Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
Posted on November 24th, 2011 by Mari Loewen
I used this very powerful quote to launch our very first issue, it was printed on the cover and titled the section I decided to call “What I Have Learned.” I believe this section was the one our readers first fell in love with. It is this section, I then used to pour out my heart and bear my soul. I had just made it through a divorce, one which I can only refer to as “a long dark tunnel”, it isn’t that for everyone but it was for me. I finally felt like I had made it to the end and suddenly I was thinking, if I can get through that I can get through anything. And with my naïve sense of judgment, I willed my lifelong dream of “doing something” to life. I felt I finally knew what I wanted to do. I knew from my experience that at the end of great pain, comes joy, finally great joy, I wanted so much to share my experience. And so I began my journey of finding a way of putting this message out there. It finally came after much brainstorming, “Make Everyday Special” in the form of a magazine. I remember at the time a friend of mine, dropped an article in my mailbox, and it was the first time I had read those words. “What ever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it”. I felt like this was my answer. I believed it and acted on it. I removed all obstacles in my way (a full time salary… yikes.) My brother advised me, if you want something to work, you cannot have a distraction, you have to focus on one idea at a time. Contrary to modern day business advice of having a back up plan such as a second income, I decided to follow my brother’s advice (added was the fact that as a single mother of a 5 year old, not only was there no back up plan there was a desperate need for instant cash flow). I decided to go for it anyway. I felt as though the passion inside of me was dying to come alive. Today, 6 years later, with ANNA Magazine publishing its 22nd issue, being enjoyed throughout North America, and a staff that is made up of an incredibly talented team of people I love… it seems we have defied the odds.
I wanted to preface the following article with former explanation as looking back at it now, I know there was something bigger at play… I can really say this passage works, whatever you can dream, do it! Remove the obstacles, work hard and never give up. Power and magic will happen. ANNA Magazine is proof of that. I hope this article inspires you to find your way and live your dreams, regardless of the obstacles.
The Power of Decision – Premier Issue, June 2006
As important as it is to use food to Make Everyday Special, it is equally important to take time everyday for some quiet time. Most days I’ll wake before anyone else, make some good coffee and settle into a comfortable spot. Everything is peaceful and calm. Whether I choose to read something inspirational or just sit in the quiet, this time brings clarity and balance; it allows me to move forward.
Many times in my life the exact words I needed to express an idea, a feeling, an experience, have appeared in some form and dramatically changed the way I look at life. When I was first thinking of this magazine, my friend Pamela dropped an Oprah Magazine article in my mailbox. Quite simply that article is the reason this magazine exists today. I’m happy to share it with you; I hope it inspires you to do what is right for you.
The article was a passage that occurs in mountaineer William Hutchinson Murray’s The Scottish Expedition. “Until one is committed there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always in effectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation) there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, the providence moves too. All sorts of things occur that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would come his way. I have learned a deep respect for Goethe’s couplet: “Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it, boldness has genius, power and magic in it.”
It was what I already knew but couldn’t express. In that moment I made a decision, I was committed, and I have not looked back. I learned that if you take the time in the quiet to really listen to the words of your heart, the answers will come. I have also learned there is an absolute truth in the words of this passage.
