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, and 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.

What does your eye see? The scripture says, The person that has a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for this person gives of his [or her] bread to the poor.

There is a story of a Russian woman on a very small pension. One morning she looked into her refrigerator and realized she had only one frozen chicken—and nothing else. In her village dozens were hungry and without any food, so that day she made the decision to take that chicken and make a pot of soup.

You would think that she would savor every drop of that soup, but instead she took it to the streets and began feeding the hungry. So impressed were her neighbors with her act of kindness that others began supplying bread, and even vegetables from their gardens. Even more astounding was the day the mayor walked by and noticed the impact this woman was having in her village. He called his office and told the city clerk to find a facility for her to open a kitchen, and to supply her with whatever she needed!

In the midst of her poverty, this woman found a principle of true wealth. Her eye was full of abundance, and her thoughts were pointed in that direction. With one chicken she became the solution for the needy of her community!

Scripture: Proverbs 22:9 (paraphrased)   http://bit.ly/1GM2cPj

My husband, Kevin, and I founded the 100 Tent Project, and Tatiana is just one of dozens of Russian missionaries committed to helping the estimated 100,000 unreached villages of Eurasia through this unique method of connecting with these unreached communities and regions.

Tatiana and her evangelistic team travel from village to village with their 350-seat tent, bringing good news of encouragement, joy, and hope to regions overwhelmed by hopelessness.

No, Tatiana was not a public speaker, an educator, a government official, or an official voice of any sort.  She was a Babushka, a grandmother, who was gripped by what she saw—a staggering need with no apparent solution. But with God’s help, direction, and the gift of one great tool: a big, bright yellow and white tent, she brought an answer that has impacted the entire area.

Follow this link to find out more about the 100 Tent Project and learn why the project began, as well as its intended purpose and destination:  http://bit.ly/1SgDNLR.  If you’d like to get involved in these rural regions of Eurasia and invest in the 100 Tent Project, I encourage you to go to www.LeslieMcNulty.com.

Imagine arriving in an Evenki village in the Ural Mountains of Russia just days after 13 young people committed suicide.  This was the scene that missionary evangelist Tatiana encountered one cold, fall day.  She had been waiting for the road over the marsh to freeze over so that she could deliver supplies and bring good news to the families of these forgotten Evenki villages. The pain and the suffering that she encountered in this village impacted her so deeply that she determined to eradicate suicide from these remote villages.

According to the most recent available global data, almost 125,000 people commit suicide each year, with the highest percentage being the former Soviet states. Of these states, Tatiana’s area was one of the highest.  Why is this suicide rate across Tatiana’s region so incredibly high?  Hopelessness.  In a region reflective of much of rural Russia, hope of advancement, achievement and success is non-existent.  For many, even hope of survival is absent.

Well into her sixties, evangelist Tatiana from Buryatia, Russia, just north of Mongolia, determined to change this tragic statistic.  Today she is a hero in her region, and well known for her work in the 100 Tent Project.  It is documented that due in part to her tireless efforts among the children and families to bring humanitarian aid, children’s education and the Good News, mass suicide has been eliminated in these forgotten Evenki villages.

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.

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!

With a dream of 100 tents you would think our friends and associates would have been excited! But in reality, no one on our team in Russia believed. Initially, many Russians thought we were crazy and wondered, who were those crazy Americans?

But we had a vision in our hearts! We did our research and found the facts, we communicated our dream and made plans for the possible delays we might face as we raised the funds for this new undertaking.

By breaking down our dream into logical steps we were able to sustain ourselves in the difficult times. Clarity in your vision statement and in your plans will allow you to move forward when others are still questioning the value of your dream.

Have you ever had an idea that family and friends seemed to think did not fit your future? Get that dream out today, dust it off, refine it and begin dreaming again! Remember, dreams are created a size too big for us to grow into—but with careful planning and execution you will succeed!