How To Make Your Dream Come True

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

What is worth turning the impossible into the possible

I recently met a man who ate on a bet. He told me that he started this amazing culinary experiment in high school. Instead of doing his homework, he would soak dozens of hot dogs in water and then shove them down his throat as quickly as he could.

Want to know his personal best? Something like 24 hot dogs in 12 minutes. That is, one hot dog every 30 seconds

When I asked him why he did it, he answered without hiding a smile: “Because he could. Well, and just for fun."

Now take Philippe Petit, who became famous for walking between the towers of the World Trade Center (411 meters above the ground without a safety net) on a tightrope in 1974

When asked if he was worried before the stunt, he replied: "Actually, I never worry … I had no reason for that, because it was my dream, and I imagined it to come true for years."

Petit has been preparing for this moment (and for other equally impossible accomplishments) ever since he learned to walk the tightrope on his own when he was 16 years old.

In his TED Talk, he describes the grueling process of learning this new skill.

What helped him move on? He calls intuition a "necessary tool" in his life. Intuition allowed him to become his own teacher.

When he turned 18, Petit had already been kicked out of several schools, and most of his time he devoted to inventing and honing his movements. He soon became an accomplished tightrope walker, but no one wanted to hire him.

For some, this would be an insurmountable obstacle. But not for Petya.

Instead, he decided to perform his stunts "secretly and without permission." His first destination was Notre Dame Cathedral. He quietly pulled a rope and danced between the domes of the cathedral. He was 22 years old.

Petit, despite his surname (translated from French - small), always lived an excessive life. He spent his entire life making the impossible possible. And he claims that we can do the same.

How exactly? Improvisation

“Improvisation is inspiring because it opens the way for the unknown. And since the impossible is always unknown, improvisation helps me to believe that I can spy on the impossible."

Petit was always pursued not by success, but by the unknown.

In his latest book, Creativity: A Magnificent Crime, he writes, "A creator must be a criminal - overstepping the line." There are no limits in his world. But this does not mean that there are no rules. Through the prism of his approach, Petit developed his own list of creative principles, which include: solving problems with intuition, refusing to fail, fanatical attention to detail, and avoiding traditional values such as competition, money, or social status.

Most of us will likely never achieve this level of discipline and consistency in life; but, again, many of us are not Philip Petit.

This is the problem. The reason why I have not been able to make an impact (of the desired scale) on this world is because I have persuaded myself that I am not one of the greats. I am not Philip Petit. I'm not Steve Jobs. I am not Picasso.

Returning to reality, these great, out-of-bounds figures, starting their journey, probably never aspired to be the best or among the best. Remember, Petit did not believe in the benefit of comparing himself to others. He just did what he did because he wanted to and could. (And defeat was not considered.)

I've always wanted to be a great writer. You can say that this passion (sometimes asleep) has been with me for the last ten years. I wrote for newspapers and magazines (I even went to journalism school to learn how to write better), but I never felt like a successful creator.

Over time, this feeling grew into a serious writing block. I remember the days when I always had a lot of material, what to write about - what to think about, what to ask about - but now I seem to have settled in the dull routine of a boring adult who only goes to work and watches too much Netflix (Internet TV). My thoughts are no longer mine. Instead, I enjoy other people's fantasies.

In other words, I am not a criminal. I am an eternally law-abiding citizen. I was never expelled from anywhere (although, once in high school, I was reprimanded for a blouse-top - the only violation in my entire educational history). And if something gets difficult, I quit. Defeat is not only possible, but often a choice.

I don't know how to change this way of thinking

But researchers Ulrich Weger and Stephen Lounen know

In one of their studies, they asked people in two groups to answer questions. The participants in the first group were instructed that before each question the answer would be briefly displayed on the screen - too fast for conscious perception, but enough for their subconscious to understand it.

The second group was told that the flashes simply indicate the next question.

In fact, both groups displayed a random set of letters, not an answer. But it is worth noting that the subjects from the first group showed the best results. The expectation that you knew the answer allowed people to be more likely to give correct answers.

Thinking that we are capable of more helps us do better. Conversely, thinking about the limits of our possibilities is what limits us.

What can we learn from this study? Problems, doubts, limitations live in our own heads

A spiritual healer recently told me that my writing block is due to the fact that writing has ceased to bring me pleasure. I was so obsessed with the idea of writing something meaningful, worthy, and great that if my thoughts weren't great enough, there was no point in writing them down.

He was right. I stopped enjoying writing. No pleasure at all, to be honest. All that was left was an excessive amount of stress to write correctly.

Write a million dollar script, a Pulitzer Prize novel, a blog post with a billion views.

I forgot that writing is a thrill. I missed how much I loved transferring stories from my head to paper. I forgot how I got goosebumps because I was describing something so vividly and could not even believe that these words belonged to me. I forgot that this was my favorite pastime in the world.

Intuition. Improvisation. Passion. Perseverance. Positive attitude. That's right, you need all of these qualities for outstanding achievement. But (here I agree with the hot dog eater) don't forget to enjoy it too

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Translation: Alina Danevich