ISIOMA JEMIMAH AWELE OKONICHA - DREAMS BIRTHED

​Isioma Jemimah Awele Okonicha is a born writer, with several published and unpublished books and poems. Some of her published works include: Kegel series, The life I didn’t think existed, Cute when you smile, Dreck, 1oo1 stories of greatness- series, Macabre, Dark blues, A wonderful noisemaker- poetry, Canuri’s enchantment- poetry, Lost love- poetry, Shadows of creativity- poetry, Ding dong on a wall- poetry, among others.
Isioma is also the founder of Youthz Npower, and the creator of several online educational and motivational pages, and she is also an entrepreneur, who is born to Nigerian parents, Mr. and Mrs. Peter OKonicha, and has four siblings.
She is a visionaire and, she hopes to impact her generation positively.

DREAMS BIRTHED

​Introduction
 
Dreams are foundation needed for success. It is not enough to just dream, but we must also work to achieve them. Those great ideas in our heart and minds have to be brought to life through focus, determination, and hard work.
We all want to succeed; but unfortunately, success cannot be achieved by mere wishes. If you’ve had great dreams in the past, but were buried because you lacked the knowledge needed to implement those ideas, don’t worry, a problem known is half solved already. I’ve been there; I know how it feels, and that’s why I’ve written this book to guide us on our way up, and most importantly to help us stay up: No one wants to fall, not after rising.
Dreams birthed teaches us the importance of foresights and how to reach the ultimate goal, which is success. Show me a man that dreams, and I will tell you the heights that he will attain.
Does life have more to offer? What is the route to success?
This book answers all these questions; it is a load of knowledge, but it’s not for everyone, it is only for the brightest of minds, and success oriented people, and for non-dreamers as well, who will also learn to dream because there isn’t hope lost; it’s never too late, you only need to pay attention to details and which will be discussed in full.
I have divided this book into three main parts. The first part, deals with the different kind of dreams that permit success or failure. Successful people do not permit every kind of dream. And there are some strict rules that I’ll be revealing, and which must be adhered to, if success must be achieved.
I hope that this book acts as a guide, and inspires us to want more from life. We must know that we are made for the top, and nothing less. I believe we should all yearn for success. Never give up on dreams; and as long as we are ready to accommodate greatness by pursuing it, we'll surely get to it.
Part 1: Case study
Your dreams, what are they?
 
This short fictional story that you’re about to read, is titled “Mother hen and her chicks,” and is also what I will be using as my case study, for this great book. Each character signifies a kind of dream, and so I hope you will learn from it.
“It’s about to rain…” Mother Hen announced, as she hurriedly gathered her four chicks into the double roofed house, which she built with their father.
“Debi, Alice, Hebron, and Elion, come closer to me, I need to speak to you quickly before I prepare dinner, your dad will be back soon,” she beckoned them.
“Did you dream yesterday?” Mother hen asked Debi, her oldest child.
“Yes!” He answered with excitement.
“I dreamed that I was flying, and then a flying ball hit me and I fell so hard on a rock,” He said. “And I couldn’t get up,” he added as he switched to a sad tone.
“Oh, that’s not good enough,” Mother hen said, and then she turned to her second child.
“What about you Alice?” she asked her only daughter who didn’t reply.
“Alice, what was your dream?” Mother hen repeated.
“I dreamed that I had a wind ball.” She said softly.
“Alice why do you keep asking for a wind ball, you wouldn’t even be able to carry one of it.” Her mother complained.
“But I want it! I want a wind ball!” Alice yelled, and then she walked off.
“Alice, Alice,” her Mother called.
 
“Alice wants a wind ball…” Hebron mocked.
“What about you Hebron? What did you dream?” Mother hen asked her third chick.
“I didn’t dream,” he answered nonchalantly.
“You didn’t dream?” His mother asked in a worried tone.
“Yes. I only want to eat enough grains when dad returns.” He said.
“But it shouldn’t stop you from dreaming, there are better things than just grains you know?” his mother told him.
“I don’t care I’m hungry.” he shouted.
“Oh dear, don’t worry, I will prepare something soon.” Mother hen said.
“Mom you haven’t asked me,” Elion, her youngest chick complained.
“Sorry sweetie, I was coming to you, what was your dream?” she asked him with a tender smile.
“Well mom, I had two dreams,” he said. “In the first dream, I had a crusher that I used to crush Mersin.”
“Why would you dream of hurting your friend?” his mother interrupted.
“He’s not my friend.” Elion said angrily.
“Okay, what else did you dream of?”
“In my second dream, I had a battery saver, and when light was out, I used it all alone. And even when Alice begged to share, I refused.”
‘But Alice is your sister.” Mother hen said softly, “you should learn to share with not just her, but everyone that asks for help, do you understand?”
“Yes mom.” he answered in a sad tone.
“Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly”- Langston Hughes.
 
Dreams are not just imaginations, if acted upon. An idea that is never born is a loss. We ought to dream; for it is a generator for success. You cannot execute a project without first  birthing the idea, which is the most important factor, because it is the bed rock success.
And just like the chicks that had different dreams, it is also the same with humans too. There are different categories of dreamers; some give up easily on their dreams because they do not believe it can be feasible, others have bigger dreams that they can actually implement at the moment, while some do not even dream at all, and others actually have dreams but are backed up with evil intentions, which is the actual goal.
All these limitations are dream defects, which can stop success, and which is the next part that we’ll be discussing.
 
Part 2: Dreams defect
 
There are several factors that can be classified as dream defects. Whatever that limits our dream is a defect, and they are both living and nonliving factors.
But we must know that all of these negative elements do not have the power to stop us, if we refuse to be stopped.
These negative elements will be highlighted, as they will be discussed, according to the characters represented in the case study.
Never give up.
 
“Success is achieved and maintained by those who try and keep trying”- W. Clement Stone.
Debi flew in his dream, but was stopped. So was it his fault that he failed, even after he’d picked courage to do the unusual?
The question is how determined are you? Can a flying ball stop you? Are you like Debi that had a good excuse for not staying up?
What hit you so bad, that you fell and vowed never to try again? What challenge did you meet on your way, that scared the life out of you? Were those dreams worth fighting for? Is that opposition big enough to stop you?
How often do we ponder on these questions?
Note this. “It was Debi’s fault, and will always be his fault that he gave up.”
Quitters are scared losers, and they always have good excuses. Successful people do not give excuses.
And even with the rest of us, when we experience an opposition; we give up easily without putting up a fight because of fear, and without remembering why we started. And then we miss out on opportunities, because we refuse to get up after we’d been beaten.
And remember he said a “flying ball” which is only an object, its non-living, of course you already know where I’m headed. In most cases, the problem is not as big as it seem, the issue we have is of the mind. Debi was supposed to walk strictly on land, but he decided to fly instead, which was good, but immediately he saw an opposition, he remembered that he was out of his comfort zone, and then he retired back immediately.
If we must win and stay up, then we must be ready to face oppositions because they’ll always be there to stop us. But as long as we are determined, we will win. Never be afraid of trying again and again, face the challenge, be courageous, give in your best, and then soar like the eagles.
Bigger dream.
 
“The secret of success is constancy of purpose”- Benjamin Disraeli.
Alice wanted a wind ball that was bigger than her; she wanted it so badly that her mother complained, because she thought it wasn’t right for her.
“You can’t even carry one.” Her mother said. But Alice was adamant, discouragements were not enough to stop her.
It happens to everyone at some point, when our ideas seem too big, that even loved ones begin to discourage us. But nothing should reduce your dreams and visions. No matter how big they might seem and unachievable, the most important thing is to start with whatever is at our disposal, and not wait for a perfect moment.
Do not listen to people that say your dreams are too big; in essence, they mean “Reduce you!” The only person that asks you to quit your job is the one that doesn’t have a job. An individual with dreams and aspirations will never ask you not to dream or to dream small.
But sometimes the easiest way to actualize giant dreams is to “Break them into more feasible fragments.” These are secrets, which a successful individual will reveal.
Also, be sure of what you want, Alice knew exactly what she wanted, she believed in her dream. Do you believe in yours? How important are they to you?
Do you know that bringing your dreams to light is of great value to the world? And whenever you give up on an idea, the world loses. So let success be your goal.
Wants nothing.
 
“Without dreams and goals, there is no living, only existing and that is not why we are here”- Mark Twain.
It will amaze you to know the number of people that wants nothing more from life, than just the little they have.
Don’t get it wrong, it is not contentment, but merely a “purposeless life.”
God has put in everyone a seed, that you’re expected to make into food. The difference between Debi and Hebron was that Debi knew he could fly with his wings, while Hebron obviously couldn’t see himself in the sky even with his wings. That was the reason he tried to discourage Alice, by mocking her since he didn’t expect anything from himself, so of course, she shouldn’t either.
These categories of people, do not dream at all. They lazy around, they love their convenience. That was why Hebron told his mother that he only wanted the grains that their father was bringing home. Nothing interested him more apart from food, and such people only exist as stumbling blocks to others. I always tell people to keep away from friends without visions because they are detrimental to everyone that loves success. They are simply there to give thousands of reasons why thriving to succeed was a waste of time, and how unrealistic it was.
Wrong notions.
“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself”- Leo Tolstoy
Even though, Elion dreamed, his intensions weren’t right. So it was as good as he never dreamed because success is supposed to add value to the society, and not become a problem itself.
Elion is already nurturing a negative energy, that if allowed to be put out will do just harm. We must know that we cannot achieve anything of value, or tangible with a wrong notion. His mom obviously understood that in order for him to create, he must dump his intension to destroy. He had a reshaping to do, and that was why she immediately disapproved his dreams.
Dreams are ideas, which should be groomed to add value or impact to our lives, and to everyone around us. But what happens when each of us begin to nurse a desire to destroy?
First you must know that no man is an island, we need each other to achieve goals, the same way I need writing materials made by someone else, to impact you with this knowledge, without which it wouldn't be possible.
You cannot hurt another, and in the process not get burnt.
Part 3: Dreams are true
 
It took several years for me to discover my passion for writing. It is my unique gift, it is fun to me, and I never get tired or bored when writing. But this wasn’t always the case. Few days before February 2020, if anyone had told me, that the world will be reading my books, I would have screamed, calling you a liar. I was a confused person, I didn’t know that I had a great gift to write, and for several years I struggled with depression, I thought I was good for nothing, while I admired others that I thought were more fortunate than me, I wanted to fly but I couldn’t spread my wings, and even though I dreamed- and kept dreaming, I still felt down casted, and this was all because I didn’t know how to make the ideas that I had, come to life, I felt stuck.
But I’ve learnt a great deal, within this short period of implementing some of my great ideas, one of which is to work with whatever is at my disposal. I stopped waiting for perfect moment, I moved instead because I have discovered that life does not always give what is expected.
Abraham Lincoln, before he succeeded in becoming the sixteenth president of the United States had his own share of life’s interruptions. I bet he had tones of discouragers as well, giving him thousands of reasons why he was never going to win, but he chose to ignore them instead because he knew what he wanted. And that was why he said “we should let no feeling of discouragements prey on us” which is also similar to what Stephen Richards the self-help author, also wrote about in his book: cosmic ordering, when he said “the only time you fail is when you fall down and remain down” which is absolutely correct.
Dreams are true, and so we must continue to stay focused on the goal, which was why we started. First of all, we must believe in our ideas, before we can begin to work with whatever is at our disposal. We cannot afford to waste more time, by waiting for a perfect moment that will never come. So get up and start something, no matter how insignificant it might look, we must know that ideas, when nurtured will grow great.
Greatness begin with an idea, in form of dreams birthed and then acted upon, just the same way a giant tree grew from a tiny seed.
Non-dreamers on the other hand are ignorant of a better life; they are the kind of people that believe that success is meant for a selected few. Non-dreamers who refuse to change their vague mindset will remain servants, since they are comfortable with their present zones.
They do not only fears risks, but they don’t even know that a risk can be taken, which is worse. They are the exact definition of existence without actually living. They come to the world and leave without making any impact, even in their immediate surroundings; they only complain of things not done by people they believe are superior to themselves because in their minds, they're insignificant. But this also can be changed too, if they begin to see life in a different light.
And there are also certain people that we come across, that are natural born influencers. Either good or bad, they influence easily. These kind of people are everywhere, and so for all dreamers and non-dreamers likewise, it is very wise to choose the positive influencers, and to keep away from the negative ones.
How do I know negative or positive influencers?
 
The simple answer is from the kind of words, spoken by the individual. Negative remarks should suggest to us that we might be dealing with a negative influencer, which is detrimental for success. We do not need people that give many reasons, why we shouldn’t succeed.
Have a good support system, share great ideas with the right people, read books on good living; these are very important information, especially for the non- dreamers, and even for the dreamers as well.
On a final note, we must keep a positive attitude, build a creative mindset, and permit you to succeed. Never think little of yourself, believe that you are the real deal in your own world. Fight for what you believe in, focus on achieving goals, do not allow discouragements, and finally, never give up.
Only scared losers quit, and it is a wrong option.