Magic of Believing

I came across this video today - which includes 3 different interviews with the legendary Phyllis Diller.  She understands what Claude Bristol's book was trying to say - and she lived by it.  Her message?  Read the book.  Believe in yourself.  And just - be - you.

We've seen it time and time again ....  

We've seen it with the car phone salesman Paul Potts in 2007.  We've saw it again with frumpy Susan Boyle in 2009.  And now - in 2011's season of America's Got Talent - we are seeing it again.     

Ordinary people with ordinary lives and ordinary looks, all searching for fame and fortune - and holding on to a dream.  They show up out of nowhere.  A mobile phone salesman.  A caregiver.  A car washer.  

They come out onto the stages of reality shows like America and Britain's Got Talent - hoping to make something out of themselves.  

And what do we do?  We giggle.  We point fingers and laugh.  We roll our eyes.  (sometimes the judges do too)  

And we judge. 

But then - once they start to sing - magic happens!  

This year, on America's Got Talent - we meet 36yr old Landeau Eugene Murphy Jr, who has been washing cars for the last 10 years.  He's kind of goofy looking.  He appears - maybe a little 'simple'.  He has never auditioned for anything in his life.  He's just a poor black guy, washing cars for a living in West Virginia.  And he's chewing gum :)

And now - he's following his dream, to sing for the world.  

I admit - I admit - I judged him too.  Silly me.  I should have know better :)

Remember - Never judge a book by its cover - and always follow your dreams.  

(Frank would have been proud ;) ) 

Last week we talked about your magic genie.  We talked about having anything you want.  All you had to do - was know what you want.  To dream again.  

How many of you made your list?  I made mine and I have to tell you - some amazing things happened this last week.   So if you haven't made your list - what stopped you?  Afraid you might not get what you asked for?  Afraid you will?  It's just a piece of paper.  What's the worst that could happen?  You actually acheive your dreams?

J Mac had a dream.  To play basketball.  And in his very last year of High School, in the very last home game of the season, HIS very last home game as a Senior, in the very last quarter of the game, in the very last 4 minutes of the game - his dream came true.  This bright 17 yr old got his shot.  And he took it.  So what - his first attempt was a failure.  An air ball.  Did he go sit down on the bench feeling sorry for himself?  Well - that was my chance and I blew it?  NO!  He tried again.   And what happened?  This team manager, who had never played a varsity basketball game in his life, scored more points than anyone else on the team.  20 points in 4 minutes.  

Did I mention J Mac was Autistic?  

Dream your dream.  We used to all have dreams when we were kids.  We dreamed of being astronauts, or firemen.  We dreamed of being superheroes saving the day.  We used our imaginations, we played make-believe, we dreamed.  And didn't there seem to be a little more - let's say "magic" in our lives when we were kids?  Coincidence?  

Who taught us to stop dreaming?  Who taught us to "get realistic"?  "Get our head out of the clouds?", "Welcome to the real world".  Our parents?  Our teachers?  Why?  Because what we dream is impossible?  Did J Mac think it was impossible?

We used to think it was impossible to climb Mt Everest.  Hundreds of people died trying.  Sir Edmund Hillary and his guide successfully reached the peak in 1953.  And afterwards, now that it was proven possible, 2700 others have climbed it as well.  

We used to think it was impossible to run a mile in less than 4 minutes.  It was scientifically proven the body was not capable.  In 1954, Roger Bannister ran a mile in 3 minutes, 59 seconds.  

We used to think it was impossible to fly.  But a couple of brothers, bicycle mechanics of all things, had a dream.  People laughed.  They joked.  They ribbed.  They watched failure after failure.  What a couple of idiots.  On December 17, 1903  they proved us wrong.  

Shall I go on?

Have you made your list yet?  

What's stopping you?

Dream big.  Take your shot.   Tell your story.  

When I have a picture in my mind, then I think for a while how I can put it on the canvas.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, Thoughts are Things.  What you hold in your mind as thoughts will eventually manifest itself as your reality.  The following story is a great example.

Now You Can Help People

At 3 years old, Akiane (pronounced ah­KEE­ah­nah) had a dream......about God.  And He told her to paint.  “He said, ‘You have to do this, and I’ll help you.  Now you can help people.’  I said, ‘Yes, I will.’ But I said it in different words in my mind.  I speak through my mind to Him.”

Sounds like something a cute 3 yr old might say,  Many young children have dreams.  But there was no religious influence in her home, at all.  Akiane was home schooled, had no babysitters, and no television.  Her father was a former Catholic, and her mother ­ an atheist.  “We didn’t pray together, there was no discussion about God, and we didn’t go to church. Then all of a sudden, Akiane was talking about God.”

Born in 1994 to a Lithuanian homemaker and an American father, Akiane suffered from poor health as a child. While poor, the Kramarik family created their own fun­ making wreaths from flowers and pine needles from around the home, play dough from flour, and doll houses from cardboard boxes.  At age four, Akiane began having visions of heaven.  Because her parents were not religious people and Akiane was home­ schooled, they were initially very concerned about their young child. Yet they were certain that Akiane’s visions came from within, ­no outside influence was involved.

“I was four when the visions first began,” said Akiane.  “I had visions and dreams of being an artist and helping the whole world. I felt inspired to draw.”

In the beginning, Akiane drew pictures of family members and pets, but her interests eventually shifted to the creation of faces. She started “scribbling” more and more faces. She tries to recreate visions that she says God gives her in her dreams. She does a pretty amazing job of recreating.  Her paintings are sold for between $50,000 to $1,000,000.

“We donate a portion to different charities. My goal is to help many poor children around the world.”

When asked when she actually signs her paintings, Akiane replied,

“Sometimes I sign twice. Before the painting and after. When I sign before, it gives me confidence, and it makes me imagine that the painting is already completed.”

On Learning to Write

“The words just come to me. I would say ideas somehow have been planted in me.”

“I do not write from what I know, but from what the Spirit shows me. Before I pray, I am empty and have absolutely nothing to write about. But then I know, if I am silent, I start seeing pictures and words.”

Today, Akiane, 13, gets up at 4 a.m. five­ to six days a week to get ready to paint in the studio and write poetry. She works for about 4­5 hours each day. She also speaks four languages: Lithuanian, Russian, English and Sign Language. 

And even though young, she offers advice to other kids her age as well:

“Work hard and believe that you can do it. Don’t say that you can’t do it; say, ‘I will do it!’”