By Darlene Styers
As told by my mother, my dolls began going to Business College
and having Big Church Weddings at the time I was about 3 years
of age.
You may not find that so strange, but let me finish the story...
I grew up in a very poor family. My father was a share cropper on
a cotton farm in Southeast Missouri. No one in my family - - not
a brother, sister, cousin, aunt, uncle - - nobody - - had ever
gone to school past high school, and nobody had ever even
attended a Big Church Wedding. Nobody had any idea where these
terms came from. I don't know either.
My mother supported me in my dreams. My father objected
intensely. It was just unheard of for a young lady to leave
those cotton fields and go to the big city.
Those dreams dominated my life. Every thing I did even as a
child was directed by my dream. There was no money to pay
tuition for Business College and my father knew that. I did not
accept that. When not working in the cotton fields due to
weather conditions, I worked in a department store in town. That
money went into my bank account which I had for as long as I can
remember.
Every penny I could earn went into my bank account to save
towards paying my school tuition. My Senior class went on a
Senior Trip to St. Louis. That cost money which would be needed
for tuition. I was the only Senior that did not make that trip.
Just one example of what priorities can do.
You probably get the picture . . . I did go to Business College
in Memphis. I had a Big Church Wedding. And my life proceeded.
We all have dreams. But do we really set goals to achieve them.
Everyone knows that goal setting works, but almost nobody uses
goal setting.
Why? What are we going to do about it?
One reason we fail to set goals is fear of failure. We don't
want to realize, or have others realize, we were a failure.
Winners don't view failures as failures but rather as learning
experiences and opportunities. Did Thomas Edison succeed the
first time he tried to invent the light bulb?
Obstacles will certainly come our way. But if our goal was
actually a dream that propels our life, we can correct our course
and move steadily toward the goal.
So the only way to guarantee failure is to not set goals at all.
Sometimes we expect a miracle, just not realizing that dreams
cannot come true without goal setting.
Dreams will not come true unless we actually DO something. Goals
are step by step plans creating the path to dreams. Goals give
purpose and direction.
What changes one from a dreamer to a doer? Goals!
When one has a dream and no goals, they are talkers and not
doers. How do you tell what a person really believes? By his
actions, not by his words.
Don't wait for a miracle. Take action!
To accomplish great things we must not just have a goal but also
dream. Not only a goal, but also believe.
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