Secrets to making your dreams come true

A dream, according to Laurie Gottlieb and Deanna Rosenswig in their book, Dreams Have No Expiry Date, is a vision that is larger than a goal and more achievable than a fantasy or an aspiration. Dreams give life purpose, direction and meaning. They shape lifestyle choices, help you focus on the future and give you a sense of control and hope. They're an expression of your potential and give voice to your talents. Dreams are a source of pleasure and help develop the self. Everyone has a dream.

To get in touch with your dream you need to create the best conditions for making this happen. One essential condition is relying on your inner strengths. In this book excerpt, Gottlieb and Rosenswig explain why capitalizing on your strengths is critical to living your dream.

What are strengths and why is it necessary to know them?
The 16th-century French philosopher Michel de Montaigne wrote of a woman who lifted a calf every day and was still able to lift it as it grew to be a cow. This woman achieved the "impossible" because she worked on her strengths day by day and because she believed she could do it. This woman called on her physical and mental powers to lift the cow.

As you get older, your diminishing physical strength is more than offset by your accumulated mental, social, emotional and moral strengths. Strengths are those special qualities that in their combination and methods of expression give you your unique signature -- your "strength DNA." You have accumulated the ABCs of strengths. These include: A for attitude (ways of thinking); B for building blocks (valuable qualities); and C for competencies (skills). Think of strengths as your ABCs -- the best qualities within you. Click here to see examples of the ABCs of Strengths

Genevieve has always lived with the strength of a spirited attitude toward life: "The choices I made in my youth, I made spontaneously. I was visiting friends and there was a bean crock made of pottery. I fell in love with the pot and decided to be a potter. I became a potter. When I decided to go back to library school, that decision was neither impulsive nor emotional. It was very rational. At this age I feel the finiteness of things. I feel I want to be a little bit crazy again."

Among the building blocks on which Melanie has called are the invaluable qualities of courage and confidence: "Basically I have the belief that I can do it, I have what it takes. I have the guts... It's going to work out. I have to believe in myself."

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