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"I still believe in Hope -- mostly because there's no such place as Fingers Crossed, Arkansas." –Molly Ivins
In life, we have two clear choices: to believe in success or to believe in failure. It may seem as if there are an infinite number of perspectives available but it's simply untrue. Each view slants one way or another, with all sorts of justifications for the core belief. We invest hours in explaining Why we will fail or Why we will succeed. Often we invest as much time in our justifications as we do with any action towards our goals!
"Optimism is the one quality more associated with success and happiness than any other." --Brian Tracy
All that time and energy to fuel our dreams. By golly, it certainly behooves us to know exactly Which Choice we're aiming for! Especially because our Choice will fuel our actions. Optimistic people tend to succeed more often because they Choose to believe in Success no matter what. By framing their perspective with optimism, they tend to look for solutions rather than seeing negative circumstances merely as a reinforcement of their failure. They Believe Success is Inevitable. And so it is.
"All who have accomplished great things have had a great aim, have fixed their gaze on a goal which was high, one which sometimes seemed impossible." --Orison Swett Marden
No obstacle is too great when one shores up her dream with hope, faith and optimism. Mary O'Hara was 56 when she wrote My Friend Flicka. Anna Sewell was 57 when she penned Black Beauty. What may be the world's longest running play, The Mousetrap was completed by Agatha Christie when she hit the age of 62! Not to be outdone, Laura Ingalls Wilder published Little House in the Big Woods, the first of the eight-volume Little House on the Prairie series at age 65.
You bet these incredible women didn't let setbacks discourage them for long. They had two choices. To believe they would succeed or to believe they would fail. Which choice do you think they made?
"No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit." --Helen Keller
The stars were once the primary navigational tool. The heavens above and a sturdy compass to provide direction. Consider the stars to be our source of inspiration. Occasionally there will be clouds obscuring your view, but your heart is the compass. Trust your heart to guide you, to give you direction. Believe in yourself. Believe in your goals.
"Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant." -- Robert Louis Stevenson
Every day that we invest time and energy into accomplishing our dreams, we are a step closer to realizing our fondest hopes. The ones who reach the stars don't rely on outside circumstances to validate their success. Success is in their hearts, in their attitude, and the world knows it.
Take a moment every single day to validate your dreams. Don't wait for the world or for outer circumstances to take on the task. You are a Writer. Say it now and every day. Remind yourself and you'll discover a secret. Believing in success makes you responsible to achieve that success. What most don't realize is that pessimists are lazy at heart. By believing in failure, they have a built-in excuse to avoid the work. Hah! We have no such dubious luxury (thank Goddess). We believe in success and so we must Choose to Do The Work.
"Light tomorrow with today." --Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Today's focus is what will fuel tomorrow's actions. And the next day, and the day after that. Let that flame burn bright in your heart, for the optimism will always light the way.
Here's to a fabulous week!
--Chiron O'Keefe
Also featured at Pop Culture Divas
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10 comments:
Watched "Amelia" last night and was struck by that very fact Successful people are those who just keep trying and believe they couldn't live any other way.
I love your examples of older people penning these famous works we know and love and never think about how old the author was when they wrote it. What would I really love to do - and seems absolutely impossible - write a musical. :) Why impossible? It seems like it would take me until I was 90 before I knew how to do that.
I appreciate the reminder to "do the work" and to keep focused on our goals. One of the things I appreciate about your blog is the reminder to stay positive, stay focused, and to take the necessary steps to move forward. It reminds me of a tarot card, where the visual is that when your heart, your mind, and your actions are in alignment, then you will move forward with success! Thanks Chiron, I appreciate your efforts.
Cathy
Well, my dear Kathy, I'll enjoy your musical (though maybe you could shoot for eighty years old instead?;-P)!!
I think writing a musical would be similar to the essays I pen. It's composing the songs that would be a challenge, eh? *grin*
Sidenote--a friend of mine did write a musical and asked me and several others to play parts. I was a lovely fuzzy puppy (with terrier ears!!). What a hoot!
Back to the theme of this week's essay though... For me, it's like the way I dance. People will sometimes come up and ask if I studied professionally (which is hilarious to me because my main talent is doing as I please on the floor! Hah!). Truth is, I always loved to dance and HAVE to dance when there's music on. So I suppose I had to be good at it just because there was no option for me. Weird, now that I think about it.
Although my childhood was fraught with insecurity, determination to find the best in life always drove me onward. Walt (as you know) was an early hero of mine, and if he could "Wish upon a star," and make those dreams come true, so could I!!
*grin* Here's to making those dreams come true (let me know AS SOON as you get the good news!!!).
--Chiron
Hi Cathy!
Wonderful visual on the tarot card. *smile* I really love how you put that too: when your heart, your mind, and your actions are in alignment, then you will move forward with success!
Very nice! Thanks so very much for stopping by. I love your energy!!
--Chiron
Chiron, you never cease to amaze and empower me to be the best writer I can be. You've given me so much to grab onto, I can't help but pull myself up and keep going!
I choose to do the work, even when the work seems so much bigger than me!
Chiron - I was counting on you to push me to write that musical - and you didn't disappoint. You know how writers say, "Oh, I've been writing novels since I was 7." Well, I did try to write one when I was young but I mostly made up musicals and acted them out on our picnic table in the backyard and invited the neighbor kids over - lol! And I thought up the title, "New York, New York" before anyone else did - ha, ha! And I did have a fantasy that my novel, "Real Women Wear Red" would end up as a musical. And then I called in to this Broadway station and they introduced me, "Live, from the Kit Kat Klub" on the air and I was thrilled. lol! Oh, our egos!!! The tough part is doing the work - thanks for reminding us all - now off to work I go.
Hi Misty!
As you know, you're one of my special heroes! *bows* You always Choose to do the work no matter what and your growing success is the well-deserved reward. *smile* You GO, girlfriend!! I'm ever so proud. :-D
--Chiron
Go for it, Kathy! I really can see you writing a musical.
I LOVE hearing about the intro, "Live from the Kit-Kat..."!!!! Woo-hoo!!
And frankly, without egos we'd probably be blobs. Sure we don't want those navigation systems to take over (Back off Hal 2000!), but I'm always reminded of the kooky Star Trek episode I watched waaaay back when.
Kirk was split into two parts. His 'good' self and his 'bad' self. So naturally, his bad self was wanting to bed the babes and punch everyone out. (hmmmm... and this was different? *grin*) But then the good Kirk was this spineless wimp who couldn't make any decisions and was pretty much a mess. As can be expected, they had a massive realization that both sides are necessary.
I see it as Venus and Mars. Venus focuses on diplomacy while Mars throws a punch. Venus worries about hurting feelings while Mars is more concerned with taking action. We all have both this Libra/Venus energy and Aries/Mars energy, but we often try to stifle the Mars (especially women, even now). We need to Embrace the Mars Swagger and the Venus Charm. *wink*
So, bask in the glory because that's going to motivate the hell out of your Mars-ACTION side. And then your Venus energy can nod graciously and accept the dozen roses. :-D
Go-go-GO!!
--Chiron
CHIRON--hope is all the things....how does that go? It's a Bible quote. Molly Ivins, as you may know, was a Texas celebrity in the newspaper and editorial business. She wrote a book titled "You Can't Say That, Can You?" She was a rebel, okay there, but man did she have a hard, sharp edge to her writing and her loathing and hatred of anything Conservative.Her quote at the beginning--I may be telling you things you know--refers to Bill Clinton when he first ran--Hope, Arkansas--remember?
Even so, your theme of "hope" is timely and spot-on.How could we writers continue if we didn't have hope? But, yes, hope is not enough--we have to back it up with our products. Thanks! Well done, Celia
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