Customer Reviews

Dream It Do It: Inspiring Stories of Dreams Come True

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This is a great book because some of our favorite famous people are spotlighted and their lives are examined from before they were famous. It's helpful to me because once again I can see that we are all the same in our humanity, and anyone who puts in the effort, diligence and spiritual "something" to accomplish their dreams will do it! It lets us see we can do it, too, in whatever way feels good to us!

"We've found that dream achievers master at least one of the essential elements we've identified. Most dream achievers master several." ~Sharon Cook and Graciela Sholander

Sharon Cook and Graciela Sholander have created a recipe for success. By mixing the 10 main ingredients of success into your life, you will see your dreams jump off the pages of your journal and come to life. Not only are you encouraged to start a journal, the authors offer questions that will inspire answers that will then lead you to your dreams.

Cook and Sholander have been studying the lives of successful dreamers for years and through their research they identified ten key characteristics for success. They interviewed hundreds of people to find the elements of "Dream CPR."

Not only is this book very well organized, the main points are examined and present a powerful roadmap for success. With a journal, the inspiration in this book and your own dreams, you will be equipped with the knowledge to fulfill your dreams. If you have forgotten the dreams that once inspired you, this book may awaken the sleeping dreams and buried longings.

While reading "Dream It Do It," all I could think was: "If these individuals could see their dreams come true, I can also make my dreams a reality." I enjoyed reading the true-life example of Barbara Walters' persistence and was amazed by the resilience Maya Angelou has shown in her life.

What sustained the dreamers in this book?

Who were their mentors?

How can you put effective strategies into practice?

These questions are all answered in "Dream It Do It." It is not enough to say that you should just do something. Where do you start? The authors present some of the main principles of success by giving examples of effective strategies. They show where the dreamers found their inspiration and at times, this information will surprise you. I was amazed at how Maya Angelou created beauty out of pain.

While many may say that success is a result of luck, this book proves otherwise. There are definite steps you need to take to see your dreams become a reality. Success does take effort. However, if you love what you do, you just flow with life and create your desired existence.

A dream does not need to be just a cloud that floats around in the world of desire. You can release your ideas into a journal and then turn them into raging rivers that will move all obstacles in your path.

"Dream It Do It" presents the recipe for success and all you need to do is blend these ingredients into your daily life to create the life of you dreams. "Dream CPR" will breathe new life into your buried dreams or will give you the encouragement to continue your current path towards your goals.

~The Rebecca Review

I just got my copy of "Dream It Do It" last week and couldn't put it down. It inspired me to reach deep into my memories and refocus on dreams I had buried long ago before I married. Now I know what I've got to do to achieve some of these dreams (including a career path I abandoned after college, but now know how to pursue thanks to Cook's and Sholander's insightful and gentle guidance). Their innovative "Dream CPR" and its nonfiction stories of real-life people overcoming the same barriers so many people I know have faced, convinced me that I can finally fulfill my dreams. I'm not going to pretend it's going to be easy, but after reading "Dream It Do It," I've started devising a clear path toward making them come true. After years of no confidence, I now know I can do it.

And on top of that, now I know exactly what to give a few of my relatives and friends for the holidays -- a copy of "Dream It Do It." I wonder, does Amazon.com offer quantity discounts?

So thank you Sharon Cook and Graciella Sholander for giving me the tools and inspiration I need to actually achieve my dreams -- and for handing me the perfect gift for some fellow baby-boomers and my teenage and college age nieces and nephews.

It takes a lot of courage to follow your dreams. Graciela Sholander and Sharon Cook bring you a truly inspiring book that shows you how real people turn their dreams into reality despite the many obstacles they faced.

People who turn their dreams into reality have had many naysayer comments from the very people who should be saying "I Believe in You and You Can Do It!!"

This wonderful book gives you practical steps to get your dreams on paper. There's an old saying: "So it is written, so it is done." You have to believe that you CAN do it.

Once you begin, your natural passion will fuel you, and you will become unstoppable. Once you make up your mind, NOTHING in this universe can stand in your way.

Everything reviewer Randy Gilbert said below is absolutely true.

This book will provide you with the inspiration from the very people who have had to endure so much to get to where they are.

BUY TTHIS BOOK! It is a remarkable book for anyone who wants to turn his or her dream into reality. It will definitely show you how others did.

Highly Recommended!

Barbara Rose, author of "Stop Being the String Along: A Relationship Guide to Being THE ONE" and 'If God Was Like Man'

Editor of inspire! magazine

Have you ever looked at a successful person and wonder how they became successful? In this wonderful, easy to read book not only do you find stories of peoples' successes, but you also find the challenges they faced, and how they overcame those challenges.

To quote the authors: "Life can knock us down flat. It's our measure of resilience that determines whether or not we'll keep dreaming and reaching for our dreams."

This book gives examples of people who have been knocked down, but they also share many stories of people who succeeded. More importantly, they also give the elements of the keys to their success.

The authors have developed a wonderful tool, which they refer to as "Dream CPR". Throughout the book, they discuss the "Ten Essential Elements of Dream CPR", and apply the elements to real life examples.

While reading the book, they got to the heart of the matter quickly, and I could see how the elements of Dream CPR applied.

If you need inspiration, look no further. This book will motivate you, and help you to achieve the success that you are dreaming about.

QUOTES from the book, DREAM IT DO IT:

"Despite what we've been taught, we don't have to be rich, famous or distinguished to make our dreams come true."

"If you have ever felt such tremendous enthusiasm and desire for something that you would gladly spend all your waking hours working on it, that you would happily do without pay, then you have found your passion."

"Following our dreams almost always requires us to take chances. There is no guarantee that we will succeed in our venture. But if we don't try, we will never know how far we can go."

"Most people who are recognized for their remarkable accomplishments started out stumbling and struggling just like anyone else."

"When our dreams are born of purpose, we can soar above the limitations to accomplish the seemingly impossible."

"If nobody was willing to try something new, nothing would ever be invented."

"A single action can completely alter your future, for better or worse."

A great book!!!!

Live your dreams! That advice leads off many helpful books. Most such books deal with the taking an existing dream . . . and turning it into reality. The better books contain some brief vignettes that exemplify the main points. Sometimes the author has led a very memorable life that serves as the main example. When I picked up this book, I wondered how Dream It . . . Do It would differ from those offerings.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that Ms. Cook and Ms. Sholander take one step back and begin by helping you find worthy dreams . . . both ones you've had before . . . and brand new ones. Next, they offer nine characteristics required to turn dreams into reality -- something they call Dream CPR. C stands for confidence, courage, commitment and creativity. P stands for purpose, passion and persistence. R stands for resilience, risk and responsibility. The phrase, Dream CPR, is obviously designed to help you remember the nine characteristics when you do not have the book in front of you. Each characteristic is then addressed in a separate chapter that begins with an explanation of what the characteristic is, then provides 3 or 4 examples of someone who really emphasized that dimension in living their dreams, and finishes with a practical set of instructions for what the reader should do next. In addition, you are encouraged to keep a journal as you read and dream so that you will capture key thoughts. In chapter 13, the authors then give you a summary of the nine characteristics and the qualities you need to emphasize to achieve them (for instance, relying on intuition helps you identify and keep focused on your purpose). I especially liked appendix A that includes dreams from children.

The observations and stories are drawn from hundreds of interviews that the authors did with people who have lived their dreams . . . so this is a research-based book rather than just their gut feelings about the subject.

If someone is going to develop the desire to live their dreams, I think they need to see that they can do it . . . as long as they take the right steps and are persistent. The stories (which are the bulk of the book's pages) are admirably designed to do that. No matter how hard a reader might think she or he has it, someone in this book has had it worse . . . and went on to live a profoundly positive life that made a large difference for others. If you can speak English, have all of your physical capacities, and are able to work, you will find yourself well ahead of many of the people in these stories. Even if you don't have those capabilities, you can overcome whatever you think is holding you back.

The examples are very well chosen. Almost everyone will find a story that will inspire them. In addition, the stories often exemplify more than one of the characteristics . . . so you get multiple reinforcement of what is required.

I was especially pleased to see that purpose and persistent are emphasized. I find that most people who make their dreams a reality are terrific at those two elements. Yet most books I read don't emphasize those points nearly enough.

I happily endorse this book and recommend it as a worthwhile read . . . and an even more worthwhile guide to living a better life.

As I finished the book, I mentally went through my list of dreams that are not yet fulfilled . . . and recommitted myself to being persistent in following my purpose.

Follow your most worthwhile dreams!

As a minister, I appreciate the personal stories, because most are about people who have dreamed of helping folks better their quality of life. Also, stories are a most effective way of communicating a message. Stories allow one to have a relationship with the character, and having a relationship, be inspired and taught. The book provides this relationship.
Yet the book does more. The authors have created a methodology that encourages one to become a type of contemplative, reflecting on who you are, what your passions and talents are. There is an inner reflective piece that validates the actualization of one's soul and self. And then you are encouraged to take another step which is making a plan and taking the risk to allow what is inside becoming real on the outside. There is a movement from the story to yourself to others.
The book is an example of what the Apostle Paul calls the "Body of Christ:" people being called by God to use the talents they have for the sake of God's will in the world. And, to "Let your light shine!"
Thanks to the authors! Kudos!

Although I have not finished this book, I have gotten very far and I know I will finish within the next day or two. It is just one of those books that, once you pick up, you don't want to let go, no matter how busy your schedule is. I find the individual stories of the people in this book very fascinating and uplifting. It is a must read for everybody, especially during these challanging times that we live in. Every secondary school, university and library should have a copy of this book to help motivate young people and anyone else who needs motivation or inspiration. It is also an ideal Holiday Season gift.

Since moving to New York I've gotten kind of jaded about just about everything. But I've got to admit that this book's accounts of actual people who overcame steep odds to make their dreams come true really inspired me. I don't usually go for this inspirational stuff, but when I my boyfriend gave me "Dream It Do It," I got drawn in by the authors' obvious sincerity and enthusiasm and just kept on reading. I've even started writing my Dream CPR Journal like the authors recommend and I'm about ready to start formulating a plan to fulfill my dream from long ago, a dream I didn't even remember until I got halfway through this book.

Anybody who reads the stories of Cale Kenney and Marigold Linton can't help but be inspired. If they can overcome the loss of a leg and debilitating discouragement from all around, respectively, to achieve their dreams, anybody -- even me -- can. I had no idea of what Barbara Walters had to go through to become a top TV reporter. I never knew that Harrison Ford turned to carpentry while his acting career stalled and seemed hopeless. Now I know what to get my sisters and brothers for Christmas - Dream It Do It!

Sharon Cook and Graciela Sholander have most definitely intrigued me with their writings. Not only have they chosen inspirational people to write about, but they have given the reader much to think about in their own lives. I found the way they've set up the book extremely useful to put these ideas of mine to work! Each chapter gives the reader something to ponder in their own lives and to truly look inside to see what character we can bring to our lives that inspire us. Never give up on our dreams. What a great joy it is to rediscover dreams of mine that I've put on the back burner that can be transformed from a dream to reality! Thanks Sharon and Graciela!