Visualize: to see or form a mental image of

Let’s discuss a bit about visualizing…

First, let me start by noting that there is a percentage of the population that is unable to visualize in mental pictures. There is nothing wrong with this, it is just the way their brains function. But they can visualize by “feeling” the reality of the goal they wish to attain. In fact, I believe that the feeling aspect of imagining is much more powerful and magnetic than the picturing aspect.

Feel the emotions even if you cannot see images. Your subconscious mind cannot tell the difference between a real and an imagined act.

Looking “At”

Now, you can make mental pictures or get specific details and create a “dream” board to establish your goals in your subconscious mind. These techniques are often recommended as a way to condition the subconscious and they have some benefit. They will encourage you to focus on what you want.

However, I have a very different idea about visualization (which for our purposes, will include both picturing and feeling a goal).

Let’s say you close your eyes to see yourself achieving a goal. You see yourself “out there” on the screen of space, watching yourself going through the motions, almost like watching a movie.

Or you make your dream board or treasure map or whatever you wish to call it. You are looking at things on this board that you wish to possess or you have pictures of yourself on this board doing or being what you want. You are still looking at yourself “out there”.

Again, this may have some benefit, especially if visualizing in this way produces in you a corresponding feeling of having what you want.

Looking “From”

Now, here is the most powerful way to visualize and the fastest way to manifest results.

You visualize from “within”. You are the actor in the role, seeing the world through your own eyes, looking out at the world as if you already are what you want to be or already possess what you desire. You take on this role and live in this consciousness over and over until it feels natural. As you rehearse this role, your subconscious will accept it and it will become your natural state of being. You will take on the mental and emotional state of the end result and then…at just the right moment you will experience this reality in the outer world. The outer world must become what you have accepted inwardly.

It’s Already Mine

So here is the difference. Let’s use “Bev” as an example. Bev wants a new digital camera:

Bev can picture the camera she wants. She can paste up photos, study it in detail, commit it to memory. And she just may suddenly see these cameras all over the place. But will she accept subconsciously that this camera is hers? Maybe.

Or Bev can play the role. Become the actress holding the camera up to her eyes, feel herself focusing “her” camera on her subject, maybe even feel the slight weight of the camera in it’s carrying case as it swings against her as she walks. She can close her eyes and feel herself placing her camera in its spot on her shelf at home. If Bev were not able to make mental pictures clearly, then all she would need to do is create the feeling that she already possessed her camera – the feeling of satisfaction of owning the camera. Not desiring or wanting it…because if you already have something, then you wouldn’t be desiring or wanting it, would you?

You are the actor in the role, playing the part of being, doing, having whatever it is you want, from the inside out. From within your own consciousness, you already ARE that person, you are already DOING what you want, you already HAVE what you desire.

That is true visualization.

A feeling of fulfillment is something we all seek. Here I would like to address this in a way that many of you already know at some level but which I feel is necessary to highlight.

If we look at the word “fulfillment” itself we find the concept of being “filled full”. I would like to show you that indeed this is literally what it means to be fulfilled.

If you wish, for a moment, think of something that makes you feel happy. Imagine this thing being in your life whenever you desire it. As you do this allow yourself to note how you begin to feel inside of yourself. Also notice where you feel these feelings.

Now if you followed closely I think many of you will likely have felt some or all of the following: feelings of joy, happiness, lightness, inner peace and contentment, buoyancy, and a feeling of expansiveness throughout some or all of your body.

Now, although many of you have likely felt something like this before have you ever stopped to consider what is actually happening here? On reflection I think you will likely agree that you are feeling more alive, more present, feeling more fully, and more fully in your body.

I think that you will likely also agree that this is what you mean by feeling “fulfilled”.

So let’s look at what we’ve just said. To be fulfilled means to feel yourself “fully in your body”! Does this sound strange to you? For instance, if one is feeling fully in one’s body when one is feeling fulfilled then what state are they in when they are not feeling fulfilled?

Well that is an important question because it clearly suggests that one is “not” fully in one’s body when one is not feeling fulfilled. Now I know that many regularly and metaphorically use the expression “you need to get into your body” in daily jargon. Here however I am going to stress the “literal” use of this expression rather than the metaphorical one.

What do I mean by this? Well the feeling of fulfillment which is associated with “feeling fully in one’s body” is actually an experience of one’s spiritual self occupying fully the body that belongs to them. In other words living fully within their body.

The fact that many individuals do not feel fulfilled means that their spiritual self is “not” living fully within their physical body. It’s like they have one foot in this life and one foot somewhere else.

Now I know that many will say that this is a normal and acceptable state to be in. If that is true then why is it that it is accompanied with such an undesirable feeling of unfulfillment? Additionally, why is it that living “fully” within one’s body is associated with a desirable and pleasurable state of fulfillment?

Back in 1983, I was hired to teach English in rural northern Japan. I had no experience teaching, and didn’t speak a work of Japanese.

No matter—I had the requisite four-year college degree and a thirst for adventure.

My employer/boss/teaching partner was Grif Frost, a 27-year-old budding entrepreneur who had married the Japanese exchange student who had once lived with his family. He ended up living near his wife’s parents in Mutsu, and did what any self-respecting
English-speaking person did in Japan in 1982—he started an English school.

Now, Grif had no experience teaching, either. He had a master’s in International Management and a couple of toddlers at home. He was the token foreigner in Mutsu, and figured he might as well put it to good use.

Without training, he developed an approach he called “Dynamic English”—a high-energy, full-body, take-no-prisoners form of English as pure entertainment. He focused on presenting classes that were “Fast, Fun and Friendly”, and was notorious for his colorful puppets, loud singing, dramatic storytelling, and excessive sweating.

As his partner, I picked up on the style quickly. Soon, I was causing my own stampedes of 3-year-olds and getting my share of notoriety for creative book-reading. In one memorable moment, I was spreading my arms wide to demonstrate the concept of “big” when my blouse burst open. Talk about a visual aid!

We became something like rock stars among the kindergarten children. Imagine a hundred Japanese five-year-olds seeing big white Americans with squeaky oversized plastic mallets (great for elimination during “Simon Says”), an overflowing bag of what looked suspiciously like toys, and boisterous “Good Morning!” greetings. The kids would literally fall over laughing at our stunts, and never got tired of our silly songs and wild games.

We were doing what came naturally—fully engaging the students in a way that created real awareness of language, objects, directions, shapes, colors, and verbal and musical sounds. Our older students were thrilled with this active approach, so different from the “This is a pen” lessons they’d chanted in their mandatory English classes in middle school. By providing new triggers, surprising methods, and hilarious material, we were offering novel stimuli, fresh perspective, and 100% focus on the present.

Little did we know that a Harvard psychologist would later describe these same characteristics as essential for mindful learning! Dr. Ellen Langer, author of The Power of Mindful Learning, talks about the importance of being open to novelty, drawing distinctions, being aware of differing contexts and perspectives, and orienting in the present.

Learning a language can be incredibly tedious or outrageously active and exciting. We played with English and our students not only learned the lessons quickly but laughed heartily, burned calories, and created a whole new mindset about what it takes to learn something new.

Grif relied on mindful learning in developing his approach to teaching English—he was completely open from the beginning, and was never hampered by ideas of what teaching should look like.

He was creative about using games and songs he’d loved as a kid and turning them into fresh and powerful tools for teaching. He shifted the lesson plans when dealing with various age groups and English levels, and constantly improved his approach by paying attention to the responses and being fearless about making changes and trying out new ideas.

Years later, I am delighted to find myself applying this approach
to teaching mindfulness. Instead of sticking with the meditation lesson plan, I’ve opted for the excitement of learning mindfulness in a way that is thoroughly engaging and surprisingly active. In fact, the basic guidelines for Real-World Mindfulness Training are remarkably similar to those for Dynamic English:

* Stay open to new things—including your approach to learning in general.

* Look for subtle differences in similar objects or ideas.

* Discover new uses for old tools.

* Explore shifting perspectives.

* Shake up stale notions.

* Engage all senses.

* Get physical whenever possible.

* Jump into the moment wholeheartedly.

* Be sure to have fun every single day.

Whether you’re learning a language or developing mindfulness, the key is this: keep it dynamic.

And never underestimate the value of large squeaky plastic mallets. Just imagine how much fun it would be to use one in a room full of meditators!

Have you ever heard something that really “resonated” with you? I’m sure that if you are in tune with yourself emotionally, physically and/or spiritually you will know this experience well. Have you however ever reflected on what it means when something “resonates” with you?

If you reflect on the latter question you will likely come to the conclusion that to say that something resonates with you generally means that what was said feels like “the truth” for you.

Now in this simple realization there are three points I would like to highlight.

Firstly, the feeling of resonance, if you notice it closely is a feeling experience and not an intellectual experience. In other words it does not originate in the mind but in a different place inside you.

In order to appreciate where this feeling lives inside you you need to become aware of one simple fact. That is, that since “you” are the instrument that is resonating with what was said, then the location of the feeling of resonance is the same as where you feel yourself to be inside your body.

If you wish to locate “yourself” inside your body just think of something that you really “resonate” with and notice where you feel the resonance feeling inside your body.

Secondly, you will, if you followed me closely on the first point recognize that “you” are therefore NOT your “mind”. You are in fact somewhere other than your mind. Where you feel the resonance is in fact where you are. Does that resonate with you?

Thirdly, the very fact that something inside of you is able to resonate at all with something that is said means that there must be an inner intelligence inside you that already “knows” what is and what is not true for you.

What’s interesting again is that this inner intelligence has little if anything tho do with your intellect or your mind because as you’ve noticed it is located somwhere other than in your mind. You’ll also recognize that since the feeling of resonance originates in a place where “you” feel yourself to be that inner intelligence is YOU!

So in summary. from this simple experiment you will recognize that:

1. To say “I resonate with what was said” means “what was said is true for me”.

2. This feeling of resonance or truthfulness does not originate in the intellect or mind but where one experiences themselves to be in their body.

3. This feeling of resonance corresponds to an inner intelligence that is beyond mind or brain and that does not rely on the latter for knowledge.

4. This inner intelligence is YOU!

5. Finally, if you are this inner intelligence what has been the purpose of identifying yourself with what is stored in your mind?

Shuffling through one’s memories, this person can stumble upon hidden messages that allow him or her to find pieces of his hidden being. We must learn to shuffle through our failures and successes in order to improve our life.

Improvement links us to better health, development and assists one with discovering him inner self and voice. It is all part of the healing process.

We must shuffle through our perceptions as well. Our perceptions affect self and the many aspects of our lives. It also affects the many situations we may face, rather the way we react to these situations.

We often affect various areas of our life by harboring negative emotions and thoughts that develop from our past learning and experiences.

Our views can affect our decisions. We may develop a bias outlook on life that will hinder us from visualizing ourselves in the future in a successful surrounding. We must abandon these negative traits and thoughts to see the world in a better light.

By using challenging approaches with a positive attitude, we can manage to survive nearly any situation that we may face. A positive attitude with challenging approaches can move us to overcome negativities that hinder us from success. One must develop a higher plan of consciousness and awareness to become confident and shuffle through one’s own perceptions, memories, et cetera and to avoid becoming overconfident.

Healing the hidden being takes skills and techniques to achieve balance. Balance is essentially necessary to heal the hidden self. We must attain the skills and abilities to use challenging approaches in order to manage various situations we may face. We must keep a positive outlook on life and our abilities to move self through situations that arise and to think clear through solving the problems.

By changing your outlook on life, one can move to success. We must shuffle through emotions, beliefs and other aspects of our thinking, behaviors, habits, et cetera. By shuffling through these aspects of one’s human makeup, we can move toward success by developing self-conceptualization through the healing of the hidden self.

Healthy minds often open up to new ideas. New ideas can assist us with challenging approaches to manage all situations we face in our life.

Developing an open mind is crucially needed, yet we must develop a balanced open mind to shuffle through emotional reactions that hinder us from success.

One must remove the notion that he or she does not have the ability to learn and grow. Instead of being stuck in one spot, we must shuffle through our past, experiences and knowledge gained from teaching and influences, as well as observational learning.

Instead of becoming stagnated, it is essentially important that we open the mind to various options to adapt a winning attitude. Instead of letting negative learning from the past hold you back, shuffle through these emotions and take control.

Our human instincts also play a role in healing the hidden self. Our natural instincts can force us to resist changes and we have to curb this reaction by developing a will to listen to initiating instincts that move us to act in accord with nature.

In our healing process, we learn to listen to the inner voices that direct us from natural instincts to a path of positive persuasion.

One must be willing to accept changes and adapt to each change that occurs. Our positive outlook will assist us with development via the healing process. We can develop strength of will to shuffle through our past and abandoning poor self-misconceptions, which is the root of failure.

Here’s a quote from the late great columnist Sydney Harris that I believe says much about the state of marriage in our culture: “Almost no one is foolish enough to imagine that they automatically deserve great success in any field of activity; yet almost everyone believes they automatically deserve success in marriage.”

One of the best unexpected blessings of marriage is to count the parents of your spouse among your friends.

Certain so called “parenting experts” may be saying the right things. So why do they have to say the right things in such a very wrong way?

Three things guaranteed to bring out any “unfinished business” in a family: births, deaths and weddings.

From now on, whenever we leave on a family trip, I will choose something to be the “designated item we forgot to pack.” I even have a place picked out in the garage to put it the day before we leave.

It’s myth, perhaps started in the James Dean era, that teenagers have to rebel. They do have to learn how to separate from their family. This is a good thing, unless you want your kids living with you when they are thirty. But they don’t have to rebel.

The decision to have a child is the decision to have your heart walking around outside of you for the rest of your life.

No matter how hard we try not to, as parents we catch ourselves saying the very things we hated hearing from our own parents and swore we would never say to our own children.

An old song seems to be the closest thing we have to a time machine. Hearing a favorite song can instantly take you back in time, place, and emotion.

No matter what I’m doing, or how very busy I think I am, I just can’t resist these six words; “Daddy, will you play with me?”

Many among us, on many instances, have the habit of putting
aside to a later time or day some things that needs to be done
or acted upon like a project, work, job, or duty. For purposes
of discussion, we will confine ourselves to procrastination on
repair works typically at home. It equates to other
circumstances as well.

Procrastination is one habit that is hard to beat. We
procrastinate for various reasons:

1. When we think that the work that needs to be done can
afford to wait or be delayed.

2. When we are busy with something else we think is more
important.

3. When we do not like the work involved or when it is
difficult to do.

4. When we are not sure if the work that needs to be done
will be effective.

5. When the things needed in the work are not yet available
or incomplete.

6. When we forget about it.

And many other reasons like laziness or a combination of the
above.

Hard to beat as it is, we stand to gain more and virtually
loose nothing if we overturn this habit.

Check out these helpful tips:

1. When we think that a work can afford to be delayed, it can
also afford not to be delayed. By having the work done without
further delay, we feel a sigh of relief making the load of work
on our back lesser or lighter, which eventually makes us feel
better.

2. After being busy with something more important and you have
time to spare, this spare time can be used to attend to the
things on the pending list.

3. Delaying work that is difficult makes the work even more
difficult. A leak on the roof may not be harmful if it doesn’t
rain; but once it rains, water goes into the house resulting
in wet floors and carpets and eventually, the extent of
damage could be more than can be imagined.

4. When we are not sure if work that needs to be done will be
effective, we must seek advice from people who are more
knowledgeable on this field. Procrastinating won’t help.

5. Delayed work due to incomplete materials will remain delayed
unless we fill in the incomplete items. Again, procrastinating
won’t help.

6. Make a list of all pending work in the house and post it on
the refrigerator door to constantly remind us about them.

Bottom line is:

We may feel lazy at times and tend to delay some work that
needs our attention. It’s understandable that ‘starting’ to
get a job done is the most difficult part, but once you have
started, half of the job is already done and the second half
will be easy.

Every time you feel like procrastinating, picture yourself as
the job that needs to be done – like a prisoner wherein
justice being delayed results to justice being denied.

Feel that rising tide of anger? Surf’s up! Start paddling.

Whenever we feel angry or frustrated, we get a blast of adrenalin coursing through our bloodstream. In the fight or flight response to stress, our bodies rely on our appendages. We need to hit, kick, jump or run away, and our bodies help out by sending extra blood to our limbs.

If we were living in the wild and had to actually fight off a predator or run away to escape, this would make perfect sense. But in a typical day, we just don’t need those survival mechanisms like we used to. In fact, we do our best to thwart our body’s response to stress by suppressing our physical reactions.

Oh, sure, we still use our extremities to express our anger. We raise our fists, pound on the desk, slam doors or cupboards, kick the garbage can, or stomp our feet. Still, since we’re trying to be civilized and all, we use words more than body parts to react to whatever upsets us. This is good in that we don’t want to go around hitting people. Slugging your boss may be biological, but it won’t get you too far in your corporate climb.

So, instead of the fight or flight response our predecessors relied upon, we’ve developed more of what I call an “explode or seethe” response. Some of us react right away when we’re upset. We clench our fists, do some wild gesticulating, raise our voices, or slam the phone down. Others tend to seethe. We suck in our breath, count to ten, hold it, and keep our frustration covered by a tight smile or maybe a little gasp of exasperation, but that’s about it.

There’s also the classic combo of the seether/exploder. You know the type: they just keep their heads down, don’t say a word, and then out of the blue they go into a tirade that rattles the roof.

It’s interesting that we consider a seether as more evolved than an exploder. We value those who are able to keep their emotions in check. In our culture, the seethers are the “nice” people who surprise us by keeling over from a heart attack or stroke. We’ve been programmed to sit and seethe. It’s as though we’re stepping on the gas (adrenalin) and slamming on the brakes (inactivity) at the same time. Try doing that in your car, and you’ll burn up your engine. That’s what we’re doing to our bodies.

What do we do after a hard day? We sit and watch television. We play video games. We go to a movie. We collapse on the sofa and listen to music. We go out to eat and drink.

We’ve eliminated a lot of the activity of daily life. We don’t scrub floors, churn butter, wash clothes by hand, hoe the garden, walk everywhere, or otherwise eliminate our stress through regular movement. We sit in our cars, sit at our desks, and sit in front of the television. It’s no wonder we’re obese and suffering from the effects of stress!

The sit-and-seethe starts early. Consider a two-year- old having a tantrum. Picture a little body flailing about, all arms and legs. That’s adrenalin in all its glory! No suppression of instincts, just a pure, unadulterated expression of physiology at work.

We can’t have kids growing up and throwing tantrums. It’s just not socially acceptable. So, we give the two- year-old a “time out” to cool off. This is like asking a charging bull to sit and sip a bit of tea in that proverbial china shop.

With all our blood rushing to our extremities, our brains are getting the leftovers. This is the worst possible time for us to be logical. When we’re angry and that adrenalin is surging, we’re far more likely to say things we’ll regret and to make decisions that will have us shaking our heads later. If you react verbally or respond intellectually in that adrenalin moment, you’re going to have some clean-up in aisle 12 later– apologies and general repair of relationships and projects.

Most of us have learned that we need to step back when we’re really upset in order to avoid making a mess of things. Here’s something you may not know: it takes a full 90 minutes for your body to get back to normal after experiencing a blast of adrenalin.

Ninety minutes. That means that a simple “time-out” for your child isn’t likely to relax him, and postponing that important meeting for 10 minutes while you cool down isn’t going to guarantee that you’ll be fully capable of handling your issue in a level headed way.

If you really want to take advantage of your body’s natural mechanism for survival, you might as well learn to work with it. The good news is that, with a little flexibility, we can use our physiology to help us thrive and even make us healthier.

You’ve got to move, and you’ve got to breathe. Isn’t it convenient that those two go together so well?

Here are the four best strategies for surfing your adrenalin wave: *Paddle. Your arms and legs need movement, so look for acceptable ways to get active. Go to the restroom and do some jumping jacks if you can’t sneak away for a walk or head to the gym for a workout. Move some boxes. Sort the recycling. Reshelve some books. Beat the rugs. Shake out the comforters. Go for a run. Crank up your stereo and dance with the kids in the living room. Jump on the exercise bike or go cycling around the neighborhood. Walk to another part of the building. Find a corner and do some push-ups. Activate those appendages!

*Laugh. When we’re angry, our bellies tighten up. We take shallow breaths at the chest level. This just adds to the brain drain! We need to relax enough that our bellies can move freely as we breathe, and if we don’t get that by doing some cardio that makes us huff and puff, the next best thing is to laugh. Get a laugh partner, and agree to call and guffaw–no talking allowed. Bust a gut, and breathe deeply.

*Sing. You need some serious exhalations, so jump in the shower and blast out your favorite power ballad. Get in your car and sing along with the radio. Releasing sound is therapeutic in itself. Throw in some dance moves, and you’ve got it covered!

*Avoid meditation. Ignore what you’ve heard about thinking through your anger. Mindfulness is immensely valuable, but trying to meditate when you’re really angry is not realistic or helpful. Be active first, and then sit. The only way to handle that adrenalin in a healthy way is to engage physically. You’ve got to be calm to be mindful. Get control of yourself physically before using your mind to address a problem.

Next time you get mad, get moving.

Work with your body instead of against it. Learn to surf that adrenalin wave, and you’ll become a better decision maker, a more relaxed parent, and a healthier human.

Feeling disappointed? It’s time to float.

The time-honored approach to disappointment generally involves a fair amount of wallowing followed by a concerted effort to move on. Okay, this can work. But a more mindful approach includes an interim phase between these two. It’s a unique opportunity to “float”.

When things don’t go our way–whether we’re talking about election results, a job interview, a proposal at work, or a relationship–we naturally feel disappointed. We had hoped for the best, even expected the best (hey, we know about human motivation techniques, after all) and this apparent failure hits us pretty hard.

So, the first step is to feel the emotion. Go ahead. Mad? Frustrated? Depressed? It’s okay to allow yourself to feel it. You can commiserate with others or wallow alone–it’s your choice.

Now, here comes the mindfulness part:

Take one giant step back. Step away from the swirl of thoughts and emotions and simply look at it in a sort of interested bystander way. It’s as though you have a clipboard and you’re taking note of your response.

1) Scan your body. How does disappointment feel physically? Is it affecting your digestion, your sleep, your movement?

Scan your body for pain and tightness. Notice how your forehead feels, your cheeks, your jaw, your neck, your shoulders. Take a look at your face in a mirror. What does disappointment look like?

Continue to pass over your body mentally, noticing any pain, discomfort, tingling or tightness. Be sure to check your own personal trouble spots, whether that’s your lower back, your knees, or your belly.

We tend to develop habitual physical responses to strong emotions. Make sure you are familiar with yours. Paying attention during mindful moments like this is your best defense against disease. Our hot spots can teach us a great deal, but during times of stress, we tend to focus on our thoughts instead of our bodies. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn more about yours.

2) Scan your mind. Watch your thoughts go by as though you are watching a parade. No need to jump on any float as it passes. You’re not the rodeo queen on a prancing horse, or the festival princess waving to the crowd. You’re a spectator. Watch.

3) Separate. Whenever we are disappointed, our past disappointments bubble to the surface. Things get stirred up, and our accompanying emotion often has more to do with the cumulative effect of our lifelong disappointments than this particular one. We tend to catastrophize and lump it all together into one big fat Disappointment Package.

Don’t let that happen. Look at this one incident as totally separate from the others. Each float stands alone.

4) Float. I call this the “Float between Floats” approach. Now that you are watching this parade of floats without climbing aboard any of them, turn your attention to that brief moment between them. Sure, you know another one is coming. It’s not quite in front of you yet. There is nothing you can do but wait. No sense spending your time or energy setting expectations that it will be spectacular. No point in worrying that it will be disastrous. Hold that space and float in it.

Settle into mindful watching–of your body, your mind, and the world around you. It is an opportunity to go beyond wound licking. Watch as your thoughts change from “Why?” to “What can I do next?” We often jump into action—-retaliatory, self-protective or simply distracting—-without gleaning our most important lessons from disappointment.

The ability to “Float between Floats” will provide clarity and comfort. Use this time to develop your awareness. It will help you recognize the power of mindfulness and the endless stream of floats that pass by.

All things considered, it’s one heckuva parade.

I write and talk a lot about dreams. Primarily because I know we serve an awesome and amazing God, who gave us dreams for an awesome and amazing purpose. We all have a dream to do something great, go somewhere incredible, achieve the unachievable, beat the unbeatable or meet the “unmeetable.” Unfortunately, more often than not, most dreams remain unrealized; silenced by fear and doubt. What’s needed is a renaissance to recapture the spirit and belief we once had as children. We need to remind ourselves in all that we desire to be, have and do… “I can, if I believe I can.”

My aim is to inspire as many people as possible to passionately pursue and do their dreams. Revitalize your dreams. Start today. Don’t just dream; dream BIG dreams! Put them in your heart, then put them on the wall, refrigerator, mirror … wherever you’ll see them often. Remind yourself you are more than worthy of everything your heart ever imagined. Believe, then diligently commit to a plan to achieve.

Resolve to live a life that ends the way you want it to; and don’t you dare, I say don’t you dare… die with your dreams still inside you.