It was October and the Indians on a remote reservation asked their new Chief if the coming winter was going to be cold or mild. Since he was a Chief who had been brought up in a modern society he had never been taught the old secrets, and when he looked at the sky he couldn’t tell what the winter was going to be like. To be on the safe side he told his tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village should collect firewood to be prepared.
However, being a practical leader, he decided to find out the real answer. He galloped away on his horse, went to a public phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked, “Is the coming winter going to be cold?”
“It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold,” the meteorologist at the weather service responded. So the Chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more firewood in order to be prepared.
A week later he called the National Weather Service again. “Does it still look like it is going to be a very cold winter?” “Yes,” the man at National Weather Service again replied, “it’s going to be a very cold winter.” The Chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect every scrap of firewood they could find.
Two weeks later the Chief called the National Weather Service again. “Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?” “Absolutely,” the man replied. “It’s looking more and more like it is going to be one of the coldest winters ever.”
“How can you be so sure?” the Chief asked.
The weatherman replied, “We’re never really sure about our readings, but the Indians always seem to get it right, and they’re collecting firewood like crazy!”
Moral: Sometimes we try to find the answer to a situation by looking around to see what everyone else thinks. The reality is however, that we have the strengths and abilities to solve our own problems most of the time, through application of our own skills and knowledge.
I have discovered that in order to plan, I have to release my directed thoughts and go into a mode of free daydreaming. During these reveries, I can envision myself putting together materials that I would need to build a boat, a plane, or a house, or a beach cottage.
Over the years, I have done all these things. I learned how to do things with the help of library books and talking to other people who knew more than I did about a project. I would start at the beginning, stick with the work, and finally complete the project.
Some things have taken afternoons, weeks, months, even years to build. In those projects, I have discovered an indescribable freedom and contentment of the heart and soul that is hard to come by any other means.
My family and friends have encouraged me, cheered for me, and listened to me talk about my work. Some have even helped me from time to time… To start on that journey, to construct something, is to believe that I can and will do it. When I have made the dream a reality, then I am contented, joyful, and proud to share it.
https://books.google.com/books?id=oBGPCnjH3b0C&dq
Through self-belief and persistently applying our skills and knowledge, we can accomplish things that would have seemed impossible when we initially believed in our ability to effect change for the good.