Dream List Media

Nothing happens unless first a dream.
~Carl Sandburg

Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail.
~Charles F. Kettering

Failure is a stepping-stone to greatness.
~Oprah Winfrey

In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.
~Albert Einstein

It may be that those who do most, dream most.
~Stephen Leacock

“I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
~Michael Jordan

The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.
~Chinese Proverb

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams!  Live the life you’ve imagined.”
~Henry David Thoreau

Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway.
~John Wayne

To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream. Not only plan, but also believe.
~Anatole France

Do or do not. There is no try.
~Yoda, ‘The Empire Strikes Back’

It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get back up.
~Vince Lombardi

People begin to become successful the minute they decide to be.
~ Harvey Mackay

One of the secrets of life is to make stepping stones out of stumbling blocks.
~Jack Penn

 

Find joy in life.

This is the true message in the movie, The Bucket List, starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson.  These two beloved stars come together on screen in this heartwarming comedy about two terminally ill men, who live out their bucket lists–the list of things to do before they kick the bucket.  Their list takes them across the globe as they visit the Pyramids, drive across the African savannah on a safari, and moped along the Great Wall of China.  Not only were they globetrotters, but they also got a taste of adrenaline by skydiving and race car driving. 

As you could probably guess, this movie is a real tear jerker, since the plot is about coming to grasp with terminal illness.  Although it got mixed reviews, I give it two thumbs up.  Some movies are meant for pure entertainment, while others send a message and are thought-provoking.   This movie definitely sent a message to both young and old alike–to find joy in life before it’s too late.

I love this message because I have always believed it to be true and so important.  We all get caught up in the mundane tasks of life that we forget to enjoy life.  Then one day, we wake up aged and exhausted, wondering what happened to our lives.  After watching this movie, you’ll definitely reexamine your own life and wonder—what would be on my bucket list?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Live Your Dreams
by Les Brown

 

Awaken the Giant Within: How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical, and Financial Destiny!
by Anthony Robbins

 

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Living Your Dreams
by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen

   

The Best Year of Your Life: Dream It, Plan It, Live It
by Debbie Ford

 

Making Your Dreams Come True
by Marcia Wieder

 

The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be
by Jack Canfield

 

I was talking with a friend a couple months ago about my love for art and how I love to paint and draw.  It suddenly dawned on me—I haven’t actually done either of these for years.  Life got busy and these creative passions were pushed aside.

Then I came across a book called, Open Your Heart with Art: Mastering Life through Love of Everyday Creativity, by David L.  Wilson.  At the bottom of the front cover, it reads:  “Open Your Heart, verb phrase:  To become aware of the inspiration that a sport or hobby, such as art, brings to your entire life.”  Perfect timing to add a little dose of creativity to my life!

If you’re like me and want to rediscover your artistic passions, or even if you’re interested in discovering art for the first time, then this is the book for you.  You’ll get an overview of the tools and techniques to get you started, along with a variety of art lessons and projects to expand your artistic horizon.  Scattered throughout are useful websites, resources and a list of recommended readings for exploring the art project of your choice.  This is more than just your basic how-to art book.  It reaches you on a deeper level, encouraging you to make art a part of your daily life.

The Open Your Heart series offers many titles, including Open Your Heart with Gardens, Open Your Heart with Bicycling, and more.  To find out about other titles, visit their website at: www.dreamtimepublishing.com. 

“If you can dream it, you can do it.”
                        ~Walt Disney

This is my all-time favorite quote.  Walt Disney is a great example of an everyday, ordinary person, who achieved his grand dreams and still leaves his legacy today.   If you ever receive an email from me, my signature always ends with this quote–because I live by it.  We all have grand dreams just like Walt, but the first step to achieving your dreams is believing in yourself.  You truly can do anything that you dream of. 

If you’re interested in reading more about Walt Disney and how he went from ordinary to extraordinary, you should check out the book, How to Be Like Walt:  Capturing the Disney Magic Every Day of Your Life, by Pat Williams. 

This book actually inspired me to follow my own dreams and take the big leap into starting a business.  We’ll see where it takes me!  This was a great book, with just the right amount of details on Walt’s life and vision to inspire a dreamer to follow in his footsteps.  The book was sprinkled with many valuable lessons like, Lesson 1: Live the Adventure, and Lesson 3: Dare to Do the Impossible.  The combination of lessons followed by stories of Walt using these lessons in his life, made it engaging, easy-to-follow and very inspiring.  Although this book is a biography, I feel that it is far more.  It’s an inspirational and motivational book that makes you feel like you can do anything that your heart desires.

 

“Mile by mile, it’s a trial.  Yard by yard, it’s hard.  Inch by inch, it’s a cinch.”
                        ~Anonymous

Sometimes we have grand dreams that seem so unattainable, that we wonder why we should even bother.  Good news!  You can achieve that dream.  All you have to do is break it down– inch by inch.

Your dream is that mighty mile.  Before you get too overwhelmed, take five minutes to sit down and map out your plan.  Map out the steps that you need to take in order to achieve your dream.  These steps are your goals.  To avoid getting too overloaded, take on one goal at a time.  When you accomplish your goal, check it off your list and start working on your next goal. 
Soon you’ll see that achieving your dream was easier than you thought.

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” ~George Eliot

Recently, I watched one of Oprah’s episodes that featured Louise Hay, Martha Beck and Cheryl Richardson. Quite a few topics on the show really resonated with me. Instead of discussing them all now, I’ll focus on my favorite–the story of Louise Hay.

At age 50, Louise Hay wrote and published her first book, Heal Your Body.  She continued to teach workshops, but she realized “if I could put this workshop on paper, I could help many more people.”  So she took six months to write the book, You Can Heal Your Life, and then in 1984, started the publishing company, Hay House, to self-publish her book.  Her book quickly became an international best-seller and today, Hay House is a prosperous publishing company that has sold millions of books by over 130 well-known authors.

This is an inspiring success story for woman over 50, or anyone else that feels it’s too late to fulfill their dreams. It’s never too late! There are thousands of success stories that started later on in life. What will your success story be?

A few years ago, I backpacked through Europe, dragging along my heavy guide books.  If you’ve ever backpacked before, you understand the importance of packing light, and these books don’t help!  The days of heavy guide books is coming to an end, thanks to our technological advances and to Rick Steves (AKA: the European travel guru). Recently, I visited Rick Steves’ website and was pleasantly surprised to find a large array of traveling resources.  The best part—most of it was free!

Of course my favorite freebie was the podcast of walking tours and videos.  Goodbye heavy guide books and hello iPod!  Before you head off to Europe, download his latest podcasts and handy companion maps.  I’m not sure how long these will be available and for free, so if you’re even considering traveling to Europe, download them now.

Currently, his podcasts cover popular sites in Rome, Florence, Venice and Paris.  The podcasts vary in length from 20 to 50 minutes.  The museum podcasts are great because many of the museums charge extra to rent headphones and listen to an audio tour. To download these free podcasts, go to his website: www.ricksteves.com.

Bon Voyage!

I just came across a great article in the Seattle Times about a 12 year old girl, Kris Ludwig, who wanted to become an oceanographer.  So in 1989, she wrote a letter to Robert Ballard, famous for his discovery of the Titanic in 1985, asking him what she needed to do and to her surprise he wrote back advising her to “get good grades in math and science and to study oceanography in graduate school.” Years later, in 1993, she ended up joining Ballard’s team for an expedition and continues to work in the field today.

This is a great example of the old saying–it never hurts to try.  Many would just assume that someone of Robert Ballard’s status would be too busy to answer a letter, so they wouldn’t bother trying, and their quest would end there.  But those that send a letter with the attitude of, it never hurts to try, may end up pleasantly surprised.  Just think of how this little girl’s dream came true, all because she tried.

Stop and think about what you really want to do.  What is your dream?  If you catch yourself saying, I can’t do this because…, stop and remember this story.  Ask yourself, what’s the worst that can happen if I try? 

Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail.

~Charles F. Kettering