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What do you really want out of life? Now what's stopping you?

Monday, July 28, 2008

Who Tells Your Story.


Another weekend, another movie. This time ‘The Seeker-The Dark is Rising’, a movie based on a series of books by Susan Cooper. I loved the acting (especially by Alexander Ludwig as the young Will Staton on whose shoulders falls the task of saving the world). However, I just felt that the storyline was rushed along, especially toward the climax. It lacked the depth of explanation offered by the written novels and could possibly been better off as a number of films. I felt short changed-great sets, great characters, but not enough delivery of all the information.

To be fair, there are very few films recently that have truly translated accurately (let alone better) the books on which they are based. Part of the problem lies with the nature of the time frame a film has to create a believable story whereas a book can fill out pages of detail and imagery to cover all angles. Films that have succeeded include the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy and the recent ‘Prince Caspian’. I was a solid Tolkien and Lewis fan prior to the movies, but to be frank found Tolkien wordy at times and Lewis a little short on the detail. Both dramatisations filled in gaps and dealt well with the storyline. This though is a rarity.

The fact of the matter is that, in most cases, others cannot tell your story as well as you. No one else can paint the picture of your life with all its nuances quite as well as you can. Rare are the mentors who can see you beyond where you are into greatness. In the mainstream, it’s you who has to cast the vision for your own life. If you let others do it for you they will always miss out some vital detail of your dream and leave you feeling as though you are missing some vital component of the puzzle. Only you have the picture of what your dream house would look like, or your dream job. I can’t see what legacy you want to leave unless you tell me. It’s up to you. Be careful who you let design your life, they might go wrong. Unlike the movies there are no rewind buttons on life, no chances for a remake. There is only one shot so you better make it count.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Perchance to Dream




Ever had a dream that excited you only to have it die, either from a slow asphyxiation of doubt and frustration, or an explosion of fate that rent your world apart. Either way it’s a dismal, painful process that sucks the very life out of you. Here’s the problem though, unless you are a masochist the idea of pain (physical or emotional) is not really pleasant. Most humans spend their entire lives avoiding it or lessening its effects. The easy way to avoid the agony of a failed dream is to, well, stop dreaming altogether. That way you never have your aspirations dashed because you haven’t got any.

This is really a self defeating exercise. Humans are designed to dream. We are creative, we invent things, and there are things that we would like to achieve. The sheer act of shutting down your creative process results in a void inside you that gnaws away leaving a hollow shell of unfulfilled potential.

The cure? First turn on the tap. Open the door to your aspirations, glance at the long dead shades of promise and see if they can’t be resurrected. Imagine a little; envision a world where what you want takes place. Second, develop some resilience. Life is unfair at times-face that reality. If you get knocked down then get back up again, and again, and again, and again. No one promised it would be easy. You need to be able to hold onto the hope of a better future in the face of adversity-whether that adversity comes from friends ‘good intentions’, circumstances around you, or your own inadequacies. As long as you can maintain a strong grasp on your dream and continue to move towards it, it will come to pass.

Go on find a garden and dream a little.

Monday, July 21, 2008

A Little Change

That's just disgusting! I let two weeks slide by without writing a single post. Not that there was nothing to write about mind you, I just spent the last two weeks in an intensive review of my life, my vision and goals, and exploring some new opportunities that had arisen. The one thing I did spend a little while doing was reformatting the colour scheme for the blog.

Its part of an experiment-I can't tell you the hypothesis as it may spoil it for you, but I will let you know the results in time. Let me know if you like it (especially when compared to the previous black background). Have a beautiful week and keep dreaming.

Saturday, July 05, 2008

Agreeing on Vision

Be it 'The Secret', Steven Covey, Michael Gerber, or the excellent programmes offered by The Pacific Institute, they all agree on one thing. You have to be intentional about your future. You have to sit down and create a vision for your life and then fight to keep it and obtain it. This intentionality does not come easily to mast of us who probably no longer take the time to dream. It is necessary though if you are going to succeed in life. A vision backed by passion ignites a powerful drive to achieve it. Some people can tell you theirs in a flash. Others only have a vague idea. That's okay. If you have no idea, grab a pencil and think about what you would really want.

Thursday, July 03, 2008

Food for Thought on Vision

Working with a concept on vision-if you have any comments/ideas help me out and post them to the site. Vision for your life can take essentially two main forms. The ‘me-centric’ personal benefit vision (what can this do for me?) and the ‘de-centric’ outward looking vision (what can this/I do for others?). An example of the de-centric would be Bill Gates vision to put a computer in every home-benefiting others. But wait didn’t he make a lot of money out of it I hear you say. Sure he did and they possibly helped build his ‘me-centric’ visions of how he would like his house, car etc to be. Many people start businesses with the ‘me-centric’-normally a ‘how can I make money out of this?’ Successful corporations often work on the ‘de-centric’-‘what product can we make that will benefit people (and as a result make us lots of money)’-people aren’t too keen on buying things with no benefit.

Its not that you can’t be successful with a ‘me-centric’ vision. The goal to be the ‘best golfer in the world’ can be pretty lucrative. Success does not equal significance though, a lasting impression and legacy to society as a whole. Significance takes a ‘de-centric’ view. I read that in teaching the great teachers are not concerned about themselves as about their students. It’s not about what their results look like but what their students’ results look like and what the pupils can achieve. Big difference.