Discovered Number Quickly Offers Success

Have you ever set a goal and felt frustrated or angry when reaching this goal seemed too elusive?  Have you ever hoped to accomplish something either small or grand and felt sad, let-down when you never obtained what you were hoping for?  How hard did you really work for this desired dream to come true?

For dreams to become a reality, we must do more than just hope.  For a goal to be accomplished, we must do more than write them on a piece of paper.  No one sedentary will lose six pounds in two months by looking into a mirror with a frustrated heart.  No one will graduate top of their class by sitting in study hall and skimming through a textbook while making plans for upcoming weekends.  Dreams can only be accomplished through an abundant amount of work and determination.  There is no other person or program that will offer you a fast path to success.  What is the discovered number that will quickly offer success?  This number = 1.  This number is You.  You are the answer for success.

I once hoped, and begged at times, the other thirty people in statistics class would give me some quick answers I could rely on to do better.  I silently pleaded that physical therapists would be able to teach me to walk again quickly with less work, little sweat and no pain.  I wished five other people interviewing for the job I was dreaming of would suddenly change their minds and go home.  Over time I realized there was only one person who would earn me high marks on tests, offer progress in walking independently again and execute enough to receive offers for sought after jobs.  I was the only one who had power to accomplish my set of goals.

No other person will walk into your town or onto your campus, seek you out and provide everything you may be silently wishing.  Yet, what if you knew this magical person was actually nearby?  Wouldn’t you chase them down smile, beg, bargain and plead?  If the answer to your dreams were that close, wouldn’t you do everything in your power and use all of your focus and energy to win their respect?  You would never stop chasing them around town until you accomplished what you set out to achieve.  You would do everything you can because it is visible and obtainable.

You, yourself alone, are able to reach these goals.  No mystical person is going to appear.  You should never doubt your power to answer your own dreams.  You can create the check mark next to goals you’ve written down.  Just like chasing someone else who is holding your dreams, you need to place that same level of ambition and excitement into achieving what you want each and every moment.  What have you done today to help get closer to what you are working towards? What have you done today that will create answers to your wishes?

No one has nearly the power to help you succeed as you have within yourself.  The powerful number opening the door to success is 1.  As an individual, you have the power to succeed.  You have energy to head to the gym and make healthier food choices.  You have the forethought to join or create a study group before you begin to struggle with classes.  You have the ability to start thinking about what small steps you can take daily before your feet touch the ground every morning.

I have goals.  These are big dreams.  I wish they could be accomplished tomorrow, but it will take time and a lot of effort.  I know, however, the joy will truly be mine when my own sweat and hard work help me achieve these dreams.  These goals are my own.  I will never give up.  I have enough initiative to not sit and wait hoping for a non-existent person to come and deliver answers to dreams.  Today, I will not wait and lose sight of what I want.  Today I am using the power of 1 and heading out to make my dreams and goals a reality.  I will discover ways to create my own success.

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Prosopagnosia and Sight Loss: Visions and Dreams

Two questions always asked when I am speaking to people about my limitations are: “When you have lost so much vision, how hard is it for you to cope?”  The other: “Since you have lost most of your visual memory and ability to recognize faces, do you still have dreams?”

Now, I am fully aware what is being asked, “Does it bother you, you can’t see as well as you used to” and “what fills your mind at night”.  I know these are their questions, but I hope the real meaning is never misunderstood by people I am trying to educate and inspire.  My answers in short: Yes I would like to see more.  Yes, I still have thoughts that fill my sleep but not images.

The longer answers: In the recent post A View of My World, I showed a picture of the way I see the world with left homonymous hemianopia.  I do have a lot of sight missing, but vision is not always a definition of what you see in front of you.  I have goals for my future.  I have a plan designed to guide me towards achieving great things.  I am not lacking vision.

Dreams are not always the images and pictures your imagination creates.  Sometimes a dream is what you hope for in the future.  I do have hope.  Regarding the night dreams people are referring to when asking this question, my imagination still fills my sleep with stories at night.  With prosopagnosia, these dreams are limited but still very realistic.  I no longer see pictures of people running.  I no longer see the cliff I am stepping off, but I still wake with a falling sensation.  Yet, I still have dreams that leave me uneasy in the morning or can cause tears to come in the night.  Like my waking hours no images fill my mind.  With closed eyes, I experience only darkness.  My dreams are remembered in a mind that no longer sees pictures.

Have you ever read a really good book?  This book was so good you could not turn the pages fast enough.  This book had you full of anticipation, and you refused to put it down until you finished the last page.  Have you ever read a book that caused tears to stream down your face?  This book may have left you stressed and saddened for the rest of the day.  These are similar to my dreams at night.  I do not see images, but I understand the occurrence through words I think and sounds I hear.

How does someone without much visual memory and prosopagnosia dream vividly at night?  Here is an example of a nightmare that haunted me: I remember singing with my two children in the car.  (I could hear the wind blowing fast and felt movement.  My daughters were asking if we were going to be there soon.)  I screamed as the shattering glass sliced my skin open. (I could hear the screeching of brakes quickly followed by the sounds of metal scratching.  I knew there was pain.  The song my children sang was replaced by haunting screams and sounds of horror and pain.)  The ambulance came and first took away my children leaving me behind. (I heard the sirens.  Someone was telling me to stay calm.  My girls’ voices were becoming fainter as they cried out “Mommy” and said they did not want to have to go without me.)  I woke after that.  I had no memory of seeing anything.  Regardless, I did not need images to get me out of bed and go check on my children.  I did not need pictures to feel the pain and fear that lingered throughout the day.  As an avid reader, I have always known the words can be just as powerful if not more as watching pictures pass across a screen.

I do not need sight to have a vision.  I have enough words, memories and hope to always have dreams.  Yes, prosopagnosia and hemianopia have certainly altered the way I see and feel, but I always believe I have gained more and understand more now.  This outweighs all I have ever lost.  I love the vision and dreams that promise an exciting future.