Do you realize that you have God-implanted creativity sensors? Fundamental to creative thought is an awareness of the 5 senses: smell, sight, touch, hearing and taste!  Stimulation of the 5 senses is a powerful tool in developing creative thought!

Did you know that the sense of smell is located in the part of the brain that effects emotions, memory and creativity? Aromas such as vanilla and cinnamon are known to stimulate creativity. A trip to the market could open up a world of creative thought for you today!

Do you recognize that color can promote feelings of creativity, enhance the power of focus or stimulate a sense of urgency? Color has significant meaning in religious and meditative thought.

What about sound? Are you aware that ambient music can improve creativity? According to the Journal of Consumer Research, ambient sound levels ranging from 50 to 70 decibels can increase creative productivity. These moderate sound levels stimulate the mind to activity. This is not an exercise in turn-up-the-music-as-loud-as-possible, but rather an exercise in creating a mood that will cause your thoughts to flow.

Have you tapped into the spiritual aspect of your creativity? I am not simply talking about an awareness that God gave you 5 senses, I am referring to divine empowerment by God!  http://bit.ly/18TgVN2

Thinking is central to creativity! Our mentor, Dr. TL Osborn, famous missionary statesmen, instilled in my husband and I the importance of deliberate thought. Most people drift through life allowing others to think for them. Some people wake up in the morning and resolve to think for the day, yet others awake and decide to think for the week. But the real winners in life resolve to think for a whole month and even dare to target innovative and inventive ideas.

If we do not anticipate change or the potential limitation found in daily routine, the normalcy of life can limit our creative thought! You might be faced with unanticipated problems or crisis scenarios. Creative thinking allows us to anticipate future problems, resolve existing crises, and develop new solutions for life!

In my “10 Ideas for Creativity” workbook, which I encourage you to download today, we explore concepts to stimulate creative thought. http://bit.ly/1EiSCqN

When Jesus comes into a life He brings the world with Him. Suddenly, a person with limited motivation, expectation and imagination starts to dream of doing the impossible.  Dare to think limitless in some area of your life. Understand that there is more to you than meets the eye. Jesus sees the real person you are to become. He puts a vision in your heart that is bigger than what you can do without Him.

Scripture gives us an expectation of this new life that will ignite our passion for the adventures God is calling us to. Years ago, as we got out of a boat into the water off Bahol Island in the Philippines, the moonlight hit the water at just the right angle to reveal thousands of snakes in the water beneath us!

We survived, and you will too, as you get out of the boat and take the risk of walking on water.  God will never give up on you. Never forget that. And that’s not all: as we throw open our doors to God, we discover at the same moment that He has already thrown open His door to us!

Today we continue our review with the final 3 steps to help you make your dream a reality: 

Step 5 – Refine your vision statement, and recognize that dream casting can only be done by people who live and breathe their dream.  Is your vision statement clear? Clarity in your vision statement and your plans will allow you to move forward when others are still questioning the value of your dream. If you can see it, you can seize it!

Step 6 – Establishing your “Dream Team.” When God gives you a dream, He gives you a partnership to go along with that dream! You can’t go it alone, any dream worth accomplishing requires people in order to accomplish it. Remember: No load is too heavy when you carry it with a friend!

Step 7 – Put your dream into action!  Allow time to be your friend and not your enemy; most dreams are not lost to economic circumstance or unbelief, but to discouragement because of time without evidence of fulfillment. Routines are important to help you create lasting personal results.

And remember, fulfillment of the dream that is in your heart will need a healthy balance of work, worship, rest, and play in order to sustain you on the road to your destination.

It’s time to Live Your Dream, and implement the steps we’ve discovered to make your dream a reality. Remember, with these seven steps you can eliminate that chatter that tells you your dreams are not valid.  

For the next two days we will review our key underlying principles:

Step 1 – Establish your LITMUS test, which is necessary to create a foundation on which to begin. Ask yourself three important questions for defining your dream:  Is my dream good for God? Is my dream good for People? Is my dream good for Me?

Step 2 – Remember: Ideas are meant to be supersized! When capturing your dream, take off the limits! Turn on the creativity meter! Your mind of imagination is a field of possibilities!

Step 3 – Put your dream to the test.  My coaches over the years challenged me to never give up, to stretch the extra mile, and to always discover the cost of my dream. The payments required for reaching a dream never stop. The greater price you pay, the greater joy you feel when you finally reach your destination!

Step 4 – The importance of instilling vision in others. We asked the questions: Is your vision MAGNETIC and attracting interest from others? Is it MAGNANIMOUS? Are you generous of spirit? Is it MAJESTIC? What great results do you anticipate?

As a former collegiate athlete, intensity was my mode of operation, and “no pain–no gain” was my motto!  Only when a wonderfully kind Australian pastor I met in my travels challenged me to evaluate my life did I begin to realize that I was driving my life rather than enjoying it. He challenged me to establish daily, weekly, and annual routines of work, worship, rest and play.

As you embark upon your dream, remember:

Work routines provide healthy self-esteem and a confidence that your dream is well underway. Worship is our expression to God for all that He has done in creating and preparing us for life. Worship helps us acknowledge that a source greater than ourselves is gently guiding and strengthening us each day.

Rest is the time required to recharge our physical and mental capabilities. We are complex beings that have a spirit, live in a body and function through our mind, our will and emotions. Rest recharges our spiritual, physical and emotional energy.

My last encouragement is to remind you to play! The kind Australian pastor that convinced me to relax and do some reading, later graciously encouraged me to go play! All I could think of was how I wanted to go for a swing. Something about playing on the swings in my childhood recalled fond memories of the freedom found as the wind blew through my hair and the blood coursed through my veins as I went higher and higher to discover new untouched boundaries.

Allowing ourselves to play opens up a child-like spirit of creativity, allowing us to dream as only a child can do. So this week after you have completed your worksheet and determined to accomplish your dream for humanity, put down your paper and pen and run out to the nearest playground, and let your inner child go wild.  Go for a swing! Play! Ride the local carousel! Treat yourself to an ice cream! Tap into the supernatural reservoir of joy and energy that is resonant within.

Remember: Learn to establish rhythms in your life for true success and prosperity. You will need these in order to go the long haul. No orchestra ever created a masterful symphony without first tuning the instruments.

As you pursue your dream, let time work for you by developing, training, practicing, praying and rehearsing. Develop a daily routine that will help you accomplish your life’s goals.

Take a few minutes and ask yourself these questions:

1. What is the most important habit I can establish in order to reach my desired dream?

2. What morning routines should I establish in order to be highly productive each day?

3. What is my most productive time of the day? When should I tackle my creative or administrative tasks?

4. Utilize a calendar tool such as “Google Calendar” to schedule each day and set a specific wake up and wind down time each day.

5. Create “Tiny Habits.” This can be as simple as putting the tooth brush on a counter so it is there each morning when you wake up. Tiny Habits—develop new routines in your life each and every day.

6. Discover the rhythms of life necessary to serve your dream, your family and your God.

Write down three routines right now that you are determined to establish this month.

The phrase “Made by Edison, Installed by Barnes” was developed out of a relationship sought after by a young man named Edwin Barnes. With no money, no contacts and no natural reason to be offered a job, let alone a partnership, Barnes was so determined to meet Edison that although he had no money, he traveled on the freight train as “blind baggage.” Edison recounts how this young man showed up looking like a mere tramp. Yet in Barnes’ eyes Edison saw a certain insatiable desire to obtain his goal, so he hired him to sweep the floors. Though a long way from his sought after goal, Barnes swept those floors with intensity, unwilling to lose the chance not only to work for Edison, but to meet his influential friends.

Barnes literally thought himself into relationship with Edison. He was not willing to give up on his idea of partnership with this great inventor. His opportunity came two years later, and as is typical with opportunity, it slid in the back door disguised as defeat.  Edison had invented a new dictating machine, and not one of his current associates saw its potential. Except for Edwin Barnes. Barnes saw the potential of this machine to revolutionize the lifestyle of the business executive, and he set about developing his business plan. So thorough was his plan that Edison could not deny him the opportunity, and Barnes made millions on his first partnership deal.

His success can be attributed to these key habits that he consistently exhibited with great intensity:

• He knew what he wanted to accomplish;
• He used the power of imagination to circumvent poverty and other difficulties;
• He was willing to start at the “bottom” in order to gain know-how and exposure;
• He created and seized opportunity;
• He maintained a dogged determination to bring his goal to reality;
• He worked long hours with concentrated focus for many years to get exactly what he wanted;
• He talked relatively little and produced big;
• He was not deterred by ridicule, criticism, setback, or obstacles.

How do you build your dream team? Before considering a new team member, here are a few of the questions I ask:

• Does the person I am considering for my team believe in my ability to succeed?
• Does this potential team member respect me, the vision, and the existing team?
• Do their skills complement mine?
• Is this person emotionally responsible for their intents and their actions?
• Do they have initiative?
• Do they positively energize me and the team?
• Do we have fun together when we dream together?

I want to encourage you to get out your Live Your Dream booklet and take some time to begin working through the questions. Meditate and reflect, and you will see good things begin to happen in your life!  If you don’t have your copy yet, go to my website and download your free “LIVE YOUR DREAM” worksheets! http://bit.ly/1KOOCxR

Ask yourself these questions. Is my dream audacious? Large enough to cast shade for others? Does it challenge me and challenge others to get involved? Is it measurable? Can individuals who are interested find a place to join me on the route to my destination?

Success is for those who go it alone, but we find true significance as we include others in our dream. Remember, you are cutting a pathway through the forest, a highway in the desert for others to follow. You are created to promote possibility, pursue with excellence and synchronize strategies for the hope of humanity!

What questions should you ask as you craft your vision statement? Let’s think about this for a moment. Your ability to attract the talent required to complete your strengths is key in initiating your vision! Why? Your vision statement is where you invite people to participate and associate. A big dream is exciting and provides harbor for like-minded individuals. It is not, however, enough to attract people.  A big dream requires clarity to both convince people of your potential, and initiate confidence that you can be trusted. Not only must your dream make room for others, it must provide clarity! Your vision statement will identify the problem you wish to address, challenge the status quo, and illuminate a direction!

Ask yourself this question: Is my dream clear? Clearly stated goals with well thought out strategic steps will provide clarity and refine your dream for your audience.  A clear strategy requires identifying not only the strengths, but also the possible weaknesses you will face. When others perceive your dream they can realize it with you!  If you can see it you can seize it!