I usually start my day watching Good Morning America, because I find it is the most concise way to stay up with current events.  This morning they interviewed Oprah Winfrey, as her 1^st show of her 22^nd season is being aired live from New York’s Madison Square Garden.  During the interview she talked about the school she started in South Africa for black underprivileged children.  She said she taught a leadership class using the Wizard of Oz as the teaching metaphor.  She quoted Glenda the Good Witch when she told Dorothy that her ability to get home was always within her. This struck a chord with me, because we have all been granted the ability to achieve our dreams and goals.  The trick is believing that it is truly possible. 

Society does a pretty good job of keeping us ensconced in the “employee mentality” that dreaming is for kids and reality is working a nine to five job because we have responsibilities.  The message is responsible people do not chase things that are risky, like dreams.  We have this message beat into us by the media, television shows, and those folks that want an orderly, obedient society (i.e. advertisers that hawk their products on television). 

The Secret

 Just look at all the fuss created by Rhonda Byrnes’ book The Secret.  Oprah had Byrnes and several key people on the book on her show last season, and the episode was lambasted as pop psychology and pie in the sky trickery.  The most common complaint I read is that the book does not take into account plain luck.   

Luck is not an Accident

 What these morons do not understand is that luck is made!  My favorite definition of luck is:  “Luck is when opportunity meets preparedness”.  I not sure who coined the phrase, but it is exactly right.  Edison was not lucky when he created the light bulb.  It was years of persistent effort, laboring in obscurity.  The same goes for Bill Gates at Microsoft or Steven Jobs with Apple.  They took their fanatical belief in an emerging technology and transformed hard work and belief into huge empires.  I had a friend in college who was friends with the founders of Apple.  He had the chance to become their fourth employee, but instead he followed his parent’s advice and got a safe college education.  That probably cost him millions of dollars.  What he could have done was gone to work for Apple and still pursued his education at a local college instead of going away to school. 

Always Look to your Dreams

 The message I want to leave today is to always believe in your dreams and set yourself up to be in a position to take advantage of opportunities that arise and align with your dream purpose.  Remember, our maker is not cruel…he would not allow us to have these dreams and goals without the innate tools to make them happen. 

The gifts are already in each of us…just believe, act and receive.

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