You’re “Shy”???

I’m a little frustrated with myself! Great opening line to a post! There will be no pictures, only raw letters today. This post is dedicated to everyone, including and especially myself, who let excuses get in the way of their Dream!

It annoys me so much to watch talented people (yes you too) waste their ability because of some fear or whatever. Now, I’m a Christian, and in my circles, the excuses border on amazing! “I’m just being humble” is one good one… Hello? Jesus hit the WHOLE WORLD, and is STILL doing it!! Maybe your definition of ‘humility’ is flawed. It’s not the “ability to blend in and do live invisibly” like we’ve defined it, but it’s the basis upon which we do anything. Being noticed is not a sign of pride… It’s a sign of being noticed! Whether it’s for something great or stupid, people are noticed all the time. If what you want to do will result in some notice, that doesn’t mean you weren’t humble, it means people found it worth noticing. If they talk, well then unless you’re the one telling them what to say, you’re not some diva in the making, you’re worth talking about.

What about this one: “It’s not the right time”. Just great! You’ve just confessed to having in your possession some kind of device that gives you specifics about when you must “become something”, or when to take advantage of an opportunity. I swear if you have something like that in your pocket, I will be jealous! Nobody has the “right time” written into their DNA. All that everybody has, is TIME! As in, right now! As in, today. As in, HELLO! It is ridiculous that we have this thing called a brain, and we decide it needs breaks, as if we were over-using it in the first place (not!). Nothing on this Earth can give you a reason to wait for your Dream to come true. The only things that can take time are the processes towards your Dream happening, but they are part of the Dream! The only time that is truly bad for any kind of attempt, is when you’re dead! When you die, it is guaranteed that you won’t get anything done!

How’s this one: “I’m not ready”. Well whose fault is that??? You’re “not ready” because you’re probably not doing anything to be ready. I used to think I needed to read a bunch of poetry before I could write any. And yes, it does help to expose yourself to as much as you can. However, exposure is not what grants you permission to act on something! I went to one poetry event, heard a few poets, and it was decided! It didn’t take months, it didn’t take years, or many books on style and technique, it took a little kick, and I responded to it!

What is a “little kick”? It’s a moment of inspiration. It’s a place where you feel “I want to do THAT as well”. It could be a dream you had one night, or something you heard, even a movie (ever notice how movies that highlight creativity just make you wanna do what you saw?)… whatever the “little kick”, you have to note that it isn’t a permanent source of inspiration/energy! Basically, it will dissipate, and will no longer inspire you after a while when left alone. If you don’t act on it, you can never be ready. Readiness is for those whose mindsets and actions are aligned with a purpose. It’s not even about knowing everything there is to know, it’s just simply being in the right mental position to respond to opportunity!

Oh wait, you’re “shy”? Is that the problem? Unfortunately, there’s no cure for shyness. Yes I said it! It’s not something that “gets better”, personally I don’t even know how it exists in this world. In fact, I think it’s a device we’ve come up with. Shyness is the ability to look at yourself, and be absolutely blind to what you can do right, for the sake proving some imaginary statistic that you will mess up whatever you put your hands to. Shyness sees $99.95 and says “I’m 5 cents short of $100… I’m broke!” So it doesn’t spend any money! Shyness will ignore your talents, and make you look at failures you haven’t even committed yet.

In short, shyness is the worst form of perfectionism you could ever live with! You should RUN from that description ( just make sure you run with your head up and shoulders straight! Need to see where you’re going.)!

It can’t allow any mistakes, so it makes you do nothing. Huh?? Yes, because of that earlier statement, in an even shorter form: Shyness makes you stupid! Of course I had to hit the nail on the head. I was shy to say that, I wanted to say “makes you do stupid things”. That would’ve been more politically correct, but I realised being polite is the reason people aren’t honest anymore with each other, or themselves. We say “I want to be humble” instead of saying “I’m crap scared of how people will respond”. We say “It’s not the right time” instead of saying “I’m anxious about when to do this, and I really don’t have full security right now”. We say “I’m not ready” instead of saying “I’ve missed opportunities to grow in my ability, and even more, to expose it, and all those times have made me feel less sure of myself”…or even better, “I’ve been lazy with my time”!

The only way to beat all this is to JUST DO IT! Just start working on that Dream, Start that blog, get out that pen and write a poem, talk to someone about painting classes…what the heck just start painting! It’s a business? Ok, before you even talk about money, how about defining what you want to do first? How about talking to people who can encourage you in your journey for clarity on your vision. The money issue, comes AFTER clarity. Don’t worry about things you shouldn’t worry about yet. When it’s time, then it’s time.

The world isn’t actually watching you as closely as you think they are. Nobody pays attention to mediocrity! If you’re scared of criticism, then what you’re really saying s you’re scared of doing anything, because the only way to avoid criticism, is to do nothing!

You will attract attention the moment you do something different. Get over it.

You will be told some negative things in your journey, or even worse, receive some praise (to all you pessimists). Get over it.

You will have times you’re not sure of anything you’re doing. That’s part of life. Get over it.

You might fail…many times. Get over it.

Oh and last thing, when you succeed… GET OVER IT!

There’s too much at stake with your life. Some people will get their “little kick” from watching you do well. Don’t deprive them.

Don’t deprive yourself.

Don’t be shy!

Begin.

#MeikNoize (MAKE NOISE!)

This idea hit me the other day! I was very ungrateful for the bruise it left, but was otherwise thankful for the impact it made! And before I stumble across more unintentional puns, I will tell you that idea!

I sat there and thought of what it would look like to live the life I’ve always dreamed of. That part was easy. The cool part was what it looked like to other people! You maybe want to drive flashy cars,  have kids,  go bungee-jumping,  play an instrument, or watch someone play an instrument, live in a certain area, have a massive sound system, own a yacht, or learn how to spell “yacht”. These things are cool for you…but for others they could share something else in common: a lot of these things make noise!

He started off as a straight line, then became quite uncertain of himself! Poor lad!

The Ebb and Flow of Thought

I recently observed a scene of a beach on television (which is the best I’ve experienced so far… I need to travel) that got me thinking really hard about how the mind works, in the context of your thoughts and/or imagination. This is the birthplace of Dreams and Ideas. This scene I observed with all its multiple angles and narrated information on the “ebb and flow” of the tide, sparked a lot of connections in my mind about how our own thoughts work. There are characteristics of a tide ebbing and flowing found right in the way we think or feel.

Consistently Concise

Have you ever been asked a question about your Dreams and Desires, and started responding with “Uuuummmmmm…” or, “Weeeeeelllllll…” or even, “You seeeee…”??
Weeeeeellllll let me tell you that you’re suffering from a lack of Clarity, a symptom of which is ‘extended versions of common terms, mimicking the effects of a speech impediment’. In other words, you don’t REALLY know what you want.

We all glorify ‘having an idea’ of what you want, but don’t demand a concise description of that idea. Being as exact and as brief as you takes you out of pit of talking too much (which is a topic I really do justice in my earlier post!), which is important because talking TOO much takes everyone on a journey up into mid-air, and leaves us all there!

The Dream Duality

If you haven’t noticed, the topic of Dreams is a clear favourite for me. There’s no doubt that it’s also a serious issue for people out there. It has resulted in many creations and innovations in this world. We are surrounded by designs, businesses, and lifestyles that are the result of somebody’s Dream. This fact forms the basis of my topic: the Dream Duality.

Different Expressions of One Entity

The word ‘duality’ refers to a dual state of being, seemingly two states of existence. Context and conditions can have an impact on which ‘state’ we experience, or maybe the object has two concurrent manifestations. An example would be the “wave-particle duality”, where the basic constituents of nature sometimes behave like particles, and other times like waves. Sounds nice and academic, but it will all make sense soon.

The world in your Mind

A Dream, experiences this duality of existence as well, it can manifest in two different contexts. The one state we’re most familiar with, is the Dream in Your Mind. This state of being will drive and motivate us to do things that haven’t been done before. The dream in our Mind is really likened to potential energy, pointing to what could be, what is possible. This is the most common state of the Dream that humanity experiences. Even in this state however, the Dream is ‘real’. As you think about it, the images, possibilities, ideas, can be seen as ‘real’, but this reality only exists in our heads. Nobody else can see it or feel it, but it is real enough for you.

Imagination meets reality

The second state, I’ll give a pretty easy label: the Dream Come True. This is when your Dream is no longer potential energy within, but has now taken the new form of kinetic energy and gets moving in the reality around you. You’re not the only person experiencing it, people beyond yourself can see and respond to it too. Most Dreams, if they had a desired state, would want to exist beyond your mind. Every Dream has the potential within it to come true, but manifesting this takes decisions and resolve.

Herein lies the duality: in one state, it’s not tangible, in the other it is; in one state, only you can see it, yet in the other state everybody can see it. In both states, a Dream is just that… a Dream. Yet it can exist perfectly whole and complete in your mind, and exist in the outside world. It’s the “wave-particle duality” of Dreams. In one sense, it operates on a mental level, yet in the other, it operates at a physical level. Both are regarded as real, just to different audiences.

Both states serve a certain purpose and neither is more important than the other. They are one and the same in their vision, yet completely different in their impact. Unfortunately, a problem exists here. Not with the duality, but with the way we as people handle it: Because of fact that both ‘versions’ of the Dream are complete in their expressions, we tend to be comfortable only expressing one side of this duality: the Dream in our Mind.

The Dream in your Mind is perfectly fine, it’s enough for a lot of us, but it only affects the Dreamer. Sure, if you tell people about it with enough clarity, passion and certainty, you’ll touch the people around you, but all you’ve done is increase the number of Dreamers. You can start an entire movement on Dreamers alone, purely because the Dream in your Mind has a level of reality that can be experienced on a personal level.

To leave the Dream in the Mind plane though, is unfair and immature (this is barring circumstances that can’t be avoided of course)! You see, the draw and intrigue of a duality is that this single entity (in this case, the Dream) expresses BOTH versions of itself! When you leave the Dream on the level of the imagination, and not allow it (through your input and decisions) to become a Dream come True, you’re killing the power of this duality!

Dreams that don’t come true, are not complete in their nature! They’re forced to live half their potential. A Dream that comes True is a necessary constituent of existence itself! It colours the world, it makes our lives more interesting, it reproduces after itself…giving birth to more Dreams in our Mind, that must come True, to complete their spectrum of expression! When a Dream comes true, it is no longer subject to the elements of the Mind, like memory loss, low self-esteem, doubt and fear.

A Dream come True is a Dream that has been set free!

Who is the real being? Bruce Wayne, or Batman? They BOTH are!

The duality is complete when the world gets to see your Dream. Nobody can tell you it’s impossible anymore, nobody can decide its conditions anymore, nobody can say you’re crazy…they just have to deal with it! A Dream come True will forever be a piece of history that cannot be denied! Leaving it in your mind, makes it a target for ridicule, a target for questioning…it’s more vulnerable when you leave it in your Mind, because even you could start to wonder after a while. I know that may seem counter-intuitive because reflex is to protect our Dream by keeping it within ourselves. That is a necessary ste, but only for a while…not forever. After doing what it takes for it to be a reality we ALL see, it has gained a level of unstoppable inertia that you alone can’t offer it.

YES, either way, it is a perfect and whole entity… You can pass on your Dream to others through influence and character. If for some reason, you are not able to make it come true, you can extend it’s lifespan by passing it on. Great leaders have this ability. Even before they have accomplished much, they have followers who just believe them when they talk about their Dream. These people then take part in an action, that desires to make that Dream come True.

It’s a process. The imagination and reality are two separate planes, and yet this thing called a Dream walks both. The two planes are at odds with each other, having different climates and working on different rules. Reality bases itself on logic, and the imagination doesn’t take that logic into account.

At some point, flying as a form of transport was a fantastical idea from fairy tales. Now, however, it’s a fact of life. That’s because Dreams are not bound to either imagination or reality. The fantasy of imagination shouldn’t happen, and the logic of reality shouldn’t be broken…yet that’s what Dreams do!! They force fantasy into reality, and they bend logic to their will! They re-write logic itself, and give fantasy more room to imagine the unreal!

If your Dreams don’t come True, then the realm of the imagination is limited in those around us…because actualized Dreams give birth to new ones. In your head however, it can’t do that.

I see you, you see me... Without you, I'm incomplete!

So there it is, The Dream Duality! Your Dream can be an idea, that you multiply through inspiring and influencing others… Or it can be a living part of existence that all of us must see and interact with. Dreams are schizophrenic, being at home in both extremes of the Mind, and of the outer reality we all live in!

Allow your Dream to express itself on both planes, both manifestations, both extremes! Go as wild as you can in your mind, and work as hard as you can in your reality. Both versions are real, and both deserve a chance. Don’t live with only the imagination, let the rest of the world deal with its existence!

If you do this, you get to live your Dream twice!

Over.

The Dream, The Desire, The Doubt, The Deed!

In case you haven’t noticed, The Maze has a thing for Dreams. It’s a topic that is inexhaustible, and yet can become quite clichéd without any foundation on reality. Most people can dream. That isn’t the issue. Getting those dreams out of the realm of your imagination is where we find problems. It’s not something we’re taught at school, or that comes up in normal discussion with people. Somehow it’s an elusive part of the life-process that we’re left to figure out and grapple with on a day-to-day basis…or even ignore if we want. So The Maze thought he’d give you a little help in dealing with this issue.

THE DREAM
This is the easy bit. A lot of times our Dreams are not our choice. Did you know that? Whatever it is that went through your mind that night wasn’t a voluntary decision. Yes it had a lot to do with what drives you, what inspires you, what you think about…but the Dream as you know it wasn’t a conscious choice. A lot of times I’ve heard the phrase “you don’t choose your dreams, your dreams choose you”. It’s a strange concept to consider, but one that makes more and more sense to me.
You will have a picture in your mind of what your desired reality looks like. Another word for this would be vision. Make sure you do everything in your power to keep this Dream vivid in your mind. Write  it down, put up posters that represent it, listen to people who talk about it…whatever the case, your first step to making it a reality is to place it in the physical world where things like forgetfulness and apathy won’t zap it away! It’s a great way to make sure it lasts a lot longer the way you saw/believed it originally.

Stop looking at me… DO IT!!!

THE DESIRE
Having had the Dream and making it visible, another step worth considering is how much you want it. This seems simple enough, but things like encouragement and motivation are easy to experience in moments, but hard to keep up over time. You’ll have to learn how to encourage yourself in your life, because there are plenty of opportunities to forget your dream, and even more to let go of them entirely!
Have you got any quotes that inspire you? Stories of success that motivate you? People that speak to you in a way that makes you feel like a superhero? If not…GET THEM! Once you have these things in place, make them easily accessible. I know people like the “self-talk” idea, if that works for you, then do it! If you have to memorize affirmations, or schedule times of day when you access these tools, do what it takes to keep yourself motivated to go after your dream.

THE DOUBT
No matter how strong you are, you will face doubt with most great things you want to do. It doesn’t matter if you’re trying to change the world, or just get into university, doubt is a universal experience that we must all overcome. Sometimes it can stop you dead on your tracks, and sometimes it can actually get you to think outside the box. Whichever you experience, you have to beat this, and force it to work in your favor. It’s always a choice how Doubt can make you feel, and that’s the good news, cos Doubt will always come in some form, but can’t decide for you!

A tip I’d give (and please use in context, and not as a universal ‘excuse’), is to avoid certain “doubt-birthing questions”. These are questions that early on in your process of bringing your dream to life, could trip you up easily, and yet later become important. Questions like “How will it happen?”, or a classic for entrepreneurs, “Where is the money gonna come from?”
Don’t you HATE those questions when you’re just trying to be excited about possibilities? I know I do! Those questions tend to develop answers by themselves as you mature in your process of making your Dream a reality. Just don’t give up too soon, or else you might miss the answers!

THE DEED
Here is where the REAL magic happens, and where all the ‘nice talk’ ends! This is where you’re no longer JUST talking, or writing… It’s the place of actualisation. This is where you learn to make connections that can help, and work on plans to move forward. People fail many times in this part of the process!!! No Dream that’s worth it will happen without HARD WORK!

There is ample opportunity to drop the ball here, so you’ll need perseverance, determination, confidence, and throw away that pesky fear of failure!
Great people aren’t afraid to fail, because they can learn from failures!
You’ll need to have goals for this to work, because goals put you onto a path, and without paths, there is no destination!

So with that, DO THE DEED OF DESIGNING YOUR DREAM.
A real Dream will have enough room in its house for others…many others!

Be Responsible
Be a Mature Dreamer!

Over.