Tony Williamson - Dollar for your thoughts

"Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so shall you become. Your vision is the promise of what you shall at last unveil."

- John Ruskin

Dr Benjamin Mays, president emeritus of Morehouse College, once said the following: "It must be borne in mind that the tragedy of life does not lie in not reaching your goals, the tragedy lies in not having any goals to reach. It isn't a calamity to die with dreams unfulfilled, but it is a calamity not to dream. It is not a disaster to be unable to capture your ideals, but it is a disaster to have no ideals to capture. It is not a disgrace not to reach the stars, but it is a disgrace to have no stars to reach."

This quotation from this outstanding scholar and educator speaks to one of the greatest truths in life. Men and women of every age should have this written out and placed in their bedrooms, their offices, even their bathrooms. This applies not only to young people, but to persons of any age, even advanced age. For dreaming is not limited by age. You can become your dream at any age.

Age 71

If John McCain becomes president of the United States, he would be living his dream at age 71. Our own Jamaican National Hero, the late Sir Alexander Bustamante, became prime minister of Jamaica at age 78! I read recently of an elderly lady who at age 84 graduated from an American university.

Here are two things you must bear in mind: If you never dream, you never have a dream come true.

The second thing is this: The only dreamless sleep is the sleep of death. So if you are not dreaming, you know your problem!

To dream in this context has nothing at all to do with sleep. It has everything to do with being wide awake and using the creative power of your brain, using your imagination. To dream, to develop a vision, is to project yourself mentally beyond the crippling confines of your present circumstances into a glorious tomorrow.

Dreaming, or holding a vision, brings the future into being. You can be flat broke, but if you use your brain, you can achieve incredible riches. You are never broke until you give up.

Dreaming strongly and holding on to your dream has the uncanny ability to change your negative circumstances into a positive reality.

Scientists have discovered a section of the brain that they call the reticular activity system (RAS).

Subconscious

Prime Minister Bruce Golding has come a long way from his youthful days in Old Harbour. In this 1982 photo, Golding, then a senator and minister of construction, shows off a 90lb marlin his team, the White River Anglers, caught. - Jamaica Tourist Board Photo

Some people call it the subconscious. It is totally neutral and acts only upon the thoughts that are repeatedly fed into it. It drives you relentlessly to achieve what you believe. This is why the Bible says, "As a man thinketh, so is he."

The RAS of your brain will produce in your reality that which you ponder continuously. So powerful is the RAS, it has been known to reverse disease.

My friend Margie was diagnosed with cancer and given three months to live. She refused to accept this sentence of death and went up into a mountain cottage alone. She walked around speaking out aloud, in every waking moment, "I shall not die, but live! I reject this sentence of death".

She changed her diets to nuts and whole foods and transmitted the words of her mouth to her RAS. The cancer went into remission and instead of living for three months, she lived another 20 years! What is more, the last 20 years were her best.

Ambition

The power of the RAS is seen in what you can achieve by mentally projecting yourself out of your circumstances and into success. When I was a boy, I lived up the road in Old Harbour from another boy. We called him Brookie. Looking at him then, there was nothing that told us that he would achieve anything great. We were just ordinary boys, running around in Old Harbour. But he had a dream, an ambition to serve his country. While the rest of us were playing marbles and eating guineps, he was programming his RAS. Who is he? Bruce Golding, prime minister of Jamaica.

Hold on to your dreams. Don't let them die. If you believe, the sky is the limit. Dreamers are achievers.

Tony Williamson is an international motivational speaker, sales trainer, author and lifestyle consultant. Email tonywilliamson_57@yahoo.com.