Perception=Reality?

Lately I have been thinking about the tie between perception and reality. Many times we allow reality to dictate our perception, but what if the relationship between the two was actually much more intricate? The Bible calls God "the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were." (Rom. 4:17) This tells us that at least for God, perception becomes reality. 

Is the same true for us? If not, why is it that those people that seem to continually look for the good in life always seem to find it? And what about the parent that believes that their child is good/bad, dumb/smart, and that child happens to turn out that way? What if we can change a situation by changing our perception of it? One study at UCLA said that 93% of communication is non-verbal. If our perception about a situation is different, how does that change our non-verbal cues? How does that change the way we act? How would that change the way we lived?

I'm not talking about ignoring reality or living in fantasy, but what if you didn't have to be a slave to circumstance? What is your perception of your life? Your problems? Your relationships? Your future? How much do you think that perception will affect reality?