On my last Birthday, my son Billy instagramed a pic of me and him with the caption, “Happy Birthday to a woman who for some reason believes all things are possible.”

It gave me pause. You never really know how you are seen through the lens of another. It also made me happy. I have always said that my overt dream has been to be a writer and my secret dream is to be a motivational speaker. Somewhere deep in my soul I have always believed in believing.

I tell my three children that all things are possible if it is important to them. I tell them that I will support their hopes and their dreams.

My son Billy has had a big dream. A dream that was well within reach that turned into a bumpy path.

I never wavered. I continued to tell him to believe in himself and go for what he wanted. I also told him what I tell my other boy’s. If they forget who they are, I will be the one standing in the room to remind them until they remember again.

A few day’s ago, Billy found out that he has a chance at his dream. I never doubted him.

1. Believe in you own truth. Do not ever let another human being define you. I once read an interview with actress, Sharon Stone. The reporter asked her how she dealt with years of rejection before success. Her reply was simple and profound and I paraphrase, “I was smart enough to know that rejection was simply one persons opinion.” How true is this. The world is diverse (thank goodness) so don’t believe another person’s definition of you. Believe your own truth.

2. Believe in failure. It means you are getting closer to your dream. Our egos need to be mature enough to realize that life is both happy and sad. It is both magical and frightening. It is both rising and falling. It is a yin and yang. There can’t be one without the other. The road is both hills and flat. It is both straight and curvy. So expect that there will be negative with positive to reach your dreams.

3. Believe in your strengths. There is a book called, “Strength Finder.” It’s premise is that instead of getting tutors and everything in the world for our children to be good at something they are not, let’s make them better at what they are good at. Of course, they may still need a math tutor to pass math. Only perhaps, their love for music means indulging that with extra focus so their passion brings more of them forth.

4. Believe in not giving up. I could write a lot of cliches about this only the simple fact of the matter is if you are bold enough to dream than you must be bold enough to never stop dreaming and never stop forging the actions to make that dream a reality. My mom taught me this. She was not a dreamer rather more of a realist; however, she never gave up. She defied the odds at a time when few single women raised children alone. She simply made it happen. She simply gave us the life of two parents because she never gave up.

5. Believe in yourself. This one is complicated. There are confident people who will still hold themselves back by the lack of believing they deserve the best. It is only at our best that we are able to give our best. Enough said – if it’s in your heart you deserve it.

6. Believe in believing. You can still be a realist with dreams. Dream is just another word for ‘hope.’ Hope inspires us, moves us and restores us.

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