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Believe in your dreams

We all have dreams and amazing, creative ideas going through our heads every day. What is the greatest factor in determining whether or not these ideas become a reality? We are.
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We all have dreams and amazing, creative ideas going through our heads every day.

What is the greatest factor in determining whether or not these ideas become a reality? We are. According to John Seymour, "As long as you believe it is impossible, you will actually never find out if it is possible or not." In other words, if we look at our ideas and determine that they are impossible, they end right there. It is only when we embrace our ideas and pursue a plan to make them a reality, and follow this plan with persistence, that they have any chance of coming to fruition.

Everything that we have began as an idea. Dr. Wernher von Braun had the idea that people could land on the moon long before it became a reality. He studied and developed rocket science. In the 1950s and '60s his ideas met with the desire of the American government to win the "space race" against the Soviet Union. He joined NASA and became the central figure in the space program.

Finally, on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon.

Von Braun knew that this could be done, he had dreamed of it for years, and he had done the necessary calculations and experiments.

We can only speculate as to what would have happened if he had believed it was impossible.

Because we give in to the belief that certain things are impossible, we often we fail to ask for them. When we do ask for something, the answer may be no, but it may also be yes.

We don't know until we pose the question. Failing to ask is even worse than being told no because we have ended the dream before it even had a chance. In addition, an initial answer of no does not mean no forever. Any good salesperson knows this. Often a client needs to mull over an idea for long periods of time, thus necessitating that they be asked several times. This is why persistence is so important in achieving our dreams. We all experience being told no and other setbacks, they are inevitable, and they are simply part of the process, not the determining factor in achieving our dreams.

In education it is important for us to keep this in mind. Children are amazingly creative and full of ideas. Who are we to determine whether they can become a reality? It is often the child who struggles, yet has unbound determination who is able to see ideas come to life. Research confirms this and shows that it is far more effective to praise children for their effort and determination than it is to praise them for their natural skills.

We all run into a wall at some point where things become very challenging, where our dreams seem unrealistic and we are tempted to give up.

It is those who believe that their ideas are possible, despite visible circumstances, who are able to achieve what was once thought to be impossible, like a man walking on the moon.