Happy Talk

There’s an old musical called South Pacific, all of the songs of which were written by the amazing team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It began as a Broadway play, then made into a movie. Back in the day, I loved all the songs from the movie soundtrack and knew all the words by heart.

One song in particular that I loved is called Happy Talk, and it puts forth this truism:

Happy talk, keep talkin’ happy talk,

Talk about things you’d like to do.

You got to have a dream,

If you don’t have a dream,

How you gonna have a dream come true?

[You can see the actual film footage of the song here!]

Through the years, that phrase has come to my mind countless times. You got to have a dream. Because if you don’t have a dream, how would you ever have a dream come true?

A Ship Without a Rudder

It makes me sad when I meet young people who don’t seem to have a dream. Or a vision. Or a goal. Instead, life just seems to bump them about like a ship on the sea without rudder or anchor.

Some people are afraid to dream. They may have a dream tucked deep inside of them, but they’ve either given up on the dream, or they’re terrified to do what it takes to chase after that dream. They’re saddled with an I can’t mentality.

Sitting On Her Dreams

In my teen novel, Lingering Dreams, Kirsten Nicholson is a budding musician and songwriter. Instead of chasing her dreams, she’s just sitting on her dreams. She’s content to keep her music within the confines of her bedroom, of her own home.

But then Enrique Delaire arrives on the scene. Enrique has a way of making Kirsten look at circumstances and situations differently. His mantra is always, “You won’t know if you don’t try.” Kirsten has always been afraid to try.

Enrique’s life has not always been an easy ride, and yet the challenges he faced did nothing to dim his enthusiasm about life, nor diminish his ability to care about others. That kind of attitude can be infectious.

Find Your Cheerleader

Obviously, not everyone can have a guy like Enrique to cheer them on. In that case, we may have to become our own cheerleader.

With all the technology within a click’s reach, you have access to a wide variety of motivational speakers, teachers, and instructors. You can listen to speakers who have attained great goals in spite of great obstacles.

Or there are biographies of people who have changed the world, and again, often in the face of great odds. Find these types of books and devour them.

Let these individuals be your cheerleaders. Learn from them. Whatever it takes, be determined to push forward. Get those dreams back out and dust them off. Remember how exciting and important they are. It’s crucial that you do so. Because:

You got to have a dream, If you don’t have a dream, 

How you gonna have a dream come true?

You can read the first chapter of Lingering Dreams right here:

FREE Download of Chapter 1

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