Youths, dream big like the Syrian-Lebanese

My whole life was a pleasure.

Honesty, integrity and determination to succeed — these values have served me very well. I was never afraid to make any decision, whether right or wrong.

Very often, however a decision is made it has to be shaped into success. So the determination to succeed is a key factor” — Anthony N Sabga.

If the dream of some young people is to have greater wealth than some people they know, then it’s a wake-up call to start working harder and smarter on their own goals, their own visions, and stop pondering about what is fair and what is not fair.

Instead of being upset and offended by what may seem to be boasting on behalf of the wealthy, it’s time they start examining what’s keeping them back instead of what’s keeping the wealthy ahead. The youths must start looking at what they are doing.

The nation’s schools must use every tool at their disposal to ensure that young people are conditioned at a very early age to contribute positively to society and turn away from a life of crime.

Changing the way that youths have been conditioned to think in this crime-infested world is not easy to do. They are who they are, and conditioning them to think positive and about solutions to difficult problems is not a part of their nature. It’s something that’s difficult to imagine, let alone do.

The key to shifting the youths’ perspective and developing in them the habit of dreaming big involves teaching them the importance of stepping outside themselves and into another persona.

Youths must dare to dream like a world-renowned musician or artist who has an uncanny ability of creating something out of nothing. Youths must dream and think like a professional athlete who has the will to persist and overcome any obstacle standing in their way. Youths must dare to dream like a Noble Prize-winning scientist who meticulously works through big problems in small way. Or youths must be taught to dream like a billionaire entrepreneur who knows no limitations in thought or action.

I am pleading to the youths of this nation to step into any of these people’s shoes and they will immediately gain a different perspective about their lives and the circumstances confronting their reality. They will immediately begin to think and dream bigger, more clearly, creatively and problematically, which will help them break down the walls preventing them from living their dreams.

In order to dream big they must think from the perspective of having no limitations and no fears — as though life is designed to go in their favour, breaking down all walls and obstacles standing in their way, thus releasing the unlimited potential to develop the habit of thinking big, acting big, and doing bigger things than they ever thought were possible.

It’s time to dream big like the Syrian-Lebanese community.

SIMON WRIGHT Chaguanas