Calendar Books by Allen James - Daily Reading - "The Journey: A Calendar Book"

Daily Reading for April 24th - Allen James' "Daily Guide to Success" series - "The Journey: A Calendar Book", "Be dedicated to what you believe" (James, 2012)

First and foremost, we have to know WHAT we belief. As children we are influenced by a myriad of individuals and media: parents, siblings, friends, teachers, television, radio, movies, books; on and on the list could go. These influences on our fragile psyches have a major role in the forming of our belief systems. By the time we are ready to graduate from high school those beliefs which have been pushed onto us are ready to be tested so we can then determine OURSELVES which beliefs we will hold onto as we enter adulthood.

As a high school English teacher I had the responsibility of teaching 17 and 18 year old seniors how to express themselves through the critical writing of essays and analyses of works of literature. Topics such as jealousy, hate, prejudice, greed, love, compassion were addressed throughout their senior year. I became apt at stepping onto my "soap box" about how they were now young adults; expression of opinions and views were now their own, not those of their parents or grandparents. It was my duty to teach not only the subject matter, but as well about values and character.

Know what you believe, then stand by what you believe. Be dedicated to defending your beliefs...

One of the definitions for dedication reads: "self sacrificing devotion" (www.merriam-webster.com). In order to gain personal success in life we must be dedicated. Some are dedicated to being mediocre and not taking risks. I recall a patient I had early in my work as a psychotherapist who would often preoccupy herself with other people’s agendas and dreams. She didn’t think her dreams were attainable. She didn’t think she was worthy of accomplishing her goals, if she even had any. She would bring list after list, binder after binder of unfinished projects to session and show me how she was great at coming up with ideas, but she could just never follow through. It was easy for her to blame other people or a lack of compensation, but the true culprit was herself. She was at complete fault. Why, you may ask? Because she was not dedicated to what she thought she wanted from her life.

Dream dreams, then devote yourself to those dreams. Be dedicated to what you believe.

Keep looking up. : ) AJ