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| ISBN-13: | 9781462049325 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | iUniverse, Incorporated |
| Publication date: | 10/31/2011 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 96 |
| File size: | 2 MB |
Read an Excerpt
It's Your Vision
Can YOU Make It Happen?By Kishma N. Allen
iUniverse, Inc.
Copyright © 2011 Kishma N. AllenAll right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4620-4779-6
Chapter One
It All Begins with a Dream
What is a dream? A dream is a series of emotions, sounds, and images that the mind experiences during sleep. Sometimes we dream about the things we are most passionate about. Often, we can't wait until we fall asleep at night to dream, so we do it during the day and daydream about our hopes and desires.
What are your hopes and desires? Have you ever daydreamed about what you want to be one day? Do you pretend to be a teacher, a rapper, a police officer, a pilot, a governor, an auto mechanic, a scuba diver, a fashion designer, an entrepreneur, or a dance instructor? Do you daydream about what presents you might receive at Christmastime or on your birthday? What you daydream about indicates your passion. For some it may be the boy or girl who sits next to you, a new video game, pair of sneakers, or an upcoming event. For others it may be the upcoming football season in which you are one of the key players, or even graduation. You may daydream about going to college, getting a new car, landing a new job or promotion, buying a new house, marching down the aisle on your wedding day, or welcoming a new addition to the family. What have you been daydreaming about lately? Whatever they may be, your daydreams say a lot about who you are and where you are headed. The goal of this book is to help you develop a clearer understanding of your dreams and desires and learn the steps necessary to turn them into reality.
Chapter Two
The Quest
A quest is the act of seeking or pursuing something—a search. Let us go on a quest together. Our quest will be to manifest your visions, starting with their conception, and working them through until we get to the fruition stage.
The first step is for you to search yourself. Over the next few days, I want you to spend some time alone. If you usually drive to work, take the bus or train so you have some time to think. Instead of watching television, sit on your porch and gaze at the sky. Turn the cell phone off. Put away the PlayStation and the DSi, and stop texting. What you will do over the next few days will be life changing. It will be your own personal miracle. If I were you, I would be excited, because it will be a time when no one else will "help" you, nobody will influence you, and no one will take the credit for what is about to happen to you. The only person who will help you on this quest is you.
Before you take time alone, do your errands and chores. Finish your homework, walk the dog, and take out the trash. Help the children with their homework, cook dinner, and take care of whatever other responsibilities you may have, so there is little room for distractions. Remember, the only person on this quest is you. Now is your chance to be selfish. The only person you are going to concentrate on is you-know-who, you!
Are you ready? Are you ready to begin to unleash your dreams? Are you ready to step into your destiny? Are you ready to experience what you have been daydreaming about for months or years? If you are, I want you to scream, "Now is my chance!"
Now list the parts of your life that pertain to your visions, dreams, and aspirations. In case you need a jump-start, I will share some of the categories of my aspirations with you:
My outline is just for starters, and you are by no means limited to it. For each category that you list, ask yourself one simple question, "What do I really want?" As simple as this question may seem, at times it can be the most difficult question to answer.
Many people, including both youths and adults know what they want, but they have so many ideas in their heads that they are unsure of which ones to pursue. Others don't have a clue what they want, but they are pretty clear about what they do not want. If you fall into either of these categories, I understand because I've been there, and you are the reason I am writing this book.
Do you know why some adults have a hard time determining what they really want? It is simply because they factor too many things—too many parameters—into the equation. For example, we let how much money we have determine what we want; if we make this many dollars per year, we can want only this kind of car. We let our education determine what type of job we should have. We let society determine where we should live, and the list goes on.
Children, on the other hand, do not know anything about money or education. Practically every child wants to be rich and famous. Preteens and teenagers would ask their parents for $125 for a new pair of sneakers, or a purse, with no concept of financial limitations to what they want. To them, that is only a small token.
So back to my question: what do you really want for each of the categories on your list? Do not write the answer based on what your mother, father, sibling, uncle, friend, or preacher tells you that you should want. Find the underlying cause for you. What do you really want? Do not try to answer this question in a hurry, this process may take a few days or weeks, depending on how much time you allow yourself to be alone. Try to keep your emotions out of it, and be as honest and as specific as you possibly can. If an answer raises questions or doubts in your mind, then it is probably not your best answer. You should feel confident about your final answers.
Here's an excerpt from my compact disk that was recorded when I spoke at the prayer meeting. The message is titled "The Vision."
How many times have you wanted water, but decided to drink juice, coffee, or soda instead? What did your body say to you? I'll bet you had to drink some water eventually, no matter how much juice, coffee, or soda you drank. Our bodies were designed to recognize what they need, and they will not be satisfied until the need has been met. If you still doubt what I am saying, consider how many times you may have felt like eating a Snickers bar and decided to eat a Twix instead. Did you feel satisfied, or did you still want the Snickers? Think back on the time your mom or dad bought you a doll, pair of sneakers, or backpack, other than the one you really wanted. How did you feel? Nothing was necessarily wrong with what they purchased; it just wasn't the one you wanted.
In a second, I'm going to ask you to put the book down and walk away, so you can take a few days or a few weeks to think about your dreams, goals, aspirations,—all the things that you daydream about. Write them down on the following pages. Writing things down, like speaking them aloud, makes them more real.
Mark Victor Hansen once said, "You control your future, your destiny. What you think about comes about. By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands—your own."
Now put the book down, and come back to it only when you're ready to begin writing.
Chapter Three
Transition of the Mind
How did it feel to sit quietly and just listen to yourself think? Did you enjoy your time alone? Did you find out anything about yourself that you did not notice before? During this process, you should have figured out that some things you once desired you no longer want and that some things you never wanted before you now want deeply. These insights were always there, but you have not literally sat still long enough to notice them.
As I mentioned earlier, as we get older, we make choices based on the money in our pockets, the family we were born into, the neighborhood we live in, the school we attend, our grades, our education, and so on. However, none of those things should have anything to do with what you really want. They only give us excuses and limit us. Stop making excuses! Stop limiting yourself!
Some of the most successful and affluent people today grew up poor. Tyler Perry, well-known actor and author, was once homeless, and just see where he is today. Did he limit himself because he was homeless? Did he belittle or doubt the things he really wanted? If he ever did, his story did not end with those doubts; at some point, he shifted his focus from where he was at that time to where he wanted to be, and eventually he overcame homelessness, hopelessness and poverty, and embraced affluence.
"All that you accomplish or fail to accomplish with your life is the direct result of your thoughts." (James Allen)
Say this aloud: "As of this moment I will no longer allow my past or current circumstances and situation to dictate my future!"
Now write it
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Say it! Feel it! Visualize it! Own it! Make it happen!
We all know Sammy Sosa as a famous baseball player, but he was not always famous. When he was a child, his family lived in an abandoned hospital. Abandoned means no electricity and no running water. Nonetheless, did these circumstances stop Sammy from dreaming? Did they limit his aspirations? Did they make him too ashamed to try to do what he loved? As a teenager, he probably thought about the cars that he knew his family could not afford and was determined to be an even better baseball player, so he could help himself and his family to live a better life.
You know what, that is exactly where it all begins as a thought!
"Back when I was just starting to understand that we create our reality with our thoughts, I thought, Well, let's put this into practice. And as silly as it sounds, I found that if I really put my attention on getting a parking space or a green Light when I needed one, I would get one! It blew my mind. When I saw that you could literally change your life if you were willing to change your thinking, the idea just exploded within me." (Louise Hay pg 92)
"If you can believe in yourself enough to think it, then there are endless possibilities to create it." (Kishma N. Allen)
Have you ever heard the saying, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste?" It's true. Use your mind, be creative, aim for the stars, soar like the eagles. Close your eyes and step out in faith—see yourself where you want to be. Open your eyes only when you can see yourself fulfilling your dreams. "Imagining creates reality." (Neville Goddard)
See yourself being promoted to middle school or graduating from the 12th grade. See yourself in a healthy relationship.
Keep your eyes closed!
See yourself baking those cakes and cookies (that you thought were only good enough for family meals, PTA meetings, and church functions) and packaging them for sale. See yourself having a family and being happy. See yourself purchasing a home in the very neighborhood you were told you could never live in. See yourself going back to college and walking across the stage on graduation day. See yourself becoming a doctor. See yourself becoming that lawyer. See yourself healed of whatever infirmity you may have. See yourself accomplishing everything you wrote down in chapter two. See yourself!! If you cannot see it, no one else will.
"Now to him who is able to do immeasurable more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us." (Ephesians 3:20, New International Version)
This scripture is pretty straightforward. God is able to do more than anything you can possibly ask for or think of, but, what actually happens is based on how we see ourselves and how much we believe God can do. It is all about reconditioning your mind. It has been said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. So why not try something different? What do you have to lose in trying?
Right now, you are probably thinking, Kishma Allen does not understand my circumstances. Maybe you are right. But what I do know is that you are greater than any situation or circumstance that you have gone through or may be going through.
So what if you grew up poor, so what if your parents are going through a divorce? So what if you were molested as a child or used to be a prostitute? So what if you've been to jail, so what if you opened a business that failed, or you were a drug addict? So what if you're HIV-positive? So what if you have cancer? So What? What other excuses do you have? Whatever you come up with, my answer remains the same—so what? Are you going to let that keep you back forever? Are you going to let that stop you from dreaming? There is nothing you can name that has never been overcome by someone, somewhere.
Be a trendsetter in your family and leave a legacy behind! I believe everyone should have a story that his or her grandchildren and great-grandchildren can look forward to hearing at bedtime. I am not just talking about World War I, Vietnam, or other military stories; I am talking about the stories that will teach them that it is in their genes not to back down in the face of adversity, the stories that will give them the courage to push through, even when they feel like giving up. Let them hear how you overcame; let them hear how you made it. Let them hear about the times when you wanted to quit but did not, and they are now reaping the benefits. Let them hear it, so one day they can say, "I remember Uncle (You)____________ or Grandma (You)____________ always used to say ..."
It's good to hear stories like Sammy Sosa's, but if a child's grandfather or aunt has an inspiring story, it will mean far more than Sammy's story, because it will be personal and more real.
But first, you have to believe that you can do it.
It's time, for you to believe in yourself!
I think I can. I think I can. I believe I can. I know I can. Yes! I can!
Write your most challenging aspiration in the spaces below.
I think I can ____________________________________________ I think I can ____________________________________________ I believe I can __________________________________________ I know I can _____________________________________________ Yes! I can _______________________________________________
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand." (Albert Einstein)
"I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:13, NIV)
Chapter Four
Write the Vision
This is my favorite part. This is like the entrée you order when you are out to dinner; the best part of the meal, the main course. The price, taste, and quality of the main course will determine whether you come back to a particular restaurant. The appetizers will not make you return unless you go to a restaurant only for the appetizers and, as you know, the dessert only complements the meal. Therefore, my point is, this chapter is the main essence of the whole book.
The Main Course
So why am I comparing the essence of this book to a meal? Because, the most important part of the process of fulfilling your dreams and visions lies in your ability to write it down and make it visible. Have you heard the phrase "seeing is believing?" Did you know that the more you see something the more it becomes real and accepted?
Writing down the things you want starts a mental process that prepares you for the transition to achieve them. As you write, you move your aspirations from an unformed, unspecified thought wandering around in the back of your head, through your communication system. The brain now sends this clearly defined actionable thought with great clarity throughout your body. Since your brain is in control, whatever signals it sends, the body must align with, whether they are positive or negative signals, so be careful what you think about.
Now that you are conscious of the importance of your thoughts, find a quiet place where you are alone to explore different options for achieving your goals. Write your first aspiration below.
__________________________________________________________________
Now think about its components—all the parts and pieces that go into it. Think for a while and think big. Remember, you are supposed to be in a quiet place by yourself.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from It's Your Vision by Kishma N. Allen Copyright © 2011 by Kishma N. Allen. Excerpted by permission of iUniverse, Inc.. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Contents
Foreword....................xiPreface....................xxiii
Acknowledgments....................xxv
Chapter 1: It All Begins with a Dream....................1
Chapter 2: The Quest....................3
Chapter 3: Transition of the Mind....................10
Chapter 4: Write the Vision....................17
Chapter 5: How Badly Do You Want It?....................27
Chapter 6: Preparation....................35
Chapter 7: Now What?....................41
Chapter 8: Let Go of the Past....................46
Chapter 9: Be Careful Sharing Your Dreams....................50
Chapter 10: A Testimony....................54
Chapter 11: Message to Parents....................59
Chapter 12: Message to Children....................60
References....................63
Permission....................65