\u201cI know there is no way to do this but to come to America and live\u00a0with its people. So here I am. In Argentina, I am a lawyer. Here I\u00a0scrape food off dishes in the kitchen,\u201d the young man laughingly said\u00a0to a customer at the lunch counter.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut no matter,\u201d he added. \u201cI am getting to know the people and the\u00a0language. That is what I am here for.\u201d<\/p>\n
Further conversation revealed that he had been in America only two\u00a0weeks but he could speak English well enough to communicate. He had\u00a0completed a law course at the University of Buenos Aires and had\u00a0started his law career in his native land. He soon realized what a\u00a0valuable asset it would be to be able to speak English fluently.<\/p>\n
So here was a young man who was devoting a portion of his life to\u00a0traveling thousands of miles from home, scraping dishes in a kitchen,\u00a0living in a strange country with strange people just to develop a\u00a0skill which would be useful to him in his business.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you take English language courses at the University?\u201d he was asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did do that,\u201d he replied. \u201cBut you no really learn to speak a\u00a0language without living with the people.\u201d<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t really learn to do something with poise, confidence and\u00a0sincerity unless you get involved, do it, live it. <\/em>That was his message.<\/p>\n Have you noticed that successful people always seem to start at the bottom, tossing\u00a0themselves into every job on the way to the top? I call this\u00a0apprenticing yourself to your dream.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a process that gets repeated with every new dream.<\/p>\n While it can be a humbling experience to go back to the beginning,\u00a0it\u2019s also the way bold dreams come true. Desire and imagination can\u00a0make it a journey worth taking.<\/p>\n What does it take to be a successful Dream Apprentice?\u00a0<\/p>\n In the words of Time\/Warner CEO Ann Moore, the critical factor is direction, not\u00a0deadlines. She says, \u201cGet a compass and forget the clock.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s essential advice, but there are other things you can do to make\u00a0this time abundantly fruitful.<\/p>\n One of the common obstacles to learning a new language is the unwillingness to make embarrassing mistakes, an attitude that impedes learning and mastery. The same is true with most new undertakings.<\/p>\n Remind yourself that you are a beginner and be gentle with yourself. After all, no one expects mastery from an apprentice.<\/p>\n In 1976, an unknown professor named Dr. Wayne Dyer wrote a book\u00a0entitled Your Erroneous Zones<\/em><\/strong>. No spectacular success was expected\u00a0from the book, but the author had other ideas.<\/p>\n He loaded the trunk of his car with copies and spent six months\u00a0delivering them to bookstores around the country. He booked himself on\u00a0any radio interview that would have him.<\/p>\n Dyer personally delivered more than 16,000 copies of his book to\u00a0stores, driving 28,000 miles and giving over 800 interviews. Due to\u00a0his own efforts, Your Erroneous Zones<\/em><\/strong> became the bestseller of the\u00a0year and launched Dyer\u2019s career as a popular self-help author and\u00a0speaker.<\/p>\n I can only\u00a0 guess how many lonely days and nights Dyer invested in his\u00a0dream, but I\u2019m also willing to guess that his experience gave him a\u00a0priceless education and laid the foundation for long-term success.<\/p>\n People who fail to appreciate small steps never seem to get very far.<\/p>\n On the other hand, those who are delighted with any sign of progress\u00a0keep moving to the next step and the next step with wild anticipation.<\/p>\n Quite simply, when you apprentice yourself to a dream, you give\u00a0yourself a passport to adventure.\u00a0 This isn\u2019t about waiting or being\u00a0patient.<\/p>\n It\u2019s about honoring where you are now\u2014and knowing that\u2019s not where\u00a0you\u2019re going to stay.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cI know there is no way to do this but to come to America and live\u00a0with its people. So here I am. In Argentina, I am a lawyer. Here I\u00a0scrape food off dishes in the kitchen,\u201d the young man laughingly said\u00a0to a customer at the lunch counter. \u201cBut no matter,\u201d he added. \u201cI am getting…<\/p>\n