Dream to Rise

How do you see challenges in life? Would you consider them as threats or gifts?

Life is full of challenges. Some people seem to meet every challenge with confidence, while others struggle to overcome them.

Challenges are defined as those things, issues, or situations that seem tasking and difficult to handle. They are issues or situations that move us to our limit often. Hence, we can say that challenges in life are situations and issues that we find difficult to handle in life.

The question is not how to lead a life in which we never feel the fear of failure, but rather, how we can move forward despite our fear. Are we able to transform our fear into an enthusiasm to engage with the new challenge and learn from it? How can these challenges help you manifest your dreams and live the life your love?

Let us listen to our special guest, Shakeema Williams, known as the Queen of Possibilities, who will share with us how she considered her struggles as her greatest gifts. Let’s check it out!

Can autism stop your dream?  

I’ve read someone mentioned that she has to live in her own little world - daydream all the time. For a long time, it was a huge problem, because living in her imagination would often cause her not to pay attention in class. At its worst, she gets so lost in what’s imaginary, that she’d ignore reality almost entirely. But do you think they are able to manifest what they want in life?

Don’t let your condition stop you from creating and manifesting your dream even at a very young age.

Listen to our guest speaker, Michael Ankers, who is 18 years old from United Kingdom. He shared with us his dream and what action steps he took to make it a reality. He even shared with us some tips on how to overcome those blockages that stops you from moving forward.

There are so many lessons I wish I had learned while I was young enough to appreciate and apply them. The thing with wisdom, and often with life lessons in general, is that they’ve learned in recollection, long after we needed them. The good news is that other people can benefit from our experiences and the lessons we’ve learned.

Life is a learning process. You can learn important life lessons by reading, watching educational videos, or through experience. You can save a lot of time and energy by learning from other peoples’ experiences.

In this episode, you will learn and experience what Michele Bourdo and I have gone through and would like to share our lessons learned.

It doesn’t matter how old you are or where you are in life. Learning is the biggest lesson in life. And it’s essential for anyone who wants to succeed in life. You need to keep growing and evolving to live your life to the fullest.

Remember, it’s your life. And you know what’s best for you. Walk your path with courage knowing that life is on your side. Which lesson will you adopt today to transform your life?

Have you heard the phrase “faith that moves mountains”?

This beloved phrase comes from Matthew 17:20: “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.

Faith removes them from our way, it makes them plain and they become as nothing before us. For nothing can stand in the way of a man or woman of faith.  It is really about trusting God and His will.

Listen to Eric Julien Sr., who experienced his rock bottom and how faith helped him stand up again and continue making a difference, not only to his children and grandchildren, but also to his clients and community.

Kids are hardwired to be negative. We all are. Back in our early evolution, there was so much detail and information in our environment that we focused on the negatives…the threats.  

However, we can start at an early age to teach our children to manifest their dreams but eliminating those negative thoughts.  How can we do that?

Listen to Alli Arms Arney, a career coach and the founder of Buffalo Diamond Consulting, whose main goal is to help individuals face their career storms with confidence.  She also manifested their family farm for eight years that will help sustain their family's daily healthy food requirement, as well as other people's needs.  

How was she able to be a model to her children and what strategy did she use to teach her children eliminate negative words in their vocabulary?  When you focus on positive thoughts, then that becomes a reality.  

How does manifestation work?  Others would say that when you think about something, it can come true.  Others believe that if you're a good person, good things will happen to you.  Are they true?  While both of these are components of manifesting your dreams, they are missing a key element. Your beliefs play an influential role in manifestation.

Your beliefs, that is what you value about yourself and believe to be true, influence everything from how you see the world, how you react to others, the words you choose, and every decision that you make, truly leads to dream manifestation. If you are trying to manifest something into reality, you must first begin by looking at the beliefs that may be limiting your ability to do this as well as those that color your actions and choices.

For awhile, things seem to move along fine. You may even start to see small changes taking place that seem to confirm you are on the right track and making progress.  You may encounter some obstacles that threaten your belief and your life may seem to “fall apart”.  How will you handle this?

Listen to Dagmar Bryant, from LIncoln, UK, who will share with us how she was able to manifest her dreams by believing. 

How would you know if your belief system is working for you or against you?  

What have been running in your thoughts?  Are those positive or negative thoughts?  Are they making you excited or dragging you from manifesting what you want to manifest in life?

Belief systems affect every area of your life. Beliefs affect most of your emotions, thoughts you think, productivity, relationships, and attitude.

Why should you take notice of your belief system?  Your belief system will determine what kind of decisions you make for yourself in terms of health, food, exercise, performance, financial freedom, happiness, lasting relationships or create drama in these areas.  If you feel that your life, emotions, or your mind is out of control then what is it that has control? It is your beliefs, most of which are unconscious that have control of your mind. Unless you become aware and begin to take charge of your beliefs your beliefs will continue to have control of your thoughts and emotions. 

Your belief systems affect every area of your life, most importantly they will affect your happiness and misery. They are behind your emotional outbursts, anxiety, depression, insecurity, financial decisions, intimacy issues, commitment, and how effective you communicate. It will direct you whether you feel worthy enough to be happy, or whether you feel it is even possible to make changes. If your belief system is programmed with, “This is just the way I am, and I will always be this way,” then it will prevent you from considering options that would help you have a life you want.

Listen to Andrea Rice how she became a seeker of knowledge after going through so much in life.  She believed now that that she could do more for others hence, she started her business, "Our Daydream" (seeing life in different lights).    

If you look physically healthy, you may not have any awareness of the painful discrimination in all areas of life that people with disabilities live with on a daily basis.  

Difficulty walking takes so much time and energy for you to move from one point to another.  You feel very inconvenient and disempowering.  People with intellectual disabilities also suffer similar types of discrimination on a daily basis. Their challenges are different, but they too are treated in ways that are very shaming and disempowering.

Kellina Powell, our guest speaker, is one of the many people living with hidden disabilities. Because she looks perfectly healthy, people sometimes bully her as she is having difficulty communicating due to being deaf.  She lost her hearing at a very young age and with the support of her family and her attitude of empowering herself, she was able to overcome the challenges, finished her bachelor's degree in Psychology, and now reaching out and inspiring people with the same disability.

Kellina believes that disability should not be the reason to stop pursuing your dreams.  She took all the necessary steps to make sure so she can be the voice of the deaf community.

Listen how she was able to achieve her goals and now pursuing her dreams.

When we mention about gifts, it reminds us of something we receive during our birthdays and Christmas season, which can come in many sizes and shapes. I am sure, there is nothing better than seeing the gleaming eyes and joyful expression when someone opens what we have given them! It really is a feeling that is difficult to describe in another way besides joyful. 

Gifts may not only come in the form of material things.  Gift is another term for the talent that was given to us by God.  This may be in the form of being a writer, poet, musician, artist, and many other forms.  How will you know that is a gift?  If we enjoy doing it.  It gives us so much life and passion.  When we use what has been given to us, share this to others, and see their smile on their faces, how do you feel?  I am sure it always makes you smile and gives you an extra boost when someone compliments your work.  There is no better feeling.

We are all humans with a unique purpose, but in the hustle and bustle of the world, it is easy to forget how much we matter and mean to others. We all try the best we can to live up to our purpose, but sometimes, we fall short. This is no fault of our own. Sometimes, pressure can take over and make you believe even the wildest misconceptions about yourself.  

We are often like puzzles. Sometimes, life makes sense and fits together perfectly. In other instances, no matter what we do, we cannot seem to find where we fit. 

Listen to Lafonda Blackmon how she was able to use her gift to benefit others.  We know that we are not perfect, and sometimes, our attempt to help others may fail. What matters most is how we use our God-given gift to rise again.  It is not how you fall but how you refuse to quit and always dust yourself off.  That's what makes our life more enriching and fulfilled.

Everything that we believe and do is influenced by our education.  Educational institutes are more than just a place for academics to learn the fundamentals of reading and writing, as well as business and economics. Today, the education industry faces many challenges. The betterment of the education system requires some major efforts.

Our history has changed tremendously but our education system still remains the same, which is kind of obsolete.  Each child has their own passions and are expressed in their own unique ways to help the world.  However, the children are taught in a box and are required to conform to the standards.  What happens to the children?  They are faced with anxiety of not meeting the expectations of their parents.  That's the reason why there are so many cases of suicides, mental depression and feeling disengaged event the smart children.

What can we do as adults to help our children?  Listen to Dr Shauli Mukherjee, a passional educationalist and a global thought leader focusing on setting up and leading new age for K-12 schools. She believes that the purpose of meaningful education is to develop lifelong learners, creative thinkers and responsible global citizens.