Believe

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams

Eleanor Roosevelt

Believe. I wear this word, like a badge etched in silver; it sits on my finger to remind me. It reminds me of all that there is to believe in. Believe. In order to believe in my dreams I must first believe in myself. In order to be an influence to others I must believe that I have that capacity. I must believe in my own worth. To be credible, I must believe in the value of others and believe in our interconnectedness. I must believe in the capacity of those around me to do things greater than I can. If I am to believe in dreams I must believe in the potential of tomorrow. I must believe in a future that is infinitely better than the one in which I exist today. Believe. Believe in yourself. Believe in others. Believe in tomorrow. This, for me, is a formula.

   

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. Dr. Suess
I have struggled most of my adult life to find what it is that I want to do as a career. I have thought about how much money I’d like to be making and I have contemplated the difference that I would like to make in the world. I have wondered about prestige and about influence that I could have on others and about the potential for fame. I have struggled to identify my gift, my place, my aim, my role in this world. I have found success, I have found utter failure, I have found devastation, I have found joy. 

Over the past few years I have been on a roller coaster ride of emotion, financial bliss and burden, excess and loss, personal confidence and self degradation. I don’t say this to seek comfort or sympathy. I don’t share this to set myself apart from others. I state these simple facts because I am no different than anyone else. I have found a universal truth. In some fashion we all struggle. We all lose our way. We all look into the mirror unsure of who we see in the reflection, uncertain if the person we see in the mirror is the person we envision in our mind. We wander on overgrown paths that, in our mind, have never been traveled before but we soon we see the evidence of those that have gone before us. We see, in our quest for meaning, that we are not alone.  

This fact, this universal truth, became the beginning of the reclamation of me. I began to reach out, to ask for help, to seek counsel and guidance. I began to read, to do everything that I could to see beyond the sorrow and failure of the day to day, to look for good, to seek out the positive. And then, just like when you get something that you once thought was so rare and so exceptional, I began to see good and positive everywhere I looked. When I began to yearn to find and create opportunities I found them. When I sought after the accomplishment of my dreams, each step revealed itself as the fog of self-doubt, loathing, and depression faded. Once I realized that it isn’t whether or not they think I’ve succeeded that matters, it’s whether or not I think I’ve succeeded that matters most; it is then that I began to believe in myself. 

The world opened itself to me as I opened my heart to myself. I learned the great importance of being authentic with both myself and those around me. I needed to be honest, to accept fault, to accept my own shortcomings. I needed to stand up for my responsibility and be open, forthcoming, willing to be vulnerable and willing to take risks that might certainly end in failure. But I would be confident that I had tried. I had finally regained the confidence in myself and learned one of the greatest lessons of my entire life, that, “success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.” – Sir Winston Churchill. I found strength within and joy in the journey, I learned to believe in myself. 

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about 
shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously 
give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from 
our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. 

Marianne Williamson 

 In my youth I was often ashamed of my rash view of the world. I knew from a young age that I was different. I wasn’t sure how but I wasn’t like others. I was ashamed at times. I held back my passion, my dreams, my goals. I kept my most trying tales to myself. I feared the thoughts and judgments of others. I feared living the way I believed in order to make others feel comfortable. I was wrong. As I began to give myself and my passion to the causes and mission of those around me, of those that couldn’t give of themselves, I began to see a change in my world. I have worked in non-profit, I have volunteered countless number of hours, I have given of my heart, my soul. I have given when I couldn’t, shouldn’t, yet reaped the blessings for it. I have given to show how much I believe. I believe in the power of the human spirit. I have worked with young people and seen them change like the caterpillar to a butterfly. 

This life isn’t about what I can get. It is about what I can give. As clear as the voice I use to greet you I heard the words, “This life is not your own, you will live your life in service.” It is through the words of a dear advisor that I have come to see the great importance of my boldness as I live my days giving to others. I believe in the power of the human spirit. I believe that each soul has within them the capacity to change this world. I believe that each soul is capable of beauty and greatness. I believe in the majesty of the human soul. I don’t care how many times I am told “no.” I will live this life rejoicing. I have come to understand that it is not what I can do, it is not about my skill, it is not about my talents to glorify me. This life is about combining those things to bring together something great in others. I believe that I have a purpose to impact the lives of others, and I believe in each of them.

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world Anne Frank
Leadership, influence, aspiration, hope, greatness, excellence, brilliance; none of these things came to be without waking up for the next day. Persistence and consistency are the things that launch mediocrity into majesty. I believe that nothing is possible without a vision of the future, a plan for the destination in mind. 

This world is full of people that are waiting for that perfect moment to strike out and make a difference. I don’t believe it’s about that perfect moment, that solitary moment doesn’t exist. That perfect chance strikes daily. The time to teach, to touch lives, to influence others for the good, the opportunity to lift people up, is now. The perfect moment is every moment. There isn’t a day, an hour, a second, that goes by that isn’t an opportunity to influence for the good. 

I’m an optimist, I believe in humanity and as I seek to change this awful, wretched world I see a glimmer of grandeur in each and every soul. I haven’t met a person that I don’t believe in. We will change this world. I believe that as I serve and give, and give back that this world will change and grow. I believe that one day we will see golden opportunity in education, we will see great appreciation in the arts, we will see the end of war, we will see the benevolence of mankind as we unite, not despite our difference, but because of our common greatness. This is my dream for tomorrow. And, "every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world." – Harriet Tubman