During a lunch break at the International Center for Deafness and the Arts, I was talking to one of the teen cast members and asking her about her dreams. “I want to be like Marlee Matlin,” she said. “I love her on the show, Switched at Birth.”
The teen went back on to the stage to rehearse for Nunsense. As I was sitting in the lounge, my eyes caught an essay written by a very young Marlee Matlin. It was posted on the wall next to several pictures of Marlee during her time at ICODA. Marlee began her acting career as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. Her original costume was now enshrined on the wall.
“If I Was A Movie Star,” Marlee titled her essay. Here is the rest:
If I was a movie star, I would ride in a limousine.
When I go out of the limousine, I would give everyone my best autograph and I would let people take my picture! OOhh, when I am on the stage, I would give everyone my best smile! 🙂
I would have a huge house which would have mirrors all over. I would love when people would write me letters. I would love to send them back but it’s hard to write to all the people.
I would love to meet all movie stars! They are so nice!!
I want to make movies all my life.
Here’s my autograph:
Signed: Marlee Matlin
I sat and marveled at the letter. Young Marlee Matlin had manifested every single thing written in that essay. Every. Single. Thing. And more. Her bold vision had morphed into reality. Nine years before her Oscar moment, Henry Winkler told her to follow her heart and not let any barriers stop her from achieving her dreams.
She was the youngest person to ever win the Academy Award at age 21. Many people wrote her off as a one-time-wonder. But Marlee held fast to the dreams that she envisioned. And today, she has four Emmys sitting on a shelf in her beautiful home (I’m sure there are mirrors on the walls) and she’s emerged from a limousine over and over.
Perhaps anyone reading Marlee’s essay back then might have thought it was an impossible goal. An impossible dream. Randy Gage, in his post, Goals That Work, says:
So if you have a bold vision, the bold goal will seem believable to you. If you don’t, it won’t. It’s just that simple. So as to whether you achieve a goal you don’t really believe – I don’t think so. Once in a while circumstances will conspire to drag you over the finish line. But almost all the time, you need a strong belief in a goal to have a real chance of achieving it.
What about you? Do you have a bold vision you want to turn into reality?