The secret of getting ahead is getting started. Mark Twain

For many of us the problem does not lie in accomplishing the task at hand, but it getting started in the first place. Oh, we may justify our reluctance by saying the time isn't right, we aren't prepared or that the world is not ready for us yet. The truth is: we are lying to ourselves.

To reach our dreams and goals, we must get down to the business of starting. Yesterday, I posted about my experience of wallowing in a bit of self pity and being jousted out of bed with a voice that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere, exhorting me me to "get out that bed!"  You can read about that in yesterday's post. The important part is: I did get out of bed -- and I got started.

For me, the dream is to secure paying work writing about the things I love. Right now, that is wrought with challenges for many online writers. If you are writer, you already understand -- if you are not, suffice it to say that the face of online writing is changing, forcing writers to change as well.

Once I got down to the business of starting by making a few simple contacts, amazing things began to happen. Interesting work appeared when I least expected it.

If you, like many of us, are still spending your time mulling over your dreams, it is time to get started. Step out in faith -- you may find pleasant surprises where you least expect them.

Today, I am grateful for new-found work, for the courage to step out on foreign land and the energy to pursue my dreams. I am grateful for opportunities yet to come my way, for the ability to touch the lives of others and for those who have helped me along the way. 

I am grateful for the rain that washes the world clean, for sound of raindrops that will lull me to sleep and for warm, fall weather that delays the winter cold. 

I am grateful for good books to read, cozy slipper to wear and plants that breathe life into my room. I am grateful for music to soothe the soul, candles to scent the air and cool water to quench my thirst. 

I am grateful for family and friends without who my life would be incomplete. 

And, I am grateful for you, dear reader, as you stop to share my day. May you summon up the courage to start today -- as you go forward in the direction of your dreams.

"You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." -- MARK TWAIN

Often in life we think we know what lies before us. As humans we are accustomed to seeing what we already believe to be true. As Marl Twain points out, if you imagination is out of focus, what you see may be too.

A long time ago, I dealt with a young man who had overheard his father's conversation on the phone. As the father spoke, unaware that the son was listening from another room, he made a reference to a name. Now, the son knew someone with this name, and quickly assumed the father was talking about his friend. The conversation continued and because of this one assumption, the young man built up an elaborate story in his head to accommodate the various parts of the conversation. He was sure his father was talking about him and his friend and grew angrier by the moment at the things he imagined his father was saying about them. But he kept silent.

Some weeks later the son he revealed his beliefs in a fit of anger.It was then that the father became aware of this simple misunderstanding. The son, of course, would have nothing to do with his father's explanation. He knew what he heard and he was unable to see outside himself long enough to consider alternate explanations. He had relived his false assumptions so many times that no other explanation would do. This one incident colored their relationship and determined the path the young man would take in the future. Yet, his imagination was out of focus and what he saw (heard) was too.

How like this young man we are sometimes as we hold fast to the things we believe are true, and think that our choices are limited to only what we see at the moment. 

Strive to put your imagination in focus today, so that you may see the many opportunities before you as you go forward to reach your goals.

Today, I am grateful for sunny skies, gentle breezes and the smell of impending fall. I am grateful for mums that bring bright color in the last leg of summer, for hummingbirds that get their fill in the summer sun, and for cats that laze in the summer rays.

I am grateful for family and friends who I hold dear, for good books, and the music of the crickets into the night.

And, I am grateful for you, dear reader, as you stop to share my day. May you strive to keep your imagination in focus, as you go forward in the direction of your dreams.