I wanted to take a moment to thank you. If you are reading this it is because you took the time to see my movie People v. The State of Illusion, or read my book Stepping Up To A Life of Vision, Passion and Authentic Power, or attend one of my training programs or speaking events. And without you taking that action and supporting my work, I would not have the opportunity to have my dreams coming true like they are today.
When I first began this work over a decade ago, I used to dream and imagine that I would one day write a book, have a leadership program, be able to speak at conferences on the subjects I am so passionate about, and in my wildest dreams, that I might even one day make a movie. And if I am honest, I also dared to imagine that my work would capture the attention of the mainstream public and start to change lives on a wide scale. I then set to work to align my choices and my actions with those dreams, to take steps every day to try and bring them into fulfillment, despite the rejections, the setbacks, and the seemingly impossible hurdles that often sprung up in my path.
As I sit here today, and look back at this journey, I am almost in shock that all of these dreams have come true. And perhaps the biggest one of all will come true next week. On November 29, next thursday, at 9:00 p.m. in Arizona on PBS (Channel 8), People v. The State of Illusion, will be played in its entirety, and for one of the first times in PBS history, with no commercial breaks! You and I have an opportunity to really have this work make an impact on people’s lives. If the movie is watched and supported by PBS viewers, then it will expand next year to television markets across the country, and we will have the chance to see main stream audiences across the country exposed to the principles that I know you and I hold dear. So please take one more step with me, and tell your friends and co-workers about the movie event on PBS, and then watch the movie and make a pledge to support PBS. Doing so will go a long way to have many, many lives impacted by the principles of hope and imagination, illustrated in the movie.
Along the path of fulfilling my dream to bring these principles to the public, very early on some funny things started to happen. Seemingly normal human beings, some who I knew, and others who I did not, appeared in moments that they could not have known were pivotal ones, where I was precariously perched at a tipping point that may have defeated my dreams. And these human beings made divine choices to support me in one way or another that dramatically altered the course of not only their life and mine, but the thousands of lives that have been touched by this work. I am acutely aware today of how their choices conspired with my dreams and imaginations and birthed those dreams into reality. I am also conscious of the fact that in the beginning, when I was still dreaming these dreams, their intercessions could never have been predicted or planned for or counted on.
And this, I believe, is one of the greatest lessons of leadership I have ever learned. That great dreams and imaginations do not need a clear and known path for their realization. Rather, they simply need a sweet and enduring hope and belief that they are possible, a commitment to actions and choices that support that possibility, and an openness to see that every twist and turn along the way can reveal that special someone or something that will finally make your highest dreams and imaginations become a reality.
Thank you for walking with me, and being one of those human beings that continues to support my dreams and help me change the lives of countless others.
Imagining the best,
Austin
