There is an oft-repeated phrase with which you must be familiar.It is，"I can dream，can't I？" But this exclamation usually has the tone of futility in it，as though the person making it had no faith that his dreams will come true.
Actually，he who dares dream and believe in his dreams is the creator，to a great extent，of his future.
You would not be a normal，average human being if you did not have hidden desires and so-called "pipe dreams." While you may not confess them to anyone，you do build air castles on occasion，seeing yourself doing something or going somewhere or having something—and you take a certain joy just imagining，for the moment，that these air castles are real.It's seldom，however，that you put the power of your own feeling and conviction behind your dreams.You've never had the faith that they could be converted into actual happenings，if you took them seriously instead of fancifully.
"Oh，I never expect to do anything like this，" a woman said to me once，who had been day-dreaming about a trip to Europe."But it's fun to imagine doing it，anyway."
When I assured her that she could go to Europe if she really wanted to do so，she laughed and said： "I don't see how.I'd never have money enough to do that！"
"You certainly won't as long as you continue that negative thinking，" I pointed out."Every other statement you make about yourself is 'I never expect ...I never will have ...' and so on.What you are doing is instructing the creative power within not to do anything for you—to keep you from having enough money to do things—and you are getting just what you are picturing."
It took her a little while to get onto what she was doing to herself.Then she said： "All right.From now on I'm going to think positive thoughts，But I still can't see how I'm ever going to get to Europe."
"Leave that to your subconscious—to the power within，" I advised."Just picture yourself making the trip to Europe and let the creative power work out the way you are going to get to go—and the means！"
"It sounds pretty screwy to me，" she said，"but I'll try it."
"You've got to have faith，" I warned，"You just can't go through the motions of picturing yourself in Europe，without faith，and ever get there."
"Okay！ I'11 give it everything I've got！" she said."And we'll see what happens."
"Hold on—you're expressing doubt，" said I."You're not going to see what happens—you're going to see it happen！"
"I'll never get the hang of this kind of thinking，" she laughed.
Eight months later I received a letter from this woman—from Europe—but I didn't recognize her by name，until she identified herself.
"I'm here，" she reported."It worked，just as you said it would.Only I had to get married to do it！ "
How wonderful，thought I，"that something" within brought her not only a trip to Europe，but a husband，too！ When you start picturing good things coming your way，you may get more than you bargain for！
Start your mind pumping！
Clarence Saunders，now 67，is on his way to his third fortune.Before he was 35，he had his first fortune.His colossal "pipe dream" of the famous Piggly Wiggly super market chain had paid off.Saunders maintains it's easy to think" million-dollar ideas" once you gear your mind to it."My mind is pumping all the time，" he declares，"and I can never tell what the pump is going to bring up—but I just give the creative power free rein and it comes up with something of value，time after time." Today，Saunders is launching his new chain grocery idea which he calls the "Foodelectric." The store operates so automatically that the customer can collect her groceries herself，wrap them and act as her own cashier."It eliminates the check-out crush，cuts overhead expenses and enables a small staff to handle a tremendous volume，" says Saunders."I can handle a $2，000，000 volume a year with only eight employees，whereas any other supermarket of the same size would employ at least forty，perhaps sixty-five people.I've made and lost millions in my life—but I'm on my way to my next million now！"
How can you stop a man like that？ Is your mind functioning on all cylinders at 67？ Or will it be？ It won't，unless you've trained it to operate.You are carrying a potential fortune around in your head at all times.“Start your mind pumping，" Saunders suggests，"and you may strike oil！"
"Pipe dreams，" you say."Nothing like this could ever happen to me." Watch that negative thinking！ You can't conceive of the possibilities within you，once you give the creative power within an opportunity to be of service.
Did the Wright brothers have a "pipe dream" when they pictured themselves building and flying the first airplane？ Many "unseeing" people thought so and heaped ridicule upon them，but this didn't stop the Wrights.They had the courage and the faith to keep on dreaming and working，in the face of，skepticism，and brought a new mode of travel to the world.
So few of us have vision.We cannot see beyond the present moment.We become so immersed in our current difficulties and problems that we can visualize no way out.
"Pipe dreaming" is a way of escape into the future—a way of freeing yourself from the present and creating new opportunities and developments.I don't mean that you can sidestep present responsibilities and problems ...but the cure for many of them lies in your future，as does your hope for self-betterment.
"Look forward—never backward，" has been the admonition of wise men.They have known that the past can do nothing for you，but the future always holds promise if，in the words of Peter Ibbetson，you "dream true."
How great is your faith？
How long could you persist in a dream，something you very much wanted，if it took some years to come true？ Would your faith waver？ Would your enthusiasm die out？ Would you decide that the apparent obstacles were too many，that they could never be overcome？ Would you compromise with yourself，and settle for something less than you had originally visualized？