Living amongst the stars.

They told him the world was flat. They told him he would die, fall off the edge of humanity into the abyss. They told him he was a fool. Christopher Columbus didn't believe them. He kept right on sailing, past the edge of the world, past the point where other's had turned back in fear. He wanted to prove there was a westerly route from Spain to China and found the Americas. I can learn a thing or two from Columbus.

Columbus, and Einstein, and Donald Trump and Katherine Hepburn and every person who has ever achieved a dream and gone on to achieve even more, share a common trait -- they believed in themselves, even when others didn't. They held onto their dreams and stayed focussed on reaching their goals. They believed that their ART was the highest form of living they could achieve.

Their ART led them into success because they remained true to their dreams. With ART they,

• Ardently pursued their goals and never gave up.
• Reached for the stars.
• Tested assumptions that others said could not be violated.

It's my responsibility to believe in my dreams, even when others don't. It's my responsibility to question assumptions, to push against and through the limits that confine me, and it's my responsibility to hold my dreams up to the stars and reach beyond the limits of my imagination.

Years ago, an elementary school teacher walked into her class and told the students about the results of new research.

"Blue-eyed children are the smartest," she said.

Within days, the blue eyed children in the class were out-performing the green and brown-eyed students.

A few weeks later, that same teacher walked in and reported she'd made a mistake. The research actually proved green and brown-eyed children are the smartest.

Suddenly, the blue-eyed children started to underperform while the green and brown-eyed children excelled.

We are what we think and we will act out our beliefs regardless of the evidence.

When I believe I'm smart, I act smart.

If I believe I'm stupid. I act stupid.

Probably the most common example of this is 'math'. How many times have you heard or even said yourself, I'm no good at math.

I say it a lot.

Guess what. I prove myself right a lot!

Another assumption and commonly expressed belief is, I'm not good at art.

Several years ago I wanted to do something with my eldest daughter. She wanted to paint. I said I'd paint with her.

After a lifetime of telling myself, I have no artistic ability, I picked up a brush and started to paint. I found a new passion and, an unexplored talent.

More importantly, I proved myself wrong about something I'd held as a belief for nearly 45 years. Today, I love painting and my paintings hang on the walls of other people's homes.

How many other beliefs do I hold that I never challenge? Where else can I prove myself wrong about myself?

Like public speaking. I used to say, "I hate speaking in front of a crowd. I get so nervous I forget everything I want to say."

No longer true. People regularly comment on my ability to inspire and motivate when I give talks, which, in my job, I am required to do on a daily basis. Recently, after giving a talk about homelessness in front of 40+ people, a woman came up and told me that what she loved most about my presentation was my ability to transmit my passion to my audience, and my comfort in front of the crowd. "You made it seem so effortless," she said. "It is", I replied.

Where once I told myself I hate public speaking, today, I love public speaking!

I have other beliefs that I believe are fixed. The only way I can disprove them is to test them. To live the life of my dreams, I must focus on my ART. I may never land on the moon, but at least if I take aim, I'll be living amongst the stars.