In Istanbul, however, he faced a new crisis.



Now, he had no friends, no money, no knowledge of Turkish, and no citizenship. He risked starvation. He also risked losing his sense of identity.

He didn't want to be poor and hungry for the rest of his life. No, he had fonder hopes for himself. He wanted to thrive. He wanted to be an outrageous success.

After the penniless 23-year-old exile fought off immediate peril, he turned his mind back to dreams of glory.

He analyzed his situation by listing his talents. He dismissed numerous options. Only one talent really appealed to him. Only one sang to his soul. He loved to dance.

Yes, he finally decided, he would be a dancer.

Dancing fit his personality. In dancing, he had only to display the grace of his body in motion. He did not have to be witty or eloquent.

Although he was basically a shy person, he decided that he would be different, special, and unusual.

He would dance amazingly well. He would be the best. No, better still, he would be the best of the best.

He would dance in the finest theaters in the world. He would dance to packed audiences. He would flit, like a butterfly, across the stages of the world's most cosmopolitan cities. He would be a firefly of the night- life.

People would talk about him long after he had left the stage. Newspapers would rave about his performances. Agents would compete for his attention.

Yes, people the world over would be willing to pay a high price for the joy of seeing him dance. Just by watching him, people would be enthralled. They would be inspired by his power, speed, grace, agility.

He would be famous. No, world-famous.

His life, he decided, would be one of splendid, dancing, uplifting motion.

Years passed...then...

One day, in New York, in his dressing room, he looked at himself in the mirror and smiled. A shiver ran up his spine. He was looking at the highest-paid dancer in the world.

My friend, you, too, have a splendid opportunity right now to be more alive...to find your dream...and follow your goal.

Imagine, just for one moment, if you chose to use the spark of your life to burn a brilliant blaze.

What would happen to your life if you learned how to make every atom of your being glow like a meteor, lighting up the night sky?

Your proper function is to live. It is not merely to exist. It is much more than to survive.

Do you spend most of your time just trying to get by, with very little of it devoted to bringing out your talents and your special qualities?

The proper function of a person is to live. Will you waste your days trying to prolong them--or will you burn like a shooting star?

Will you die an unlived life?

Or do you choose to inhabit your days and allow your living to open you up?

Can you allow yourself to be less afraid and more accessible?

Can you loosen up your heart?

Dare you live your life as if you had wings? Dare you make your life blaze like a torch to guide and assist the world? And dare you embody the promise of all your latent greatness?

Imagine what would happen if you choose to risk your significance, and to plant seeds, and to watch them blossom, and to allow them to become fruit?

Your greatness is awaiting you?will you accept it?

There is an old Cherokee saying that goes something like this: ?When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice.?

I think you catch my drift.