Bright colors shining, wonderful and new.
And in the east, the dawn was breaking
And the world was waking
Any dream will do
“Any Dream Will Do” Joseph and the Amazing
Technicolor Dream Coat
Picture an 8-year-old little girl playing on
the playground, off by herself because she’s
quite different from the other children. She
has a full head of short, bushy, unmanageable
curly hair, which stinks to high heaven when she
sweats. This mop sits atop a face covered with
deep chicken pox scars, wearing crooked glasses
(many times held together with tape because
they’ve been broken) which are necessary to
correct her lazy-crossed eye.
Go ahead, you can laugh out loud. The picture in
your mind really is what I looked like years ago.
Kids wielded their hard-hearted mocking and my
dreams were of happiness, acceptance, and love. I
longed for the opportunity to have and be a friend.
That image has stayed with me over the years. The
dream of having a pleasing appearance is one that
spurred me onward. As the years passed, each time
someone would compliment me, I’d revisit that
lonely playground once again, and that little girl
inside this woman would smile a timid smile and
with tear-filled eyes, reply with a heart-felt,
lump in my throat, “Thank you so much.”
I wanted to give that same joy to other women –
women who had never really been complimented,
like me. I wanted them to know the thrill of
feeling great about their physical appearance.
Hmmm, then it’s no secret why I’ve been in health,
fitness and weight management since 1982.
This dream is not only why I got into business
for myself, it’s also been a key to building that
business; inspiring and equipping others to have
the look they haven’t had before. I’ve come to
learn, any dream will do.
A few years later, I was an adolescent traveling
in an old station wagon across the country with my
family. As we pulled into a restaurant parking
lot, I remember looking into the reflection of
myself in the mirror and realizing how dirty I was
from riding in the back (affectionately known by
many families as the back-back) with the window
open all day. We all sat in the car for a bit,
listening to my mom and sister determine how much
we could afford to spend. We had walked into many
a restaurant only to sit down, look at the menu
(menus weren’t posted outside the door back then)
and have my mom tell us we couldn’t afford to eat
there and we’d have to stand up and leave.
As I sat looking at how dirty I was, listening to
the money conversation I’d heard many times, a four-
door sedan pulled up next to us. I watched as the
mother and father got out of the front seat and
the brother and sister got out of the back. It
was obvious they were on vacation, yet they were
clean, their clothes were new and it was evident
their car had air conditioning. I was certain
they would not have to leave the restaurant after
looking at the menu. As I watched them step from
the fancy family-mobile, I remember thinking, “I’m
going to do that someday. I’m going to be able to
take my children on vacations in a car like that,
and not have to worry about money, and be clean
and have nice things.”
Oh, is it ever true, that any dream will do. I
can see that scene in my mind like it just
happened this afternoon. And each time I book a
trip for my family to Europe, or China, or the
Caribbean, or wherever, I remember that scene.
I’ve felt a sense of joy and completeness in my
heart that I cant explain as I’ve watched the awe
in my children’s eyes when Mickey Mouse held their
hands in Disney World, or as I heard my son
laughing as he raced my husband down the steps of
the Eiffel Tower, or in witnessing the empathetic
pain my daughter felt as she walked through the
very tunnel into Tiananmen Square where students
her age had been slaughtered for what they
believed.
There have been many years of excursions, and
with each traveling memory experienced, my desire
to help others travel the world grows. I want to
give that same joy to others who’ve never been
able to travel. I want them to know the thrill of
financial success and feel great about their
career accomplishments. It’s no mystery then as
to why I went on to build an organization where
dream building, travel and money-making
opportunities are core components.
This dream is not only why I got into business for
myself. It, too, has been a key to building that
business, inspiring and equipping others to have
the finances to fund the experiences they haven’t
had before. I’ve come to learn, any dream will
do.
In 1 John 2:20 & 27 I read how God promised that
there is a thing each of us knows how to do that
no man has had to teach us. It would then be
precise to realize that any dream is what God
planted in us anyway. It’s our calling; it’s what
we were created for. We’ve all been given this
promise. It is the thing which will take us to
the revelation of seeing the desires of our heart
come to pass.
Relative to the song lyrics, we’ve all been given
a coat; the promise that everything we go through
is for a purpose, and the passion that burns within
us due to what we’ve learned is what we’re to do.
The secret to your dream being fulfilled is right
there in your heart!
So wear your coat, with golden lining, bright
colors shining, wonderful and new. The dawn will
break, the world will wake to your dream. Any
dream will do. It’s so simple. I am no one. I
have no special gifts, no unique talents, and I’m
living the American Dream. If I can, you can.
Any dream will do.