It’s Find a Way to Do What You Dream Day!
You are a super successful kind of person who deserves some recognition. Ahhh…success. Something about that word is exciting, especially when it’s used to describe you. Because when someone says you’re a success, it means you’ve done something good, something worthwhile, something important.
But there are five major things that can stop you from being successful. These five things all have to do with what you don’t know; what you don’t know about your strengths, your weaknesses, your current reality, your dreams and the obstacles in the way of your dreams can stop you from being successful. So let’s talk about each one in a little more detail.
#5: You Don’t Know Your Strengths
Success stopper number 5: you don’t know your strengths. Just so we’re clear, a strength is something—like a skill, ability or character trait—that you’re excellent at. In order for that something to become a strength, you have to have natural talent in that area. Your talents are like tools; they’re the things you use to make your dreams happen. But if you don’t know what these tools are, though, how can you use them to live your dreams and be successful? You can’t! That’s why you have to identify your strengths.
#4: You Don’t Know Your Weaknesses
Success stopper number four is just the opposite: you don’t know your weaknesses. A weakness is an area you don’t have a natural talent in. It might be something you like to do but just struggle to succeed in that area. You need to figure out what your weaknesses are so you don’t waste your time and energy trying to turn something you’re not naturally good at into a strength.
#3: You Don’t Know Your Current Reality
Success stopper number three: you don’t know your current reality. Have you ever taken the time to just stop and notice the results you’re getting in your life right now? For instance, what kinds of successes are you experiencing right now? What are you doing now that’s good or not so good? What frustrates you? Knowing your current reality helps you figure out a starting point for your success. Then you can deal with success stopper number 2.
#2: You Don’t Know What You Want
Success stopper number 2: you don’t know what you want. Do you know what you want? Do you know what your dreams are? Have you written them down? Made a plan to reach them? You can’t be successful and live your dreams if you don’t know what your dreams are!
#1: You Don’t Know the Obstacles in Your Way
Success stopper number 1: you don’t know the obstacles in your way. You can know everything we’ve talked about—your strengths, your weaknesses, your current reality, your dreams—but if you don’t know what’s standing between you and your dreams, you’ll never be successful in reaching them. An obstacle could be something you can’t see like fear and doubt. Or it can be something real, like your age or where you live that’s stopping you. Once you figure out what your obstacles are, though, you can make a plan to overcome them and live your dreams.
What About You?
Which of these stoppers are stopping your success? No matter which stopper is stopping you, you can find a way stop if from stopping you. To help, I want to give you three FREE gifts. All you have to do to is fill out a simple form, so do that right now at TheDreamDoers.com.
And remember, you always find a way to do what you dream when you stick to your strengths.
To your dreams,
Bonnie Jean
You have a gift. A talent. A strength. When you discover what that talent is and actually DO something with it, it becomes a strength. And when you set goals that let you use your talents and strengths, you’ll always find a way to achieve your goals.
How do I know you have a gift that makes you talented in a special way? Because you got your gift from God, just like I did.
God has blessed every single person in the entire world with some sort of special gift. Since you’re a person living in this world, YOU have a special gift. It says so right here in I Peter 4:10:
“As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”
The cool part is that your gifts/talents ignite your passion AND make a positive difference in other people’s lives…when you use them.
So it’s your job to find out what your talents are, then use them to do what you dream. When you’re living your dreams, you’re happy and you make the people around you happy, too!
To your dreams,
Bonnie Jean
Just thought you might like a laugh today, so I found this video for you.
Listen to this song that tells a silly story and try to figure out how it ends. (I enjoyed it, anyway!)
Oh…don’t forget to smile!
To your dreams,
Bonnie Jean
[Hey Kids...on this Just for Fun Friday, I found this article written by guest author Winsome Coutts you might want to share with your parents. It's all about PLAYING and might give you some ideas on how you can have fun and play together.]
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In these busy times, when parents and children have schedules packed to the max, family closeness can fall by the wayside. Most of us have to make an effort to guarantee that work, school, sports, and chores don’t swallow up the very relationships that make those things important.
When is the last time you played or goofed around with your child? Can you remember back that far? Many parents can’t. Life has made us so serious, so focused, that we’ve lost the joy of the simple things, and play was one of the first to go.
But as any child instinctively knows, play is essential to life. It brightens the heart and lightens the spirit. For kids, who live closer than we do to nature, play is as spontaneous as breathing. Sadly, most grown-ups have lost that skill. Our children can be our refresher course.
Playing with your child brings you back to the present, reminds you of what matters, and slows you down long enough to smell the roses. It also connects you emotionally with your child, rebuilding the closeness that the fast-paced, boring routines of life are all too quick to strip away.
Playing together is even more important for your child than it is for you, because she needs to feel close to you to feel loved and happy. If you’ve neglected time together for long enough, it may appear that your child isn’t interested in your attentions. She may even tell you as much. But that’s just bluster, hiding the fear that you will disappoint her again if she lets herself wish for time alone with you. If you initiate playing together, and do it at frequent intervals, even the most aloof pre-teen will start to look forward to it and, in time, throw herself into the fun.
What kind of playing should you do? Pay attention to the activities your child engages in: his idea of enjoyment. If these things seem boring to you, try hanging out nearby, observing as he does them, with words that express your curiosity. You just may find you actually develop a genuine interest. If your child is a couch potato, take up your perch on the couch beside him, but after you’re allowed “in,” initiate some play that might be more pleasant than TV.
Think back to what you did as a child that was memorable, especially activities you did with your parents that stay with you still. Think about things that are free or cost little, that involve experiencing life together. Start a list of ideas as they come, and add any of the following that you resonate with:
- Raking stacks of autumn leaves, then jumping or rolling in them
- Taking a hike through the forest preserve
- Skating at the roller rink together
- Walking the dog, taking turns with the rope
- Reading comics or joke books together (or books of poetry or stories)
- Making cookies, pizza or a cake
- Building a fort out of snow or chairs and blankets
- Playing hide and seek, hide the thimble, cards or board games
- Lying on a blanket looking up at the stars
- Sitting in front of the wood stove in a dark room, telling stories
- Making shadow figures on the wall with your hands and a flashlight
- Having a treasure hunt
- Roasting marshmallows over a fire
- Watching a parade
- Going to the aquarium, zoo or museum
- Flying kites together
- Building something
- Making a scrapbook
- Making up a silly poem or song
- Watching a movie, with popcorn and no interruptions
- Playing a memory game, like “I’m going to Grandma’s house, and in my suitcase I’m going to pack …”
- Getting up early to watch the sunrise from a hill
- Playing games of pretend
- Going somewhere special, like the beach
- Having a pancake picnic in the snow
Playing together is different than finding entertaining activities for your child. Play involves you, while entertainment excuses you from the picture. If you find yourself saying, “But my schedule is too busy for any of the things on that list,” consider whether your schedule needs some pruning. After all, who’s going to remember in 20 years if you stay late at work or not next Tuesday? But will your child ever forget the Tuesday you ride the rollercoaster together?
Closeness with a child cannot be taken for granted. Like any other relationship, it will slip away unless it’s made a priority. Nothing builds trust and bonding with a child like sharing a moment of silliness and laughter. Come together for light-hearted play, and you just may find your child opens up about serious subjects. The relaxed atmosphere of play helps us let our guard down and reveal more of ourselves.
When you play together, let your child feel like the most important person in your world. Give him your undivided attention: no cell phones, no interruptions, no slipping into your own private thoughts. Be present – body, mind and spirit. Then let yourself do whatever comes naturally, with the abandon you felt when you yourself were a child. Your instincts will be your guide.
Growing closer through play is easy. It just takes dedicated moments, given on a fairly regular basis, so your child begins to count on having time with you.
Let your child re-teach you the wonderful secrets of play. You both will feel more secure and peaceful – and a whole lot happier, as the reason you do it all for, starts to come back to you.
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Winsome Coutts holds a teacher’s certificate in education and has written hundreds of articles on self-development. She has studied with Bob Proctor and John Demartini, popular teachers featured on “The Secret” DVD. She is the passion behind the 4lifehappykids.com and is a parent and grandparent.
Winsome is author of “Go for Your Goals” for kids – a set of downloadable e-books that guide your child through the joyful steps of learning visualization, goal-setting and the Law of Attraction. Simple language enhanced with beautiful illustrations and worksheets make these books appealing and motivating. To learn more, visit 4lifehappykids.com
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To your dreams,
Bonnie Jean
P.S. What kinds of things do YOU do to have FUN playing with your parents? Leave a comment and let me know!
Welcome to another edition of “Behind the Scenes of The Dream Doers Series”
[In case you haven’t yet been in front of the scenes of The Dream Doers series, it starts with The Dream Doers and the Summer of Secrets. In this young adult novel that you can listen to for FREE, (I’ll share how at the end of this post), best friends Alex and Tyler are forced to battle bullies, face their fears and keep strange secrets the summer they learn to do what they dream.]
Featured in today’s article is main character Alexandria Jean Wilkins. Here are some basic facts about Alex as of the beginning of Book 1:
- Age: 11
- Birthdate: July 21
- Parents: Rick and Anna
- Sister: Jessica (Jessie), age 19
- Brother: Terry, age 18
- Brother: Lee, age 17
- Brother: Samuel, age 15
- Brother: Christopher, age 14
- Hair: Brown
- Eye Color: Blue
- Height: 4’10”
- Frame: Slender, Athletic Build
Alex was born on a hot summer afternoon on July 21 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on the exact day the doctor said she would be born. Nothing unusual happened that day. Her dad brought her mom to the hospital, and she was born a few hours later without any problems.
She seemed as normal as any other baby. Except for one thing: she wouldn’t stop crying!
From the moment she was born, she was the unhappiest baby ever. She cried when her mom held her. She cried when her dad held her. She cried when one of her brothers or her sister came near her.
She cried when the nurses held her, changed her diaper or laid her down. The only time she stopped crying was when she ate or slept.
But as soon as she finished eating or as soon as she woke up, little baby Alex would start crying again.
Doctor after doctor was called in to examine the “Cry Baby” to find out what was causing her to cry and cry and cry. Every doctor that checked her out said she was as healthy as could be and couldn’t figure out what was making her cry.
Since they couldn’t find anything physically wrong with her, they let her parents take her home five days after she was born.
She cried all the way home. She cried some more when she got home. She cried that whole night.
Then the next morning, her seven-year-old brother Terry brought her a book. He sat on the floor next to her crib and started reading to her.
As soon as he started reading, she stopped crying. Amazed, her parents learned that the only way to keep her quiet was to read her a book.
Soon her dad quit his job at the bank and opened his own book store just so he would always have enough books to keep her happy!
But something happened when she was five that made her never want to cry again even if no one was reading her a book. What happened has nothing to do with her big dream of winning a gold medal as a tennis player in the Olympics, but it has a lot to do with meeting her best friend Tyler Davis and the neighborhood bully Zachary Graham.
I’ll tell you a little about Zach’s background in next week’s “Behind the Scenes” article.
Until then, you can hear the whole “Front of the Scenes” story for FREE. Just visit TheDreamDoers.com and fill out a super short form.
Enjoy the story!
To your dreams,
Bonnie Jean
