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I remember this little girl; she must have been around nine or ten. I can picture her as she wanders through the streets of beautiful Geneva, Switzerland, with one of her favorite humans. It was a bright morning with a clear blue sky; the air was crisp, and a cold breeze was rolling across the mirror-like lake as she walked along Wilson Pier, proudly holding her grandma’s hand.
As they reached the Geneva Botanical Gardens, they took a left turn and walked up Avenue de la Paix, or Peace Avenue. The little girl turned to her grandma and asked, “Peace Avenue is such a beautiful name, do you know why it is called that, Nana?” The grandmother’s piercing blue eyes looked down at her granddaughter as if she was looking right into her soul and with a very soothing voice, she said, “this is the avenue that celebrates all of the organizations and people who devote their lives to peacebuilding.” They both smiled and carried on walking until they reached the Geneva United Nations complex, a few hundred steps away.
There, the grandmother whispered, looking towards the magnificent building unveiling itself behind an alley of national flags; “this is the United Nations office, my dear. This is the place where people work tirelessly to make this world a better place.”
The little girl paused for a moment, lost in her thoughts, as her mind was wondering away, imagining what could possibly go on behind these imposing walls. She took a deep breath, turned around and said; “you know what Nana, one day I will work here”.
With an affectionate smile, the grandmother bent down to look at the determined little girl, and while gently stroking her rosy cheek she said;
“I know that if that’s what you really want, then I have no doubts that you will succeed”.
At that precise moment in time, two things happened. The little girl made a conscious decision that she was going to work there one day. She also made an unconscious choice that she would get there no matter what.
What do you think happened? Do you think the little girl fulfilled her dream? We may find out another time.
No matter what your dream is and how challenging it might appear to reach at first; if you think it is feasible and you believe in yourself; then you are half way there already.
Let’s try something, shall we? I’m going to ask you to think about your dream for a second and I’d like you to ask yourself the following questions:
How achievable would this dream be for other people? What would other people say about your dream? Would they say it is a plausible one?
Once you’ve done that, I’d like you to ask yourself that same question.
How achievable is it for you?
Now, please ask yourself; how much do you want this? Is your dream desirable enough and how would it make you feel if you got there? What would you see? What would the people around you say, your friends, your family?
And last, but not least, do you believe you are good enough to realize your dream? Are you worthy enough to fulfill this dream?
That last question is a little intriguing, isn’t it? It really questions the fundamental belief of whether one is worthy of succeeding or not, yet this is central to our success.
Our beliefs determine the degree of confidence that we have in our competence, our ability to learn and our capacity to advance from point A to point B. If we are unaware of our beliefs, we will never make progress.
As human beings, we are incredibly resourceful, but sometimes, we are not fully connected with these resources. We can do all kinds of things when we are open to all potential possibilities. So, go on, every day is a gift, think about life in terms of opportunities. Step into the direction of your dream. Do it now, waiting is just an unoriginal way to delay you achieving success.
And remember, if you really want it, then, only you can make it happen.
Believe in yourself, be disciplined and most importantly, have fun.