Dreams Can Be Achieved
Author: Catherine Pulsifer, ©2005
It really doesn’t matter who you are, old, young, or whatever occupation you are in, your dreams can be achieved. The most common thing we have in common is our desire to be more, or to live the life that may have once been only a dream.
What Makes The Difference
For some of us though, dreams are the closest we ever get to have a different life, or to be engaged in a lifestyle that better fits our daily fantasy. So, what makes the difference? Is it luck? Is it having a mentor to guide us down the right road? Is it simply being in the right place at the right time?
My Story
For me, I thought I’d never leave my corporate position. I had a career that a lot of people would envy including a good salary, and great benefits. But, as the years rolled by, I experienced more and more dissatisfaction with the on-going politics and the never-ending demands of working to propel someone else’s business forward. I came to the realization that I wanted to spend my energy working on my own business or a business that gave me not only personal satisfaction, but allow me more time to do the things I loved to do. And, also that would let me benefit from the fruits of my own labor.
The Three P’s
Some of you reading this thought as long time visitors of the site know part of my story. For others, let me just say that I made the move away from the corporate world and, although it wasn’t always easy, it was accomplished using my 3 favorite P’s – patience, persistence and perseverance. Nothing in life is achieved without hard work, and the ability to overcome challenges. It wasn’t any different for me.
Patience
Patience is defined as, “the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.” Words that describe patience are: endurance, fortitude, self-control, or tolerance. And, let me tell you I have had to have patience. My time frame for starting my own business was delayed by two years. I had to stay in a job that I no longer liked for an additional two years. It was not easy. I think patience was the most difficult of the three P’s for me. Knowing what you want to do, and where you want to go, but having to wait is not easy.
Persistence
Persistence is defined as, “firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.”Words that describe patience are: tenacity, steadfast, unrelenting. Even faced with delays and obstacles that seemed to constantly occurring I was set on opening my own business. I stayed focused and kept moving forward finding ways to overcome the challenges that we faced. There were friends and family members that suggested I forget my dream of running my own business. They felt I had a good job, a secure salary and good benefits; they just couldn’t understand why I would leave that. But I continued to move forward with a tenacious attitude and I would not let others discourage me.
Perseverance
Perseverance is defined as, “steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.” Words that describe perseverance are: determinations, dedication, keep going. Faced with both delays and difficulties I never let go of my vision of being self-employed. I was determined to start this business and find success and satisfaction of doing what I loved to do. Even though at times it looked like my goal was not going to happen, I never gave up, I did not quit. I kept moving towards my dream. At times, I was moving slowly, taking only baby steps, but I kept moving one step at a time!
The Rest Of My Story
One of my goals was to develop a small business that could help support our lifestyle, a lifestyle of basics not of excess, a lifestyle that would allow us to do what we wanted, what we loved, and what would allow us to be creative. And, it wasn’t that we didn’t attempt a few things that didn’t work out. With perseverance as our ally, we were able to find, grow, and benefit from an art form that was both fun and creative. That art form was the creation of fused glass jewelry products and fused glass motivational products. And, at this point, we are able to say that people throughout many parts of the world have enjoyed our fused glass one-of-a-kind products.
The Point
The point is this; don’t let obstacles stand in your way; learn to view failures as an opportunity to find out what works and what doesn’t work; develop the inner attitude of patience, persistence, and perseverance; and, defeat your own procrastination through action not dreaming.
Part of our success is the joy of having our son be involved in our business, and his enthusiasm in helping us succeed by creating an on-line store that will allow many more people to enjoy one or more of our creations, creations that were once only a dream. Dreams can come true.
And, remember this: a dream is only a goal unplanned and not yet put into action. So with patience, persistence, and perseverance set your goals, take action and start moving forward to living the life that you may have once only dreamed of.
Inspirational Quotes for Reflection:
“Patience is the productivity factor which keeps you persistent in working on your task.”Abder-Rahman Ali
“It took time for you to get to where you are and changing is not going to happen overnight. It is going to take trial and error and lots of patience with yourself as well as persistence.” Sandra Leon
“When it comes to increasing motivation and self-control, you have to remain patient and allow your mind to adapt to the new changes.”Jill Hesson
“Ask anyone who is successful in business and in life what the one thing they mostly attribute their success to and, nine-out-of-ten times, theyll tell you a story of how they simply refused to give up.” Jonathan Mills
“Studies indicate that the one quality all successful people have is persistence. They’re willing to spend more time accomplishing a task and to persevere in the face of many difficult odds. There’s a very positive relationship between people’s ability to accomplish any task and the time they’re willing to spend on it.” Dr. Joyce Brothers
“Perseverance is a necessary trait which is possessed by all successful students. Perseverance speaks to a refusal to give up the pursuit of a goal despite attendant difficulties.”Lisa Marie Stringer
“Our energy is in proportion to the resistance it meets. We attempt nothing great but from a sense of the difficulties we have to encounter, we persevere in nothing great but from a pride in overcoming them.” William Hazlitt
“Perseverance is what keeps your engine going, long after you run out of gas. Its your crazy factor. It’s also known as hunger.”Anthony Frasier
“Failure is necessary to your success. Failure means you are taking action and moving forward. In this process you will learn valuable lessons about what it takes to be successful.” Danny Yann
“If you study any consistently successful person you will find out that they have failed more than most people could imagine. These successful people do not look at failure as the end but only a step closer to their goal.” Milton Stewart
“Consistency is the fruit of the tree of success. The more you do something effectively and with a goal in mind, the better you will get at it and the more you will feel fulfilled.” Dan O’Brien
“Some people may define success as having a huge house and luxurious cars, while others may define the true meaning of success as having a life full of joy and happiness with their loved ones or families.” Nicole Smith
“If you can learn to view failure not as a negative thing, but rather as a learning opportunity, you will be poised for success, and you will stop losing motivation when you fail.” Cary Bergeron
“If you’re climbing the ladder of life, you go rung by rung, one step at a time. Don’t look too far up, set your goals high but take one step at a time. Sometimes you don’t think you’re progressing until you step back and see how high you’ve really gone.” Donny Osmond
“You can measure success with goals and success is motivating. A well thought out goal can be your “light at the end of the tunnel” so to speak.” Bill Price
Read more Inspirational Thoughts
Words of Wisdom | Thought For The Day | Inspirational Stories | Words of Encouragement | Quotes by Topic |
Contact Us | About Us | Disclaimer | Disclosure |