The American Idol 2005 contest has just ended with Carrie Underwood from Checotah, Oklahoma emerging as the winner. For about 40 million TV viewers across America, it has been a fun-filled and at times emotional time in front of the telly.
What drives about 70,000 people to audition for this contest for the fourth year running? The answer is simple: everyone wants to make their own dream come true. Singing seems to be the cheapest and the fastest route to fame and fortune.
Of course, only a handful get into the final 12. The rest will have to rethink their lives' options. American Idol is currently one of the most popular ways for young people to leap into the limelight.
For most of us, 15 minutes of fame can last a lifetime.
What is it that compells a person to seek a life of glory, wealth, prosperity and power? It can only be explained by the innate desire to gain recognition, any kind of attention. For the deviant, it could mean a life of crime.
For others, it may mean performing outrageous acts. Those who stand to profit most from this almost insatiable desire in most people are also labelled as the dream merchants.
Selling dreams is an art that has been exploited to the fullest by professionals, confidence tricksters, and members of the entertainment industry. All of us can dream but we simply don't know how to market them or turn them into realities.
Thus, the dream merchants of modern times are specifically talent scouts, TV networks, rich corporations and sadly conmen.
Some enterprising individuals fulfil their dreams in their own way - they work for it! When you imagine yourself having a home in Barbados or Hawaii, you can "see" it in your mind.
It all begins with a dream - your own. Then, you hold on to that dream. You find ways or routes leading in that direction. Experts call this process, creative visualisation. It is a proven formula, guaranteed to work if you are determined enough.
Be a dream merchant yourself. When you have achieved your own dreams, help others to realise theirs. That is your duty. In helping others, you help yourself. The source of all this is inexhaustible.
The path to being a dream merchant is to fulfil your own first, then lead others towards that direction. This is one of the most noble of human objectives. It is a lofty ideal held dear by the wise ones among us.
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