Begin Today - Follow Your Dream!

Theodor Geisel knew what it was to persevere. Born in 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts, he remembered his mother's bedtime stories. They weren't exactly typical; she soothed her chlldren to sleep with lilting rhymes from her childhood.

He credits his mother with his later interest in writing and illustrating books. Writing under the pseudonym of Dr. Suess, his first book, To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street sold six million copies! His success didn't happen overnight, though; his first manuscript was rejected by 27 publishers. The 28th accepted it and launched his career as a beloved chldren's author.

In first grade,my teacher would assign reading partners. We'd go to the library, choose a book together, and take turn reading pages. I remember reading Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat so many times, my friend and I memorized it. When our teacher noticed us reciting the story back and forth to each other, she scheduled a day when we could present it to our classmates.

If Theodor Geisel had given up after the second or third rejection, imagine what the world would have missed! Visit Seussville to get an idea of this gifted man's impact and influence.

This lens is about taking that first step, and beginning . Begin whether you feel like it or not. Begin when everyone else tells you it's impossible.

Just begin--today.

When American primitive painter Grandma Moses died on December 14, 1961, President Kennedy offered this tribute: "The death of Grandma Moses removed a beloved figure from American life. The directness and vividness of her paintings restored a primitive freshness to our perception of the American scene. Both her work and her life helped our nation renew its pioneer heritage and recall its roots in the countryside and on the frontier. All Americans mourn her loss."

When asked about her death at age 101, her physician, Dr. Clayton E. Shaw, said simply, "She just wore out." If that were true, she had plenty that could have exhausted her.

After severe arthritis forced her to give up her beloved embroidery, she decided to take up painting. She could hold a brush fine, and although she didn't know the first thing about art, she decided to call on her memory to provide the homey farm country scenes that made her famous.

Grandma Moses didn't release her first painting until age 76! Her beautiful work was discovered hanging in a local drug store, where they were priced at $3 to $5. A traveling art collector, Louis J. Caldor, bought them all, then made his way to her home, where he bought ten more paintings from her.

After the traveling art collector had purchased all of Grandma Moses' available work, she received stunning news. The very next year (1939), her work was being featured in an exhibit they categorized a "contemporary unknown painters" at the Museum of Modern Art in New York!

Never in her wildest dreams would she have thought her paintings would have received such an honor. Word of her art spread from there, and she became known all over the world.

Her paintings were used on Christmas cards, tiles, and fabrics. It has been reported that she was even invited to a formal tea at the White House, where President Harry S. Truman played the piano for her.

Grandma Moses couldn't explain her success. She had never received any training in art. She was self-taught out of a love for nostalgia, painting from memory of experiences and places she had loved. Her memory served her well from the day she took that first step toward becoming a painter, and the world has benefited from her talent.

Today Grandma Moses' paintings hang in nine U.S. museums, as well as in European art museums--all because she dared to begin, and didn't procrastinate.






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Studs Terkel passed away on October 31, 2008 at the age of 96. The Chicago Tribune called him, "one of the under-rated heroes of American literature," because he had a unique knack for picking a topic that sounded too big or too mundane, and would spend months interviewing hundreds of ordinary people about their feelings on the topic. A prize-winning author and radio broadcast personality, Terkel always seemed on the verge of launching another book of oral history.

I was sad to hear the news of his passing, because I had looked forward to his next book. I fell for his writing after reading WORKING: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do. His writing had a way of placing the reader right there in the room. I felt like I was eavesdropping on their conversations. I also found myself nodding, as if I knew them--a credit to how well Studs Terkel conveyed their voices and passions.If Studs had gone into law, would the world have been gifted with his wonderful books? I doubt it. We'd have missed the oral history of WWII veterans; a collection of stories about dreams lost and found; and another about the Great Depression.

What I didn't know was the backstory--Terkel's life in Chicago, where his parents opened a rooming house and later, the Wells-Grand Hotel. Studs says he learned about life from hanging out with "workers, labor organizers, dissidents, the unemployed, and religious fanatics of many persuasions."

Terkel attended University of Chicago, where he received a law degree in 1934. He chose not to practice law, however, and I, for one, am glad his path took him into writing instead. He worked in radio, and later moved into television, where he had his own show called Stud's Place. It was then that he started asking people questions. That appears to be the pivotal point where he headed into a field that he loved--interviewing everyday people about their lives.

First steps make a difference, don't they?