Dream or Fantasy?

Maya Angelou once said, “A solitary fantasy can transform a million realities.”

Each individual has their own talent, skill and desire. Thus, each one of us will have our own unique path and design for getting from point A to point B. It would be great if we could move our game board piece to GO, collect our two-hundred dollars and simply head out and see where we land. That is fantasy.

We have the ability to transform our vision or lofty dreams into reality.

Several years ago, I composed a song titled, Where the Eagles Fly! In writing the lyrics, a very powerful statement poured into my heart, as if it were delivered directly from my
soul . . .

   “I believe that I can sing the song and I can dance the dance.”

As a songwriter and author, I have learned and believe that I alone do not write the words and create the melodies. We must always remember that just like the gift of life and the measurement of time, these gifts are on loan. It’s our mission to find a way to share them with the world while we have the chance and the proverbial clock keeps ticking.

It’s time to cease being the keeper of the keys, storing your dreams in notebooks and shoe boxes or holding them up in a medieval-like tower as a prisoner, but how do you know when they’re ready to be unleashed and set free?

Before you take that leap of faith, have you established that your dream is real, not a pipe-dream or a flight of your imagination? Like a fairytale, is it simply a whim destined to exist only as a memory? Once upon a time, there was a dream.

So, is your dream ready? Has it begun to dictate to you, make demands, or reveal what it wants to become? You may have heard me say it before, but I’ll repeat . . .

“If your dream awakens, grabs the keys and heads out the door, are you ready to accompany it? If not, will your dream find another dreamer? “

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To learn more about my eBook, YOU are the Key, Self-Discovery Course and Self-Discovery Lecture Series, discover it all at http://YOUaretheKey1.com

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Aristotle said that, “Hope is a waking dream.”  YOU are the Key!

Boot Camp for the Brain

As you continue to journal your dreams and goals, how often is exercise on your list? Daily maintenance for the body and for the brain is essential.

Whether you keep a steady diet of doing Sudoku or walk 2-5 miles every morning, you’re participating in a commitment to better health and longevity. Merely staying active, even if chair-bound there are ways to move and improve circulation. Simple stretches while lying in bed before rising enliven the body and the brain.

Many of us have parents or grandparents who suffer from Alzheimer’s and at one time or another considered the possibilities of being stricken ourselves. A recent study at UCLA monitored daily activities of 876 individuals, men and women aged 65 and up. Those who were found to be more active have a fifty percent reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s.

However, science will always prove the very fact that exercise is critical for a healthy lifestyle. Those stricken with a disease have a better chance of quality of life with some form of physical and mental exercise.

Let’s take a look at a woman who was diagnosed with arthritis 25 years ago and still lives to this day in a 3-story home. Family and friends try to persuade her to downsize to a one-bedroom flat, but she insists that the need to climb and descend the stairs keeps her in shape. Not only is she allowing her brain to communicate with her body to meet the demands of navigating up and down, but her body sends messages back to the brain of mission accomplished.

According to studies at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, strength training encourages the pulses of blood to the brain. Those who stay with a regimen of strength training excel in mental skills testing as well.

It has also been found that sedentary people who changed their habits and walked forty minutes daily, grew a larger brain after studies had shown their brains had begun to shrink. Thus, bigger brains can progress into the same state as a younger brain.

Just when you try to talk yourself into starting tomorrow instead of today, STOP! Remind yourself of the critical importance to oxygenate the blood and focus on optimal flow of blood to your brain. Your brain is waiting. Your body is waiting. Your dream is waiting, (unless it finds another dreamer).

Keeping that communication going between your brain and your body is always a work in progress. Focus, stamina and overall well being have a better chance. When you add it all up, it’s everything you must do to achieve your dream and happiness in your life. As always, recommended hours per week and type of activity should be discussed with your doctor. Have a plan and commit. YOU are the Key!

Thanks once again for being a part of the YOU are the Key Network. Subscribe to YOUaretheKey1.com and receive a free tip sheet, The 3 Keys to Success.

To learn more about my eBook, YOU are the Key, Self-Discovery Course and Self-Discovery Lecture Series, discover it all at http://YOUaretheKey1.com

Share YOU are the Key with those you love, admire and mentor. Link to Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/YOU-are-Celeste-Reichert-Friedman-ebook/dp/B01CPUHDQQ/

Also available in Nook Books! http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/you-are-the-key-celeste-reichert-friedman/1123890618?ean=2940158220609

Stay active and resilient. YOU are the Key!

Across the Field

Football season. All over America, it’s in the air. You can smell it, sense it, taste it and hear the beating of the drums. Teams are practicing in the heat and humidity. Marching bands are tweaking their chops and practicing hitting their marks. Coaches from high school to college are preparing for a successful season and praying they’ll hold on to their jobs.

What is on everyone’s mind across the field? It’s easy-one guess. On everyone’s mind is what it’s going to take: to succeed, to execute every play, to score, to become champions. To become the best in defense and the best in offense, it’s going to take Self-Confidence. For each player and each and every coach, it’s going to take Believing in one’s self.

Let’s say you’re playing “center” on offense. The referee blows the whistle, the quarterback cues the play and you’re holding the ball. You are the Key. From your hands the ball is in play and what will be its fate?

Jump to the other side of the scrimmage line. You’re a “tackle” on defense for the opposing team. This is not the time to be dreaming of one day playing in the Super Bowl, but what your responsibility is in the present moment. You are the Key.

If you recall in an earlier blog, I wrote about Leonardo da Vinci’s Seven Principles. Consider the outcome of each game or an entire season if every coach, every player, every member of the marching band and every cheerleader focused on Principle #7- Connessione- the recognition of and appreciation for the phenomenal interconnectedness of all things.

Good luck to all and best wishes for an outstanding season! YOU are the Key!

Thanks once again for being a part of the YOU are the Key Network. Subscribe to YOUaretheKey1.com and receive a free tip sheet, The 3 Keys to Success.

To learn more about my eBook, YOU are the Key, Self-Discovery Course and Self-Discovery Lecture Series, discover it all at http://YOUaretheKey1.com

Share YOU are the Key with those you love, admire and mentor. Link to Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/YOU-are-Celeste-Reichert-Friedman-ebook/dp/B01CPUHDQQ/

Also available in Nook Books! http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/you-are-the-key-celeste-reichert-friedman/1123890618?ean=2940158220609

Stay focused on the goal post. YOU are the Key!