Vangogh Essays - Vincent Van Gogh, Van Goghs Family In His Art

Vangogh The rapid evolution of a style characterized by canvases filled with swirling, bright colors depicting people and nature is the essence of Vincent Van Gogh's extremely prolific but tragically short career. Vincent Willem van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853, in Holland, son of a Dutch Protestant pastor and eldest of six children. His favorite brother Theo was four years younger. When Vincent was twelve to sixteen years old, he went to a boarding school. That next year he was sent to The Hague to work for an uncle who was an art dealer, but van Gogh was unsuited for a business career. Actually, his early interests were in literature and religion. Very dissatisfied with the way people made money and imbued with a strong sense of mission, he worked for a while as a lay preacher among proverty-stricken miners. Van Gogh represented the religious society that trained him in a poor coal-mining district in Belgium. Vincent took his work so seriously that he went without food and other necessities so he could give more to the poor. The missionary society objected to Vincent's behavior and fired him in 1879. Heartsick, van Gogh struggled to keep going socially and fin! ancially, yet he was always rejected by other people, and felt lost and forsaken. Then, in 1880, at age 27, he became obsessed with art. The intensity he had for religion, he now focused on art. His early drawings were crude but strong and full of feeling: "It is a hard and a difficult struggle to learn to draw well... I have worked like a slave ...." His first paintings had been still lifes and scenes of peasants at work. "That which fills my head and heart must be expressed in drawings and in pictures...I'm in a rage of work." In 1881, he moved to Etten. He very much liked pictures of peasant life and labor. Jean-Francois Millet was the first to paint this as a main theme and his works influenced van Gogh. His first paintings here were crude but improving. Van Gogh's progress was interrupted by an intense love for his widowed cousin Kee Vos. On her decisive rejection of him he pursued her to Amsterdam, only to suffer more humiliation. Anton Mauve, a leading member of the Hague school was a cousin of van Gogh's mother. This opportunity to be taught by him encouraged van Gogh to settle in Den Hague with Theo's support. When van Gogh left Den Hague in September 1883 for the northern fenland of Drenth, he did so with mixed feelings. He spent hours wandering the countryside, making sketches of the landscape, but began to feel isolated and concerned about the future. He had rented a little attic in a house but found it melancholy, and was depressed with the quality of his equipment. "Everything is too miserable, too insufficient, too dilapidated." Physically and mentally unable to cope with these conditions any longer, he left for his parents' new home in Nuenen in December 1883. Van Gogh had a phase in which he loved to paint birds and bird's nests. This phase did not last long. It only lasted until his father's death six months later. "The Family Bible" which he painted just before leaving his house for good, six months after his father's death in 1885, must have meant a great deal to him. Van Gogh had broken with Christianity when he was fired from the missionary which proved to be the most painful experience of his life, and one from which he never quite recovered. At Nuenen, van Gogh gave active physical toil a remarkable reality. It's impact went far beyond what the realist Gustave Corbet had achieved and beyond even the quasi-religious images of Jean-Francois Millet. He made a number of studies of peasant hands and heads before embarking on what would be his most important work at Nuenen. The pinnacle of his work in Holland was The Potato Eaters, a scene painted in April 1885 that shows the working day to be over. It was the last and most ambitious painting of his pre-Impressionist period, 1880-1885. When van Gogh painted the The Potato Eaters, he had not yet discovered the importance of color. Van Gogh went to Antwerp in November 1885, partly to escape local gossip. He vainly attempted to make money from painting portraits, townscapes, and trades men's signs. Then he enrolled at the

Free Essays on Organisational Psychology

THE SWEATSHOP INTRODUCTION The Sweatshop is a clothing company, which started in 1994. It is assumed that the owner/managing director Susan Ropati had experience in the clothing industry, however, may not have performed at senior management level before. Susan lacks experience in management and appears to have built her company based on her personal values, goals and beliefs rather than on a theoretical business model. The company appears to be rapidly growing which has precipitated a sudden change in its’ existing day to day running. Analysis of the Sweatshop case study identifies a number of problem areas. From the onset it appears that the owner/managing director, Susan Ropati has aligned her own personal and professional goals to those of her employees. Susan has attempted to employ people whom she believes share her dreams and values rather than by looking at skill and experience bases. This has hugely influenced the culture within the company and impacted negatively at times. The culture of the company is driven solely by its owner/managing director, Susan Ropati. There appears to be a strong need to achieve, high expectations, and intense drive in self-discipline. Susan appears to be autocratic in her dealings with her employees, which has led to a general culture of inequity. Secondly, there appears to be no formal performance management system in place. Objectives, goals, and performance plans have been developed with no consultation to the individual employees they target which has led to employees of the Sweatshop not knowing what their key performance indictors are and what standards they must adhere to. With the implementation of a new pay-for-performance system there has been no review of job descriptions, no consultation with subject matter experts in regards to key performance indictors of each job and no monitoring of performance progress over time to ensure targets are being met and bonuses... Free Essays on Organisational Psychology Free Essays on Organisational Psychology THE SWEATSHOP INTRODUCTION The Sweatshop is a clothing company, which started in 1994. It is assumed that the owner/managing director Susan Ropati had experience in the clothing industry, however, may not have performed at senior management level before. Susan lacks experience in management and appears to have built her company based on her personal values, goals and beliefs rather than on a theoretical business model. The company appears to be rapidly growing which has precipitated a sudden change in its’ existing day to day running. Analysis of the Sweatshop case study identifies a number of problem areas. From the onset it appears that the owner/managing director, Susan Ropati has aligned her own personal and professional goals to those of her employees. Susan has attempted to employ people whom she believes share her dreams and values rather than by looking at skill and experience bases. This has hugely influenced the culture within the company and impacted negatively at times. The culture of the company is driven solely by its owner/managing director, Susan Ropati. There appears to be a strong need to achieve, high expectations, and intense drive in self-discipline. Susan appears to be autocratic in her dealings with her employees, which has led to a general culture of inequity. Secondly, there appears to be no formal performance management system in place. Objectives, goals, and performance plans have been developed with no consultation to the individual employees they target which has led to employees of the Sweatshop not knowing what their key performance indictors are and what standards they must adhere to. With the implementation of a new pay-for-performance system there has been no review of job descriptions, no consultation with subject matter experts in regards to key performance indictors of each job and no monitoring of performance progress over time to ensure targets are being met and bonuses...

SEMCO Industries Analysis Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

SEMCO Industries Analysis - Case Study Example From this research it is clear that At SEMCO Semler has embraced three extremely valuable fundamental principles that help it develop. From the article, we learn that Semler took over the company from his father; it had just one hundred thoroughly under-depressed employees. The author clearly states that were it not for hard work and considerable luck, the company could have gone under then. The country was in a particularly unpleasant state of economic inflation, and Semler had to work for loans that had an exceptionally high interest rate from banks. Organizations should avoid all possible instances that may suppress their progress; this is because SEMCO’s performance dropped as a result of poor management skills. Several articles published by newspapers state that the company was going under. Semler did not give in but rather looked at a different approach for a better output. He got licenses to manufacture other companies’ goods, and he decided to take a different a pproach in running the company. The main problem he noticed was that most of the employees felt left out and unmotivated. The employees were unmotivated for the lack of family ties with the company. His job was to make them feel part of the whole company and give them a sense of belonging, so he came up with an employee-centered work design. Managers should have the ability for abrupt decision making. He merged this with his belief that one’s job should bring about pleasure and not rebellion and stress. He introduced three alternative values that fueled the hard work and courteous luck. The goal of these values was to make the employees give better services, and improve their determination while still having fun in the company and their jobs. They were: democracy, free flow of information and equal profit sharing. Omitting one of these principles will deter the intended interpretation. These are the three principles that the company has embraced over the twenty two years he h as been in charge. Many companies prefer using formal authority in organization and management, Semler discards the principles of setting up certain rules to guide the workers under the supervision as cumbersome, frustrating and having no drive at all. He claims that in management, the employees do not care about the company’s growth or profits. They just come to work and get their salaries and promotions; communication, though available, is not effective at all. There is fear of victimization; hence, some highly critical problems fail to be addressed, and this prevents the output quality of the company (Morgan, 2007, p. 26). In big companies, the workers feel insignificant and unappreciated in the participatory form of management. This is observed because of the presence of managers who downgrade other workers. Semler, therefore, decided that the positions of leadership in his company had to be dissolved. He came up with executive positions just to hold up the hierarchy, but all workers had a freedom to do whatever they wanted, he practiced informal authority. The workers get to do the work which suits them best

TEXAS ELECTIONS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

TEXAS ELECTIONS - Essay Example For example, in the 2000 Election Williamson County voted 67.79% for Republicans compared to 47.87% National, 59.29% Statewide, and 46.88% Travis County. In the 2004 Election Williamson County voted 64.96% for Republicans compared to 50.73% National, 61.08% Statewide, and 41.99% Travis County. In the 2008 Election Williamson County voted 55.75% for Republicans compared to 45.67% National, 55.45% Statewide, and 34.44% Travis County. This last election showed that more Republicans voted for Obama than McCain when compared to when Bush was a candidate. The Governor Elections had the same trend. In the 2002 Election, Williamson County voted 68.34% for Republicans; whereas statewide 57.80% voted Republican and Travis County had 46.76%. In the 2006 Election, Williamson County voted 42.79% for Republicans; whereas statewide 39.02% voted Republican and Travis County had 26.43%. It must be noted in this election both Republican and Democratic votes suffered due to two independent candidates. The trend between Williamson County and Travis County was Williamson County voted less for Freidman 11.37% to Williamson County 13.49% and a state wide percentage of 12.44%.

Reflection 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reflection 5 - Essay Example All these principles are meaningful to me in the sense that I can use these in guiding me on how to become a better leader someday. To integrate these seven (7) principles in daily living, I need to make it a habit to practice show more confidence by being optimistic in life. It is equally important to be compassionate and build strong relationship with other people. To practice of good moral reasoning, it is important to think first before making an action. For reinforcement, listening to what other people see me could help me realize how I can further improve myself as a leader. After discussing my life story over the past several weeks, I managed to frame my life story as something that can give me a positive hope and desire to further enhancing my existing leadership skills. Based on the previous exercises, I realized that our past experiences can be used as a benchmark in determining how each individual can develop themselves into a better and more effective leader. By learning from our previous mistakes, it is easier for us to avoid committing the same errors in our future encounter with other people. It will also give us a good insight on what a good leader should be. Being an optimistic person, I prefer to use some of my previous life story in an entirely new perspective. For example, being a generous person, I used to treat my colleagues for snacks just to get them to listen and support me with whatever I wish to accomplish in life. After going through a series of reflection, I realized that being generous is not the only way to win the support of other people. In fact, the use of affect and positive praises can even be more effective in terms of motivating other people to support my desires and goals in life. Internal motivators include expanding my knowledge, improving one’s own personality by being physically and mentally fit, further improvement in communication and interpersonal skills,

The Worlds Ten Best Airport Lounges Tourism Essay

The Worlds Ten Best Airport Lounges Tourism Essay An airport is a building where people from all over the world take flights to travel to any part of the world for their business or holidays. An airport is not only to board the flight today is more than a comfortable zone for the passengers and making their travelling easy. There are loads of shops, eating outlets, toilets and entertainment areas for all passengers. If any passenger has a long stay to board the next flight there are special area for making the passenger comfortable i.e. AIRPORT LOUNGES. At the airport there are loads of different lounges for people of different ages groups. My dissertation is on lounges for kids who are travelling all by themselves and are the responsibility of the crew to make them reach to their destiny safely. During their flights kids might have to wait for the next flight so all the unaccompanied kids are in the kids lounges where they can play, eat, make new friends and make themselves comfortable while waiting for their flight. Everyday many people travel from one place to the other and airport is one such place which never sleeps all year long. Airports are the busiest during any season or any month of the year. People who travel are on a business trip, holiday, students going back to meet their families or people going for their honeymoon be it any reason airports are the busiest and need to be up to mark to make the passengers happy. Over these years kids have become more independent and can travel alone if their parents are busy or cant take them to meet their families or friends. I realized that these lounges help people to be comfortable when they are away from home. So I decided to do my final project on airport lounges. Since there are loads of different lounges and its a very vast topic I focused myself on lounges for kids. During my graduation I have done my previous graduation final project on a retail outlet and my interest has always been in commercial building so I opted for airport lounges. My main aim is to build a comfortable and friendly lounge for kids and my design concept will be based on different color full themes, Disney characters because the lounges are for the kids. In the lounge all the basic and luxury facilities will be available for kids such as sleeping area, food hall, playing stations, play area, services to call their homes, baby sisters looking after the kids and giving each and every kid a safe and homely environment. The kids are travelling alone and they ought to miss their families and they are also scared if they miss their flight and the whole airport is like a huge building for them where people are running from one place to the other. In the lounge the kids will feel secure and will be collected from the aircraft and will be dropped back to the aircraft. It would be the responsibility of the airport staff and care takers to check that each child is safely boarded the flight. My main aim will be focusing on kids and the facilities that will be offered within lounge and making kids feel at home. The areas that will be focused are play area, food area, entertainment zone, sleeping zone and other services like collecting the kids from the aircraft and dropping them back to the aircraft. My final project is all about interiors and specially what young kids will like and get attracted towards the lounge.The staff of the lounge will be responsible for looking after the kids and their luggage. The kids will be escorted at all times with the airline crew or staff of the lounge. The design concept is designed in such a way keeping the kids in mind. The important factors that have strong impact on space design for children are:- Space Gender Age Activity Size Color The planning of a childs room is shaped by gender. While a girls room demands a certain ambience and space allotment, a boys room has different set of requirements. Even the size of wardrobe depends or varies with gender. Decorative themes are also dependant on the gender factor. For girls pastel colors and floral effects are used whereas for boys, generally sports them is used. Different age groups involve different space and size considerations. The age group Ive selected is two to five years. Their activities and social dynamics differ. Space for such children is theme-based. Kids room should be filled with color, cartoons and toys but sensibly designed. Storage is of particular importance for the young and space is a challenge because childrens rooms are often little rooms. Innovative solutions involve mobility for furniture or accessories within a structure. Interesting accessory features add color, utility and customization to any space. Childrens spaces must evolve with the child. They must themselves have a life- cycle that resonates with their young and developing dwellers. So a baby space is obliged to transform into teen space with minimal disruption and expense. TYPES OF AIRPORT LOUNGES Airport is one such place which never sleeps all year along. The airport authorities with the help of hotel companies have opened various lounges, eating joints and shops in the airport in order to make travelling easy for all passengers and keep them entertained during their stay at the airport. All year long many passengers travel from one country to another. There are times when a few passengers like kids, disabled, old people. There are different types of lounges for different age groups. These lounges offer a variety of services for passengers. Different types of Lounges are:- Lounges for older people Lounges for disabled Lounges for unaccompanied minors Lounges for general people Lounges for business class people What services can passengers expect from the lounges? To be treated like a VIP Free snacks Free soft and alcoholic drinks (champagne is extra) Newspapers Magazines Comfortable seats Business desks Televisions Special care for disabled, old age and minors Cable cars for old age and disabled for travelling inside the airport These services are all available by paying a very minimum fee to access them during your stay at the lounge. Many passengers have access to these lounges with their respective credit cards of different banks in order to promote the services and attract the public for using the best services on their holiday. Since there are many different kind of airport lounges with different airlines the services available will vary from one lounge to the other. But majority have the same services at different price rates. The below table shows major airports of United Kingdom have same services for the customers. NAME FOOD AND DRINKS DISABLE ACCESS WIFI,PHONE AND FAX TOILETS FLIGHT INFORMATION 1Birbimghim Airport 2Manchester Airport 3Newcastle Airport 4London Airport 5Liverpool Airport 6Gatwick Airport HISTORY OF AIRPORT LOUNGES 7A lounge is a lounge which is owned by any airline which is open to its passengers for having a stress free environment while waiting at the airport. The lounges can be accessed by any passenger by paying a minimum fee and getting access to all the best services of the lounge. The lounge offers free drinks and food. The passengers can access to wifi, private meeting rooms, fax, telephone and the lounge has comfortable leather sofas to relax. 8Heathrow is the busiest and largest airport every year it carries over 86 million people. The airport started in 1946 with a group of army with small tents and grass airfield and was privately owned. In 1944 the Air Ministry developed as a transport base for Air Force Royale. Soon there was a need of a large airport and in 1946 one runway was ready to be used. By 1947 three runways were completed ready and the tents were replaced by a building in the start of 1950. Due to the need and demands of the customers terminal-2 was opened in 1955. Today Heathrow has a well developed terminals and a direct access to underground metro,  [9]  taxis are available at all terminals and has totally changed its old structure with new structure and services for passengers travelling every year. Over these years the world has changed into a total new world of high technologies, inventions and every thing has been changed into a higher advanced things. Airports were just a big land where there was only one runway and a small building from where passengers could get their luggage and exit into the country. The airport building was not very well designed and it dint even have any kind of proper services like food stalls, bars, casino, restaurants, or lounges. The airports were very under developed and over these years airports have completely changed and have a new definition of what airports are. Airports all over the world are serving its passengers with the best facilities and have totally changed and entered a new era of advanced technology. Airport lounges are basically a room or an open space where all passengers can relax themselves during their stay at the airport. 10THE WORLDS TEN BEST AIRPORT LOUNGES Since the attack on the twin towers in Unites States has forced the security at the airports to do a tight check on passengers travelling. Even on every domestic flight the security check has increased and the passengers have to stand in long queues for security check. There are business class lounges who cannot afford to miss on their business while waiting at the airport. Over the years the travel and tourism industry has flourished and there are lounges for the general entertainment as well. Clubhouse Virgin Atlantic, San Francisco International Airport   Terraces Lounge British Airways, JFK International Airport Silver Kris Singapore Airlines, Singapore Changi Airport   Presidents Club Continental Airlines, Ronald Reagan National Airport, Washington D.C.   Smokers Lounge Swissair, Zurich International Airport   VIP Lounge LanChile, Santiago International Airport   Golden Lounge Malaysian Airlines, Kuala Lumpur International Airport   SAS Lounge Copenhagen International Airport   Star Alliance Lounge Zurich International Airport   The Wing Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong International Airport Terraces Lounge British Airways, JFK International Airport The Wing Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong International Airport Golden Lounge Malaysian Airlines, Kuala Lumpur International Airport VIP Lounge LanChile, Santiago International Airport Silver Kris Singapore Airlines, Singapore Changi Airport Star Alliance Lounge Zurich International Airport   PSYCHOLOGY OF AIRPORT LOUNGES A passengers point of view a lounge is a small area at the airport where the passengers can access comfortable sofas for relaxing with complimentary refreshments with free wifi, phone and fax services. But behind the scenes psychology is used a lot to define how comfortable the environment and services are and in what manner is it beneficial to the people who need a special attention. Since the lounge is for kids there has to be kept special preference to kind of services kids want. Through my research work I have found the following points need to be used in a lounge. EASY ACCESS OF SERVICES The kids who will be using the lounge will be of age 5-12 years old. Kids at this age are not very independent and solely depend on their parents for each and everything. During their stay at the lounge they will be fully dependent on the staff. While designing the lounge it should be designed to access the services at ease by the kids themselves. EXAMPLE- the height of the furniture should be of standard kids size. The toilets also need to be of the same standard size for kids. HOMELY ENVIRONMENT Since the kids will be travelling alone for them the airport will be a little big to handle and they might get scared but these lounges will be designed in such a way that the kids feel like they are home safe and sound. They will have their own area where they can play, eat, and enjoy without being scared of being alone. ATTENTION TO SPECIAL NEEDS The age of kids vary from 5-12 years and they might be kids with any form of disability so they need special care and attention from the staff. The toilets and the furniture would be different for the disabled. A special kind of facility will be available for kids with special needs to make them feel comfortable with the rest of the kids. DESIGN CONCEPT The lounges are for the kids and the design concepts for the kids have to be very colorful and comfortable and lot precautions will have to be taken for the safety of the kids. The color combinations and the outlay for the lounge have to be very colorful and have a more of an open plan rather than having too many doors or partitions which could make the kids feel a bit lost in the lounge. In the lounge no kind of dangerous material can be used like glass which could break easily while the kids play and cause an injury to the kids. The materials like wood, plastic are the best materials to be used in the lounge. SERVICES AVAILABLE AT THE LOUNGES Every airport is different all over the world but they all are for the same purpose. It depends in which country the airport is to make it look different from all the other airports in the world. For example an airport in Las Vegas, United States will definitely have a casino at the airport to entertain the people as  [11]  Las Vegas is known for gambling, fine dinning and shopping. There are many other facilities available at the airport varying from one airport to the other. 12Lounges offer a variety of services for all age group and making every passengers journey stress free. Every lounge offers the following services to its passengers:- Complementary refreshments Free access to wifi Comfortable sofas Newspaper and magazines Alcohol and non alcohol drinks Variety of buffet And many lounges for example Emirates Lounge offers facilities like:- Swimming pool Personal meeting rooms Massage rooms Spas Gyms Kids play area ANTHROPOMETRY Anthropometrics deals with the measurements of the physical characteristics of human beings particularly shapes and sizes, the range of human dimensions from foot length to shoulder width. It also includes the minimum or optimum dimensions needed for a human being to perform activities. HEIGHT Age (years) Height (inches) 2 33 3 36 4 38 5 40 REACH Age (years) Reach (inches) 2 40 3 43 4 45 5 47 SITTING POSITION Age (years) Space Covered(inches) 2 20 x 20 3 20 x 20 4 22 x 22 5 24 x 24 SQUATTING POSITION Age (years) Space Covered (inches) 2 27 x 30 3 30 x 30 4 33 x 33 5 34 x 34 STANDING STRETCHED ARMS Age (years) Length (inches) 2 33 3 36 4 38 5 40 DESIGN CONCEPT OF THE LOUNGE The lounge is for kids and keeping this mind the design of the lounge will be very unique and attract kids towards the lounge. The lounge is spread on an area of 200200 square feet forming a shape of a square. The lounge will be having different zones or rooms specially provided for the kids. Entertainment zone Food court Toilets Play area Sleeping area Drink Bar ENTERTAINMENT ZONE Area Walls Floor Ceiling Furniture Purpose Theme This zone is especially for boys who love to play video games and enjoy themselves. This room is like a big open area with very minimum furniture and more of gaming stations so that kids can have fun during their stay at the lounge. The lounge will have proper gaming chairs and sofas only. FOOD COURT Area Type Walls Floor Ceiling Furniture Purpose Theme The food court is going to be very unique in design and menu concept. There will be all kind of food served such Chinese, continental, Italian, Indian, Mexican and Thai so that kids can get food of their choice even being away from home. There will be a buffet system 24 hours a day. The kids can eat as much they like and when they like. The furniture will be very funky and colorful in design and will be made according to the ergonomics for the kids. PLAY ZONE Area Type Walls Floor Ceiling Furniture Purpose Theme The play area is for kids under the age if 12years old and the room is an open plan. Its a big room where there are doll houses, stuff toys, slides, swings. All the games and swings will be in door. Every corner will have a different theme concept like jungle, doll house, sand pit area and teddy bears. Sand pit area will be depicting an area on a beach where kids can play in sand build sand houses. This room is specially for keeping the kids occupied with board games as well like chess, ludo, snakes and ladder and card games. SLEEPING AREA Area Type Walls Floor Ceiling Furniture Purpose Theme DRINKS BAR Area Type Walls Floor Ceiling Furniture Purpose Theme Entertainment zone will include xbox stations and television for keeping the kids well occupied. The room will have special gaming chairs where kids can play and enjoy themselves in the comfortable chairs. The room is Food court will serve different variety of cuisines from all over the world. Sleeping area is for children under the ages of 5years who need cots or beds for sleeping. A drink bar is making the kids feel they are grown ups and to make it look different a bar will be provided where only soft drinks will be served. COLOR PSYCHOLOGY Color adds meaning to life if there were no colors it would make all things dull. In the lounge the colors used will be more bright and vibrant like red, blue, yellow, pink, green, and purple. Color psychology is about how colors make them feel since different colors reflect different parts of the brain it is very much required while designing any creative space or using for inspiration or to reflect mood. Reflection of these colors will throw a big impact on the mood of kids therefore it is very important to choose the right colors for the interiors of the lounge.

Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

Dreams. The dictionary's definition of a dream is "To have great ambition or to really hope for something". Well, I say make those ambitions a reality and hope active. Robert Ballards Lifelong dream was to find the Titanic. For 13 years the dream of finding her dominated his life. In 1985 his 13 year quest ended when he discovered the muddy hulk of the H.M.S. Titanic. What is your quest? Do you have a "lifelong dream"? Is there anything :dominating your life" enough to hold your attention for 13 years? Without a dream, life is quickly reduced to bleak black and wimpy white, a diet too bland to get anybody out of bed in the morning. Dreams fuel our fire. The shortest route to ineffectiveness is to start running scared, think about every possible peril, take on chances, expect the wo...