maternal ancestors were Scottish immigrants
to the state of New South Wales,
among them John Robertson,
who later became governor of New South Wales.
Rosemary is the descendant of those
who dared to dream and succeeded,
who were undaunted by hearing other people’s objections:
“That dream can’t be fulfilled”.
Rosemary has inherited that strong-willed unafraid of failure
from her family tradition.
At the age of 40, Rosemary is not really satisfied with her life.
She wanted to do something different for the rest of her life.
When she saw an advertisement
for a teacher job posted in the newspaper,
she immediately called to apply.
But in fact, this was an advertisement
to recruit employees
to sell encyclopedias,
so she didn’t pay much attention.
Everything would have been forgotten if Michael,
her husband, hadn’t told her this was beyond her ability
and advised her not to try.
This would seem to discourage Rosemary,
but in fact, this is exactly what Rosemary,
with her family’s hereditary rebellious personality,
desperately needs to hear.
She felt she was being “challenged”
and replied to her husband:
“But I still want to try!”.
Rosemary’s first customers were her friends,
who bought the dictionary
without hearing any advertising.
This continued until one day,
one of her friends suddenly said,
“If you can’t convince yourself
that this is a useful dictionary,
sorry, I won’t buy it.”
This put Rosemary in a position of real work,
and she began to use arguments
to convince customers to buy the product.
Her business ability has been recognized
by everyone when sales are increasing day by day.
This made her more confident in herself.
**************
The value of success
Rosemary went directly to her boss for advice,
so she could increase sales.
The answer she received was:
“Knock on the door door to door,
but you probably can’t do this.”
At first, Rosemary also thought that knocking door
to door was too much for her.
But when she got to the parking lot,
her genetic pioneer blood was suddenly aroused.
She wanted to prove that her boss had misjudged her.
Rosemary ran 70 flights of stairs back to her boss’s office to ask,
“Why do you think I can’t sell direct?”
The answer Rosemary received was a challenge
to learn about the art of “knocking door to door” sales.
Returning home,
Rosemary called her father
and asked for his opinion,
who said,
“You should only consider your own opinion.
Don’t be led by other people’s opinions.
Your ancestors knocked on the door of this Australian continent.
I don’t see any reason
why you can’t afford to knock door to door to sell.”
With that encouragement,
Rosemary broke the sales records
of Australia and the world for Encyclopedia products.
Rosemary later observed,
“To be successful,
you have to keep your mind off of surrender-minded people.
Walt Disney often brings new ideas to his friends.
If there are many objections,
Disney will pursue that idea to the end.
Sometimes the criticism is the motivation
to make you more determined towards your goals.”
Rosemary says that in sales,
success depends on knowing how to “forget yourself
to help others achieve their goals.”
At the same time,
you must also know
how to maintain determination
because the spirit of determination
will help you to keep trying to reach your goal
even when the desire subsides.
However, victory is not always the goal
and should not be exchanged with life values
such as human relations,
the reputation of oneself
and the company that you are attached to
because according to Rosemary:
“The pain of losing those values will last longer than the taste of victory.”
***********
Finding balance
“The secret of success is achieving balance.
Success must begin, sustain,
and end with an attitude that stimulates creativity and activity.
To be successful you must have a dream,
must concretize that dream into a goal,
and then must strive to pursue those goals.
You must always look at the goal
to stay awake before obstacles and challenges.
And once you’ve achieved your goal,
share your experience with everyone.”
Rosemary did these things.
She has encouraged many people like John Smarts,
helped them get up after their failures
and helped them knock on the door of success.
Remember when someone told you you couldn’t do something?
I guess your reaction at the time was extremely angry, annoyed.
So from now on,
every time you hear these negative words,
try to suppress your emotions
to see them as challenges for yourself
and dare to dream to change it.
If you don’t try, you will never know the answer
to the question people are asking you.
Live like Rosemary:
ready to knock when necessary,
ready to re-plan your life at an age
when most people are afraid of change.
Rosemary has made a lot of money,
but her real destination is not financial wealth but self-worth
and finding meaning in life.
Many people often equate success with wealth,
but wealth is sometimes just a means
to your dreams.
What matters is whether your dreams make a difference to your life.
*********
Review your current job
Sometimes you should also objectively review your current work.
Are you still enjoying your job?
Does work make you feel excited every morning when you wake up?
Does the job choose you
or do you choose the job?
Some people choose careers according to family expectations
or social trends that ignore their own desires and abilities.
And not everyone has the courage
to realize that the work they are doing is not really suitable
to start pursuing their own passions.
Rod’s first job was as a postman delivering mail.
After a few years of hard work,
he was promoted to postal branch manager,
but for some reason Rod always felt tired
when he had to go to work every day.
He really did not find anything interesting in a job
that has helped him
to have the stable life that many people desire.
He struggled with this mood for a long time
until he decided to quit his job after 12 years of working bundle
to switch to work for a design company.
The long-sleeping creative dream has been awakened
by him to sublimate into unique
and different designs,
satisfying all customer requirements.
Rod feels his life has become more meaningful and valuable.
Maybe like Rod, it’s time for a change!
************
Soon wake up the dream
The sooner you realize your dream,
the more conditions
and opportunities you have to change your life.
Robert C. Davis has been planning his future since high school.
In addition to school,
Robert also helps his father run a mobile home business in Brunswick, Maine.
Since the customers were all adults
of the same age as his parents,
he decided to sign up for the Dale Carnegie course,
a course on the art of living and behaving in social relationships.
Robert believes this course will help him understand human psychology,
be able to convince and win more customers.
As a result, after taking this class,
Robert’s sales revenue doubled.
While attending Bates College,
Robert constantly introduced the Dale Carnegie course
and urged everyone to enroll.
This completely voluntary act gave him the opportunity
to become a marketer for the course.
At the age of 21,
Robert was the youngest lecturer
in the Dale Carnegie Foundation’s global network
while he was still in college.
His ability to work is amazing.
It only takes him a short time
to complete tasks that others sometimes have to tackle for years.
His determination to be the best
and most versatile has helped him continuously advance
in his career.
At the age of 22,
Robert was granted a work permit in Maine and later
in all of Vermont and parts of New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
*************
Efforts to work
More than 10 years later, when talking to me,
Robert concluded that the secret of his success
is his passion for teaching,
concern for people’s needs
and always following the work of the lecturers under control.
He directly calls large companies
to market and directly train new employees.
He always takes every opportunity
to apply the knowledge he has learned.
Robert proudly took me on a tour of the new offices
and classrooms he built himself.
On the wall are many certificates of merit stating
that he is a member of the Board of Directors
because the branch of the company
he is in charge of has exceeded the operating target by 150%.
He has also received a Presidential Commendation for his effective curriculum
and high graduation rate.
Furthermore, within 5 years,
Robert’s company grew
from 4 employees to 55 faculty members,
22 full-time representatives and 3 administrative staff.
“One of the keys to success is to work hard
and always maintain a positive attitude,” says Robert.
Every morning
when I wake up, I say to myself,
‘Today is going to be a great day,’
and make a mental outline of what to do that day.”
I further asked,
“Did the Dale Carnegie class change your personality?”
“Changed a lot!” he replied.
“I used to be very upset with my subordinates
whenever they did something wrong,
but now I understand and support them more.”
Objectively,
Robert’s secret to success is not new to many people,
but it is important that he always strictly adheres
to those principles in all areas of life.
********
CREATIVITY IS ALWAYS IN ALL OF US
We often think of “creation”
as a privileged phrase reserved for the arts.
Many people have expressed sadness
when telling me
that they are not creative with the implication
that they cannot become artists,
singers or writers.
It is true that only people
with a natural talent can work in the field of art,
but we are all born with the ability
to think creatively.
The world of childhood is the place
that reflects creativity most clearly.
All of us have spent our childhoods filled with creative mischief,
but what stops those creative abilities?
Who puts all our novel ideas in a little box and says,
“You can only think within this box!”?
I still remember when Marita’s teacher our daughter,
called to tell me that Marita had colored my hair purple
during family drawing class.
The teacher explained this incident from a psychological perspective
and asked Marita to fix my hair to brown as it really is.
But when I asked Marita,
her answer was simple:
“Because I forgot to bring brown pencils to class!”.
We often say,
“Because of you,
my dream has gone up in smoke!”
or “You made me lose my inspiration!”.
Sometimes these words are an excuse
for us to justify not pursuing our goals
to the end or to explain a decrease in enthusiasm for work.
But in many schools in the case,
the dream is indeed “blossomed”
by creativity that has not been accepted.
I remember the story of Daryl,
a friend of my daughter.
When Daryl was in 6th grade,
he wrote a poem for his English class.
Daryl finished the poem with great joy
when he discovered he had the ability to compose.
Daryl proudly passed the poem on to his classmates
and waited impatiently for the teacher’s comment.
However, the poem received a very poor score.
Extremely sad and surprised,
Daryl gathered up the courage
to go to her teacher to ask
why and was explained
that because the poem was so excellent,
she assumed that Daryl had copied it from somewhere.
Daryl confided in me:
“I have never copied anyone’s work before.
It was a poem I composed myself,
but the teacher still wouldn’t believe it.
At that time, I didn’t object to the teacher,
so maybe the teacher thought
that I had admitted my mistake.”
Since then, however,
I know Daryl could no longer love her
and lose her inspiration to write for many years afterward.
********
Imagine when you are about to take a shower.
When the water is not turned on,
the tub is empty and you feel a bit cold.
You will start to feel warme
r when you turn on the water
and adjust the temperature accordingly.
Bathtubs become more attractive
when you add a little foaming soap to the water.
The gentle scent spreading will make you feel excited,
but the best thing is
still watching the soap bubbles grow.
rom tiny bubbles,
they grow into a mountain of large bubbles.
The stronger the water,
the bigger the bubbles.
Then we add a few drops of aromatic essential oil.
At this point, it’s hard to resist a relaxing dip in the water.
But what if you just stepped into the bath
and the phone rang again?
At first you may pretend you didn’t hear,
but then the bell keeps ringing,
forcing you to leave the warm soap bubbles for a moment.
When you finished answering the phone,
you were just about to step into the bathroom
when the doorbell rang again.
After receiving the bills,
you still want to shower
but look at the clock,
it’s time to prepare dinner for the family.
When everything is done,
you return to the bath,
the water has cooled,
the soap bubbles have melted,
and the seductive fragrance is gone.
But that doesn’t mean it’s all over.
When you turn the water on again,
under the pressure of the water,
new bubbles begin to appear.
The water warms up again.
You will continue to enjoy the warm,
fragrant water.
Our creativity is similar to those soap bubbles,
if it is suppressed or neglected,
it will gradually die;
but if nurtured in a favorable environment it will bear fruit.
The greater the encouragement,
the more creativity is developed.
What if we don’t stir up the water,
don’t cultivate soap bubbles?
After a while, those bubbles will disappear
and we are left with a tub full of cold water
with a few tiny bubbles scattered here and there.
But don’t be disappointed.
You can still open the faucet again,
you can still make the bubbles appear again.
They may not be as large and numerous as before,
but they will definitely come back again.
When you were a child,
were your creative ideas encouraged
and allowed to express themselves to their fullest?
Or are you laughed at, prevented
from letting the bubbles of your dreams disappear?
I want to help you bring those dream bubbles back to life.
I want to say to you: “Dare to dream”.
********
CARE OF YOUR ASPIRATIONS
Dreams can only be realized when they come from their own aspirations,
without any influence from family or other social influences.
Do you have a strong urge to get things done, but feel it’s unrealistic
or inconsistent with family expectations or traditions?
I published my first book Silver Boxes:
The Gift of Encouragement
when I was almost 50 years old with the desire
to give people hope that
“Never is too much. too late to dream”.
I have received many letters and phone calls
from readers with the content mostly:
“If I had heard even one word of encouragement before,
maybe my life would be completely different”.
Indeed, in each of us, everyone has a potential aspiration
but has not yet met a good land
and suitable conditions for sprouting.
From an early age,
Carolyne was interested in painting
and dreamed of becoming an artist.
However, everyone in the family believed
that this profession could not guarantee a living,
so they encouraged her to study another profession.
The day before she graduated from law school,
her father died suddenly in an accident.
Carolyne’s life momentarily went off balance.
In addition to the pain of losing an important spiritual fulcrum,
she also feels that life is meaningless
when looking to the future of her career.
She became self-contained own sadness.
Then Carolyne joined the church activities in the hope
that the grief would quickly subside
and she would find meaning in life.
The Sunday class administrator discovered Carolyne’s talent
for drawing by accident
when she asked her to draw some illustrations for kindergarten.
When she was given the task of painting, she felt elated.
From this initial step,
she has officially joined the teaching group of kindergarten students.
Carolyne later recalled:
“I had been teaching for 12 years and I loved it.
Not only do I get to do the job that’s right for me,
but I can also help them explore the world through colorful pictures.
I am constantly improving my expertise and recently,
I received a master’s degree in illustrating children’s books.”
Carolyne’s career direction has been deviated
from her own dream trajectory
for a long time as she tries
to fulfill her family’s dream.
But Carolyne has finally returned to herself.
********
On a flight back home from South Carolina,
I sat near Sylvia, a pediatrician.
When I was absorbed in writing,
Sylvia started a story
and I told her about my book.
After listening to me summarize the content
of this book Dare to Dream,
she said, “You know,
I am the result of a dream”
and talked to me about her family.
Sylvia was born into a family
whose parents were both immigrants
to the US after World War II. Her father is Latvian,
and her mother is Dutch.
Her parents’ new life began in Grand Rapids, Michigan,
where the Dutch community lives.
The two tried to learn a new language
and accepted any job for a living.
When Sylvia was born,
both were determined to do everything
to ensure a better life for her,
so that she wouldn’t have to live the same miserable days
as her parents.
Both of them give her the highest attention
with the hope that she will become a doctor,
a dream that her mother had to give up midway
due to the difficulties of life.
They live extremely frugally
to afford Sylvia’s college
and university education.
After completing her internship,
she got a job at a large hospital in Albermarle,
North Carolina.
Sylvia succeeded as her parents wanted.
She is the result of their dreams.
A few years later, I received a letter from Sylvia.
In the letter, she wrote that after talking with me,
she realized that the stable
and peaceful life she is living
is actually the dream of her parents.
For her, it was boring
and lacked interesting things.
Looking back, she realized that her true desire was
to try her hand at business.
And I felt the excitement
and excitement in the letter
when she boasted that she had succeeded
with a chain of fresh flower shops.
Surely many of us, like Carolyne, like Sylvia,
are busy chasing after other people’s dreams.
It’s time to define our own dreams.
********
Have you ever realized that the tongue has great power? “The boneless tongue has many twists and turns” is indeed a completely accurate statement. The tongue can say positive things, encouraging us to have more strength and faith. But it is also the tongue that utters words full of negative connotations, making us quickly discouraged and give up. The tongue can make us criminals, but it can also make us a hero in the eyes of others.
Therefore, be careful with your every word. Especially for children, your words can break their dreams or, conversely, help them maximize their creativity!
When my brother Jim was serving as a pastor in the Air Force Academy,
he encountered a situation similar to the one in the 1989 Oscar-winning film Dead Poets Society,
directed by Peter Weir.
If anyone has ever seen this movie
and heard Jim talk about the situation he was in,
they will think that it is two stories of the same author.
An academy student came
to Jim about his intention to leave school.
He wishes to enter the School of Humanities and Social Sciences
but does not know how to leave the academy.
Through the story,
Jim learns that his father is an Air Force colonel
and this colonel has predetermined the future
for his son to attend the Air Force Academy.
He has fully prepared all conditions for his son
to realize the dream not of himself
but of his father!
Returning home for Christmas,
the student confessed to his father his intention to drop out of school.
His father got angry,
insisted that it was Pastor Jim
who had stuffed his son with this crazy idea,
and then forced him to return to the academy.
He scolded the boy for being a failure,
someone who didn’t do anything and said,
“If my friends knew that you didn’t make it through the academy,
what would they think of me?”.
The student quietly returned to the school, telling Jim the outcome of the conversation between his father and son and then went to the school to practice shooting and drawing a suicide gun. A sad ending and worth thinking about.
Tom Hopkins is currently one of America’s most famous personalities.
He is both a successful sales professional and a motivational speaker.
There would not be a famous Tom Hopkins like today
if he accepted to follow the path that his parents set for him to become a lawyer.
I first met Tom at a conference of excellent speakers.
Tom made a deep first impression on me by his fluency and persuasion.
When we became close,
Tom told me: “My father had only one burning dream all his life,
to see me become a famous lawyer.
So my parents tried to save money to send me, their eldest son, to a famous law school.
But after only three months of admission was enough for me to realize that this is not the right place for me.
I decided to drop out of school and go back home!
My father was extremely disappointed that I had broken the dream he had cherished about me for the past 15 years.
Once, unable to contain his emotions, he came into my room and said,
‘Tommy, your parents have sacrificed a lot to get you into college.
We want you to know that we will always love you, even though you will never be able to do anything as well as we want you to.”
In fact, Tom felt extremely guilty for upsetting his parents. He added: “I hate the feeling that I am the cause of my parents’ grief. I realized that the conversation with my parents that day was the first “speech” about encouragement in my life. From that day on, I was determined to pursue my own dream to be able to do something that not only matches my own wishes but most importantly, so that my parents can be proud of me again.
Later, when I was successful and made a certain name in the field of sales, I decided to share my experience with others.
As a speaker, I have had the opportunity to help hundreds of thousands of people succeed by encouraging people to define and nurture their own dreams and teaching them how to make them come true.”
Every time I interact with Tom, I feel more love and respect for him. He always wanted to help others to the best of his ability. In addition, I have found Tom to be eager to learn and discover new insights when he is ready to take the time to attend my lectures. Not everyone in Tom’s position can do this. Tom has really done “a great job” because he “dared to dream”, dared to follow his own aspirations!
********
INTERESTED IN YOUR CAPABILITIES AND EXPERIENCE
What job or task can you complete best? What areas are you really interested in and have had success in? Have you discovered your remarkable gift?
When my business encountered many difficulties,
I thought of teaching to earn extra income to cover my life.
This decision proved to be very reasonable
because I used to major in pedagogy;
but at that time I was 45 years old,
an age that was no longer agile enough to adapt to the dynamic pedagogical environment.
While pondering,
I remembered the times
when I volunteered to give lectures on human personality
and once held classes on marriage at home.
I decided to build a new business based on my speaking skills.
Within the first few months,
the number of registrations asking me
to speak increased.
After that, I focused on studying and reading books
to further develop my speaking skills
and improve my reputation.
I also started writing books and expanded on many new presentation topics.
In 1985, my husband transferred his business to have time to assist me in managing branches and opening more travel agencies. You have become my best companion! I truly believe that I made the right career move when I followed my aptitude and experience even though it was quite late – when I was halfway through my life.
********
Are your current interests and successes clouding your true desires?
Do you ever feel elated and really satisfied when you’ve accomplished something?
Surely everyone knows the name of director Ron Howard,
famous director of hit movies like A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13,
The Da Vinci Code,…
I knew Ron when he was a boy. Baby lip-syncing in the theater group “The Music Man” in the waiting room of the Wells Fargo train.
I was impressed with Ron through his role as Opie Taylor on the Andy Griffith Show,
and then as Richie Cunningham in the Happy Days series.
Ron has been in television since he was two years old when Baltimore Studios produced The Seven Years Itch.
By the age of 10, he had captured head to become a famous star.
When he entered high school, in addition to acting,
Ron also learned how to make films.
He has won second prize in the Eastman Kodak national photo contest.
After graduating from high school, Ron was accepted into the USC School of Film Production.
But Ron’s education was interrupted when he starred in the movie American Graffiti, causing USC to refuse to grant him a diploma. This was a huge shock, but Ron did not allow it to extinguish his dreams or hinder his progress towards his goals.
Some people are often content with themselves when they have reached a certain milestone of success.
As for Ron, even though he has become a famous TV star,
the destination of anyone doing art, Ron is still learning.
He doesn’t want to just stop at ordinary roles,
but wants to use his creativity in directing and encouraging people around him.
The films Grand Theft Auto,
Splash, Cocoon, Willow and Parenthood were ranked and well received by the public.
Ron is particularly interested in the television business.
The experience he gained from participating in television shows and the knowledge he gained in film school were important steps in preparing to realize his dream of becoming a film and television director. The characters of Opie Taylor and Richie Cunningham in the past have gradually matured according to the development and success of Ron Howard.
********
Billy Joel, a famous American music artist, comes from a poor family. Even so, he is still confident when he thinks that it is not necessary to have a high education background to compose music. From a young age, Billy showed his intense passion for music. At the age of 4, he began to get acquainted with the first piano keys. His mother created conditions for him to learn the piano in the right way, but at the age of 11, Billy dropped out because he didn’t want to be confined to the fixed music of the books but wanted to be free to create his own.
During his high school years, Billy’s education was always interrupted. Because he plays in a band, he often comes home very late, sometimes until the next morning, so he can’t go to class. The mother was deeply saddened and disappointed that Billy did not graduate from high school; more than that, no one believed that Billy could make a living from music.
Under pressure and prejudice from his family, Billy begins to believe that everyone is right and gradually falls into a state of despair.
At the age of 20, he tried to commit suicide but failed. The three-week stay in the hospital bed and constantly witnessing life-threatening illnesses helped him re-examine himself, understand the preciousness of life, and strengthen his will to overcome his feelings of self-doubt. hurt yourself.
After recovering from psychological trauma,
Billy Joey played the piano at a bar for a living and his debut album Piano man was born during that period. The single quickly reached the top 20 of the charts.
From this milestone,
Billy has gradually realized his dream of becoming a famous artist.
Even so, when he reached the peak of the glory of musical art,
there was still a desire in Billy to learn and study history.
And he found that by studying on his own,
he was able to absorb the subject more effectively than when it was a compulsory subject in school.
By the age of 40, Billy still aspires to become a history teacher.
However, there are times when he feels that his dreams are not realistic.
Isn’t Billy realistic? Indeed, it is his passion for history that inspires
and creates valuable material for his heart-wrenching compositions.
Moreover, he has understood more about the meaning of life
and knows how to treat people better.
“I am a living proof that self-destruction is stupid,” Billy said.
Don’t wallow in despair because things will get better eventually.
What I have learned from this life is forgiveness
– forgive others and forgive yourself.
Must know how to get up from failure instead
of letting failure knock you down and never give up or falter in the face of difficulties and challenges!”.
********
Roddy McDowell began his acting career at the age of 10.
For Roddy, acting in front of the camera is an ingrained passion.
But an integral part of Roddy’s life is his position behind the camera.
While still in school,
Roddy was very interested in taking pictures of his friends,
who later became famous Hollywood names such as Elizabeth Taylor,
Judy Garland, Judy Holliday, Maureen O’Hara…
At the age of 60, Roddy has just officially entered the field of photography and feels “regret” when entering this industry too late.
However, he took advantage of his talent and turned it into a very successful business when he published 5 books on the art of photography.
********
How about you? What talents and abilities do you have? Will these
Does it help your dream? Maybe, they will help your dream “flower”
with a formal job like the case of singer Billy Joey.
Maybe your dream will be fulfilled by a side job like the case of actor Roddy McDowell.
True success is not measured by the material value you receive
but by the satisfaction you can feel from your favorite work!
********
FIND HOW TO MEET YOUR NEEDS
During a celebrity live show, I was quite impressed with a woman’s business.
Her company is successful with the service of performing odd
but essential jobs for every family such as buying food from the daily menu,
taking clothes to the laundromat, sending mail,
calling a plumber.
When asked why she chose this rather special service,
she confided that in a quarrel with her husband,
she had the opportunity to look at herself.
In recent times, she has almost abandoned family affairs
to her husband and children to focus on work and business opportunities.
She hardly has any time to take care of herself and her family.
When she got home, she was almost exhausted,
unable to do anything more.
The family atmosphere became increasingly tense and heavy.
When she realized it was time for a change,
she decided to quit her job
to strengthen her family.
After a while, she found that more and more women were in the same situation
as she was before.
So she thought of a new type of business,
a service that meets the daily necessities of every family.
With this new job,
she can not only be flexible in terms of time,
but also have extra income.
Not only her, but many women have balanced family
and social problems when using her services.
********
Have you ever thought that your dream is unreal?
Worried that others will laugh at your dreams?
Believe:
“Nothing is impossible if you dare to dream!”.
From a young age, Bobby Griffin was always considered a failure
and could not do anything. At the age of 17,
Bobby decided to drop out of school and join the army to fight in Korea.
During a battle, he was injured and forced to return home
with a body full of scars and negative memories of his family and life.
In addition, he did not have any professional career to start a new life.
Bobby was only 21 years old then.
Who would have thought that at that time he dared to dream of becoming a millionaire?
In 1959, Bobby and his wife won a trip to Sarasota, Florida.
When he and his wife had just stepped
into the front seat of a car that they had long wanted
but could not afford, the driver quickly said,
“Please wipe the sand off your shoes!”.
While the two were confused and embarrassed,
the driver placed a cover on the floor of the car
to protect the carpet from getting dirty.
The idea of designing a disposable carpet was born at that moment!
The product will help customers avoid embarrassment like the situation Bobby
and his wife just experienced.
Thinking about doing it,
Bobby sketched out a detailed plan
and went to banks to apply for a loan for this business.
But contrary to the initial optimism,
every bank refused to lend;
only one bank agreed to discuss Bobby’s business idea
at the banks’ annual loan conference.
There, the bankers agreed to lend Bob money
because they saw the possibility of profit from advertising.
Before long, Bob was receiving orders for doormats from all over America.
Business quickly progressed and the list of America’s millionaires was named Bobby Griffin.
What was Bobby Griffin’s journey to success like?
He cherished a dream,
believed in that dream.
It was his belief that helped him overcome all obstacles
in terms of his situation and education level to pursue his goal.
Bobby shares his life story to many people so that they understand
that anyone can achieve their own dreams,
just need foresight,
determination, patience,
curiosity and aspiration.
Make your dreams strong enough against setbacks,
rejections,
your own incompetence, or any other hindrance.
********
We need to make a clear distinction
between the two concepts “dreaming” and “dreaming”.
When you “dream,” you direct your mind
to good things but far away, impractical.
But when you “dream,”
you think about possibilities in the future,
considering your own resources and abilities.
“Dream” is just an instant walk, only “dream” will bring you
to your destination when you know
how to prepare carefully and work hard.
Sometimes in order for your dream to succeed,
you have to dare to change things that are inherently stable
and sustainable such as family,
career, place to live,… Such is the case of Jesse Grover Bell,
employee sells cosmetics he produces in the state of Kansas.
Once he read a article states that Cleveland,
Ohio is the most densely populated place in the United States.
He researched further and discovered
that most of the high-grossing salespeople were working in Cleveland.
Knowing this, Jesse decided to move his entire family of five to Cleveland.
The time was 1927. Jesse was convinced that his cosmetics would succeed
when marketed in a market as densely populated as Cleveland.
Today, Bonne Bell products with Ten-O-Six lotion have become familiar
and popular with many people;
but at the time,
the idea of producing a special lotion by Bonne Bell was extremely new.
Jesse was ahead of everyone
when he knew how to spend most of his time reading books,
researching documents to prepare for the realization of his dream.
At first, Jesse still sold directly.
But in the following years, when Jesse’s son was fit enough to run the business,
Jesse began turning to indirect selling through product consignment at drug stores.
His goal is to direct Bonne Bell to become “a cosmetics for girls”.
To make more and more people aware of his products,
he applied the gift of products to use samples,
founded clubs for girls with the aim of attracting girls to come to the pharmacy to buy your cosmetics.
During this time, Bonne Bell also increased the organization of advertising campaigns
in magazines for girls. In the mid-1950s,
with the growth of the teen cosmetics market,
Bonne Bell was more profitable than ever.
The Jesse family’s tradition of dare to dream passed
from one generation of Jesse Grove Bell to the next – his son Jess.
The 60s were the decade when the fitness movement flourished.
The fact that people are increasingly interested in sports is the motivation
for Jess to come up with a fruit-flavored lip balm for healthy and active young women,
while other cosmetic brands remain loyal
to products for women for middle age.
Things were going well until the ’70s when Jess nearly lost
both the family and the business his father
and he had worked
so hard to build by diving into binge drinking.
However, he was still awake enough to realize
that if he didn’t change,
he would lose everything.
In 1972, he gave up alcohol and started jogging to maintain his health.
His marriage and business were gradually saved.
Realizing these changes had made his personal life more positive,
Jesse started a movement to give cash rewards to employees who jogged
or walked in the morning before going to work at a low rate. 50 cents a mile.
Within 6 months, employees who quit smoking will receive a bonus of $250,
and employees who lose body weight will receive a bonus of $5 for each kilogram of weight loss. This has yielded very good results.
More than 60% of Bonne Bell employees have participated in this fitness program.
Bonne Bell believes in sharing her successful dream with everyone.
Jesse and his son envisioned success by daring to dream,
and identified success by preparing for the realization of their dreams.
They succeeded because they knew how to fix their dreams.
And in the end, their success was multiplied
because they knew how to share their dream with all employees of Bonne Bell company and as they wished,
the shared dream brought results. really great!
********
People who dare to dream are those who dare to venture into new areas
that others are afraid of. Such was the case with Paul Hogan,
the Australian film star in the film Crocodile Dundee. Since childhood,
Paul Hogan dreamed of appearing on television.
In less than a decade,
Paul Hogan and his collaborator,
John Cornell changed the rules in the field of freelance drama production.
Both felt the need to change the quality, diversity
and creativity of Australian television.
To satisfy this need, they dared to set up their own company,
against the advice of experienced people.
Paul’s partner negotiated with TV channels
to have them write,
act and produce TV series at their own companies.
Work is growing smoothly.
Paul Hogan gradually became famous in the entertainment industry
when he received many offers to make promotional films for concerts,
clubs and merchandise products.
Paul Hogan’s success story has been recognized
by the Australian government
and they have contracted Paul’s company
to promote the country’s tourism campaign.
Paul Hogan has made this campaign completely free in the hope
that people will know his talent and name.
The promotional TV series he made was broadcast
on American television networks
and created a great buzz.
In just 5 years Australia has jumped from 49th place
to the top position in the list of
“the most attractive tourist destinations in the world”.
It was the most successful commercial in America in 10 years.
It also created a breakthrough in promoting Australia’s tourism industry,
making the average stay of visitors
in this country last about 2 weeks
and the average amount of money per visitor is up to 1,500. dollar.
Just a week after this film was widely broadcast,
the Australian tourism industry has taken a spectacular leap.
********
Have you ever met people
who like to discourage you with statements like “nobody does
that” or “it’s too risky to do so”
or “I don’t want to take risks” .
Don’t let those negative words
and words extinguish your dreams.
Dare to reach for the stars! Dare to dream your own dreams!
Joel Schiavone was born into a wealthy family;
However, he is a clumsy guy and has a stutter.
His defect made his parents very sad,
but they never mentioned it in front of Joel.
After graduating from Harvard University with a degree in business administration,
Joel didn’t look for work,
but opened a chain of bars called Your Father’s Mustache
and played the banjo in them.
After 12 years in the business,
Joel had made enough money to buy a luxury car,
take over a chain of pet stores,
and take over the local New Haven Nighthawks hockey team.
Joel also successfully managed
to buy Bridgeport Cable for $300,000.
After buying it,
he built it,
remodeled it,
and sold it for $58 million.
In 1979, Joel noticed that the downtown area of his hometown,
New Haven, was in serious disrepair
and he decided to do something about it.
He started a project that many consider reckless,
which is to revive a dying city.
Besides investing $12 million of his own,
Joel also convinced many other investors to join the capital contribution.
They have turned an empty hotel into a high-rise apartment building,
turned the Union League into a luxury office building,
repaired the dilapidated Palace Theater into a wonderful concert hall,
restored the Schubert statue back to its former condition. .
The local press ran many articles praising Joel as “a contractor
who smashed a banjo to serve as a springboard to realize his great life goal”.
Obviously, Joel could live off of the family’s comfortable finances,
or on a steady income from Your Father’s Mustache bars;
but he still invests his fortune, his hopes, his dreams in a risky project, restoring a decaying city!
***************
Luck does not come by chance
If you win a million dollars,
what do you plan to do with that money?
The answers are often “pay off past due bills”,
“own a beach house”,
“travel around the world”,
“start a long cherished business”.
All the answers have the same denominator,
which is to meet your current needs and satisfy your future desires.
This proves that we all have our own dreams.
Usually, most of us only dare to think of those dreams
when we are lucky enough to win the lottery.
In fact, as long as we spend enough time striving for realistic goals,
our dreams can and will come true.
Just dare to set a small dream,
we can really leave all worries and troubles behind to move forward.
“To create the future, future should start with a dream.”- Victor Hugo
