Today and tomorrow in my Live Your Dream series I want to talk about Putting Your Dream to the Test. What measurements, standards or costs are associated with your dream?
Anything worth having has a price attached. As an athlete I learned early on: no pain, no gain. What do I mean? To improve our game, skills, and opportunity we had to practice, practice, practice! In the daily pursuit of our dream sometimes we didn’t feel like carrying on, but the sheer will of fortitude, the desire to win, and the constant challenge to press beyond our current capabilities kept us charging forward toward our destination.
Today, let’s begin refining our dream by discovering the facts. How do we do this? We begin by first researching what it takes. We ask questions such as, “what price is too high to pay?” You can count the cost of your dream by asking some more specific questions:
- What will my dream cost me personally—financially and emotionally?
- What will my dream cost my family, my marriage?
- What will my dream require from my current free time? Are you willing to give up your free time to learn a new skill, take a class, build a prototype, set a goal? Consider the price before you embark!
Go to my website and download your free “LIVE YOUR DREAM” worksheets! http://bit.ly/1gmsroFhttps://
As a young woman Mother Theresa, who was suffering from tuberculosis, heard the “call within the call”. She knew she was to leave the convent in Calcutta and work with the poor living among them. With only 5 Rupees in her hand, she started a school in the slums to teach the children of the poor.
Mother Theresa, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and India’s highest Civilian Award, set up nearly 570 homes for the poor in 125 countries.
With only 5 Rupees and battling sickness in her own body, Mother Theresa rose above poverty and made a better life for millions of people. One idea, one thought from God can bring significant change, not only to your life, but to the lives of those you know in your community and in your nation! http://bit.ly/1E6nKV7
Today we continue our discussion on Friendship, and friendship with God.
One night a man by the name of Victoricus appeared to his friend Patrick in a dream. Patrick had known Victoricus in Ireland when they were slaves. In Patrick’s dream, Victoricus held a letter with the heading “The Voice of the Irish,” and as Patrick read it, he heard the voice of a multitude of people crying and begging him to come back and walk among them once more.
You know, the ordinary person might be surprised and happy to have an old friend, or even a multitude, appear to them in a dream. But Patrick’s life was different. The Irish in the early 5th century were a barbaric collection of Celtic tribes, and they were regularly sending out raiding parties to capture slaves and riches. One day a great fleet of boats swept up the west coast of Britain and seized “many thousands” of young prisoners. Among these prisoners was a young man by the name of Patrick, who was taken to the slave markets in Ireland. Although he was educated and spoiled as a youth, he now found himself bound to slavery in the cold highlands of Ireland. Destitute with barely any clothing or food to eat, he would spend months with little to no contact with other humans. Yet in this barren place he developed a friendship with Victoricus, and a deep relationship with God.
Victoricus was a reminder to Patrick of Ireland’s need for help. He was an Irishmen trapped in the same slavery that Patrick had experienced. Perhaps you are like Victoricus and you need help? Or perhaps you’ve had a picture in your heart of someone you would like to help?
The dream appearing to Patrick to come and help the Irish was relentless, and finally he surrendered and trained for the ministry in France. A few years later he emerged from seminary as a young Bishop, eventually arriving on the shores of Ireland as the country’s first known missionary. By the time of Patrick’s death the Irish slave trade had ended, and murder and inter-tribal warfare had decreased significantly.
Today, you can be that friend, that caring voice of encouragement as Victoricus was to Patrick, and as Patrick was to an entire nation. You can help someone else find their destiny. So go ahead, take the risk, you won’t be disappointed!
I encourage you today to go to my website, www.LeslieMcNulty.com. We are here to help you, and have made tools available to you that will change your life!
Have you ever asked yourself, “How do I live my dream? Where do I begin?”
Abraham, a man of God in the bible, desired to have a family. He and his wife were very old, beyond the child bearing age. But God gave Abraham a dream and told him to, “Look up at the sky and count the stars, that’s how many descendants you will have!”
Maybe life’s struggles or hard economic times tell you to downsize your dream but ideas are meant to be SUPERSIZED! Dream big – live large with your ideas!
When capturing your dream, take off the limits. You are like a star in the sky, shining with potential. If each one of us dares to dream the impossible we can change our lives, our families and our communities!
Go to my website and download your free “LIVE YOUR DREAM” worksheets! http://bit.ly/1gmsroF
Scripture: Genesis 15:5
You and I were created to walk and fellowship with the source of dignity – GOD! A famous author said: “Religion in its humility restores man to his only dignity, the courage to live by grace.” This source of our dignity is greater than a human dignity built solely upon our actions.
A life lived with dignity is a life where we don’t measure ourselves by the standard of others, but we measure ourselves according to the values that we have set for ourselves. Ask yourself this question: “What standard or values have I set for my own life?”
When you stop comparing yourself to others you can rise above average and become truly exceptional! Remember, comparison limits your expression to what you have seen in others. Identifying YOUR uniqueness will allow you to shine with ease.
Right now, consider your own unique qualities. Have you considered how unique you are? I encourage you right now to jot down one of your unique qualities! Your uniqueness can be as simple as the thing you love to do! No one is just like you! And no one is truly an enemy to your future except you!
Quote: “Today, people have the means to live, but nothing to live for.” – Victor E. Frankl
Victor E. Frankl, a Nazi prison camp survivor and a renowned psychotherapist, discovered that in the midst of great human tragedy he could retreat to his true spiritual self and find a picture of life that was not relegated to the external—but empowered him through the eye of his imagination.
Human dignity is an internal characteristic that allows us to draw an image of self not dependent upon what others say or what others do, but dependent upon an inner source of spiritual strength. Have you found this source of inner strength?
Victor Frankl connected with this strength and in his mind found the true meaning of life. Yet, as many would observe, this spiritual strength comes from a living “God” connection with the true spiritual self. This “God” connection as some would say, has little to no meaning if the word “God” is meant to include everything or all things worshipped. But, this “God” source that penetrates throughout eternity has a name and a purpose—to restore humanity to the “true” dignity for which we were created.
Scripture: Psalm 8:4-6, 9
What is Dignity? Is it missing from your life? Is dignity the preservation of the family name at any cost? Is it the justification of any action regardless of cost? History shows us that national dignity is the motivation for wars, genocide and other atrocities. Yet true dignity comes at the moment you realize that God has great plans for you!
David the Psalmist said, ‘Who is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
God has a name, He is called The Great “I Am”. Scripture says He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. We find true dignity in trusting in the One who calls us a king and a lord—regardless of our station in life! This King of kings and Lord of lords offers to you today a new view on life, a new opportunity to discover Him. Let’s pray together. “Lord Jesus, I want to know you. Come into my heart and reveal yourself to me today. Come into my heart and lift me up today.”
Scripture: Psalm 8:4-6,9 ESV
My experience from working with people in over 60 nations shows me that DREAMS need an action plan and strategic intention in order to move forward! A dream of the heart without a plan, simply put, is nothing more than a fantasy! Together we can discover simple truths and take action steps that will enable you to identify and fulfill the dream that is in your heart!
Let’s begin with STEP 1 – Establishing a LITMUS test—a foundation on which to begin. This foundation requires three important questions for defining your Dream. These questions also create a standard for you to measure your dream by, as well as setting parameters for your life that will guide you throughout your dream building process.
QUESTION #1: Is my dream good for God? A simple, yet profound question by which to measure our dream. What would God want me to do to better or to improve the world around me? What is His highest and best will for my life?
I can tell you that God’s will is not a mystery or drudgery! Knowing God’s will produces confidence! When you can say your dream is within the will of God, it is as if God Himself is saying this must be done.
QUESTION #2: Is my dream good for People? Creating win-win scenarios for people unlocks great potential and resource, and paves a way for others to join you in your business, mission or project. Remember…solving a problem for someone else is a clear path to your own problems being solved!
QUESTION #3: Is my dream good for Me? Only by understanding how valuable you are can you value your dream. Measure the cost you must pay physically, emotionally and spiritually! Consider what this new idea, vision or dream will introduce into your world? Ask yourself this question—are you ready?
What does the word “dignity” mean to you? One of history’s great examples is found in the life of Queen Victoria of England.
“I never was happy until I was 18,” Victoria declared. On the day of her birthday in May 1837, Kensington palace was festooned with banners and crowds cheered her as her carriage drove out. However, her mother, the duchess, was in despair. Her daughter was now of age, and the king was still alive.
As the king’s health worsened, the duchess devised a devious plan, spreading rumors that Victoria was too stupid to rule and attempted to blackmail her into appointing their financial manager, Conroy, as her personal advisor. Conroy even threatened to lock Victoria up and starve her!
On June 19th at Windsor Castle, the king’s health seriously deteriorated, and just after midnight he breathed his last. Upon his death, the Lord Chamberlain and the Archbishop of Canterbury set off to inform Victoria. The duchess prevented the meeting while attempting one last maneuver to convince Victoria she was incapable of ruling. At six o’clock she wakened Victoria with the news that the great men were waiting to see her. The duchess tried to enter the meeting, but Victoria refused her request. Here we see Victoria’s character begin to shine!
Victoria’s first act was to ask for an hour alone. Then she asked servants to remove her bed from her mother’s room. Next, she faced the Lords of England. Addressing them, she began a reign that lasted longer than that of any other British monarch and any female monarch in history – a reign of 63 years and seven months. The Victorian era was a period of great industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom, and was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire.
The story of Queen Victoria is a story of dignity! Victoria understood that she was raised for nobility—for divine dignity. And in the moment of crisis, she rose to the occasion and acted on her nobility. Royalty may be a birthright, but it is not birthed until acted upon. Victoria acted and began a reign that impacted the globe!
On our many travels to Australia our friends would tell us about the “tall poppy syndrome.” It was explained to us this way: anytime anyone raises their head higher than others, they are cut down. Essentially, the purpose is to keep everyone running at the same pace.
Perhaps you feel cut down—as if life has passed you by. Perhaps when facing great challenge, you have not acted with dignity – whether in business, sports, family or education.
God does not see you as a tall poppy; He sees you as a crown of splendor. The Psalmist David said God is “the lifter of my head.” Regardless of the missed or failed opportunities, we can take courage and recognize that if God lifts your head no one can put it down! Jesus said, if I be lifted up I will draw all people UP to Me.
Today allow God to be the lifter of your head. Reach out and receive the true dignity He offers to those who call upon His name!
Scriptures: Psalm 3:3 (ESV), John 12:32 (paraphrased, emphasis mine)
