Here are 7 things that will help you bring your dreams to pass:
1. Know you are not alone. How can you know your dream is in agreement with God? When it produces peace and brings out the best in you. Ask yourself these three questions: Is it good for God? Is it good for people? Is it good for me? If the answers are yes, then go for it!
2. Speak your dream to yourself. You are your best prophet. You know the future because you speak the future. If you don’t believe in yourself, then how can you expect others to believe in you? Use your words to bring up what is in your heart. Your words are signposts pointing to where you are going.
3. Find out what it will cost for your dream to come to pass. In Luke 14:28, Jesus told us to consider the cost before we build. Enthusiasm can carry you for a while, but accuracy in details is what carries you across the finish line of your dream. Study, preparation, and continued focus are necessary parts of the picture of your dream. Facts can change, and new ways of doing things may need to be discovered.
4. Find someone to agree with you. No load is too heavy when you have a friend to help you carry it. You don’t need a whole audience to cheer you on. One friend clapping is better than a gallon of water on a walk through the desert!
5. Don’t discuss your dream with those who could kill it. More dreams have died at the doorstep of a skeptical friend than in front of an army of enemies!
6. Discover the best role models who have succeeded in that field. Revelation can be caught quickly when the eye is imprinted. It is true that one picture is more valuable than a thousand words. Find someone doing what you want to do and look at them, and you will build your life on the shoulders of success.
7. Let time be your friend, not your enemy. Deal with time by not considering the past at all, and not thinking about the things you have no control over. Use your time to focus on what you want to have happen and what steps you can take today in that direction. God brings about our future and forgets our past!
Laying a foundation is not the easy part of a building project, but it is the guarantee of your future work. To illustrate the importance of this unseen, under-appreciated work that makes our lives possible, I recall a unique place on the earth that would not be found in anybody’s tour guide book.
As we were pioneering miracle evangelism in Central Asia, we were given a rare opportunity to stay at the presidential palace built for Russian leader, Leonid Brezhnev. At first glance it looked like a beautiful place for inspiration with its marbled walls and golden framework, but between meetings it quickly turned into an amusing challenge of survival!
We nicknamed this place the ‘ice palace’ because they built it without proper connections to the city heating system, nor did it have any individual heating system. We sat around wrapped in heavy blankets watching our breath fog the room. To prepare sermons, I moved my desk into the bathroom and steamed up the shower to create enough heat to write. What had looked glamorous on the outside became an icebox of endurance on the inside.
Our outside value is only as good as our inside function. Consider what you build, and don’t forget the plumbing!
Discovery is a powerful word that opens up vast opportunity. Children have no limits on their curiosity or willingness to try out new things. In fact, their openness is so great that it could cause personal injury or peril. As we grow older, we seem to lose the ‘YES’ in life, and words like ‘routine,” institution,’ ‘insurance,’ ‘protection,’ and ‘safety’ become commonplace in our vocabulary.
I remember moving to Russia and finding a society that was based on the word “NO.” How could it be that this dynamic, creative society was cloaked in such negative expectation? Yet, for many of us today, regardless of our society, we allow the phrases “No! You can’t!” “No! You shouldn’t!” “No! That’s not right!” “No! It’s not possible!” to control our destinies!
Let’s realize today that Christ takes the parentheses off our lives. He puts a plus on our future because He says, All things are possible, only believe! Mark 9:23 paraphrased
Today we complete your toolbox with the final tool to help you on your journey to realizing your goals and aspirations with confidence!
Tool #3: Track Your Progress!
Journal writing is one of the best tools for organizing mental clutter, by capturing thoughts and emotions in writing. After my mentor’s wife of 53 years passed away, he began documenting their life together and the “Why?” behind her early demise. “When I finished writing this book,” he said, “I knew I was ready to move forward. I was healed.”
You can create different journals for different parts of your journey. One may be for personal healing and insight, while another may be an “idea journal” reserved for capturing inspiration.
How do you use an idea journal? Keep a small notebook in your purse or pocket and jot down your ideas throughout the day. Often during quiet moments of reflection, you’ll find your written ideas weave an interesting tapestry.
Early morning is another vital time for journaling your thoughts! Keep a notepad by your bed—I like to call mine my morning ‘think-pad.’ Glean these early thoughts before a child or a morning hello interrupts your clarity. Never minimize the importance of capturing these early thoughts! Your heart and mind are working while you sleep, planning life’s journey! Start each day with your idea journal, capturing your morning revelation.
If you need to simplify, an electronic journal, cellphone or voice recorder can help you record your fresh ideas and the answers to your soul-searching questions!
Today we continue equipping our toolbox with tools that will help free you from mental clutter and keep you motivated toward achieving your aspirations!
Tool #2: Try a New Activity!
I am constantly learning! Why? Despite all the information we have at our fingertips, one of life’s greatest obstacles is the fear of the unknown.
Information is power to change, and education is one of the greatest sources of personal growth! The electronic age allows access for skilled and unskilled, alike. I learn through internet articles, professional journals, on-line courses and personal coaches.
What have you wanted to do but were afraid to attempt? Overcome that fear by trying ONE new activity! Why not go back to school? Or take an on-line course? Having trouble getting started? Find a coach or trainer who can motivate you in your new activity. Many free on-line training and coaching tools are available!
Are you low on funds? Become a volunteer! You can often learn a new skill while volunteering at places needing help. Volunteering has been one of my greatest learning methods! It’s totally free, it only costs your time! Go ahead and get started—you CAN do something now!
Have you ever lost an inspirational idea? Or, have you ever felt trapped in your own mental clutter? For the next three days I want to share these no-nonsense tips that will keep you motivated toward achieving your aspirations! Let’s get started equipping our toolbox!
Tool #1: Take a Personality Test
Personality tests can identify how we function in stressful environments, how we approach practical problem solving, whether we are competitive in nature, how well we work in teams, as well as pinpointing our best career choices. For my English speaking friends, I recommend the Kendall Life Languages test at www.lifelanguages.com. This test identifies communication style and recommends related career paths.
The internet offers many resources such as Queendom.com, providing a full range of psychological assessments that empower you to reach your potential. These include emotional intelligence tests for improving how you lead and interact with people. Recently, I found the Oxford Happiness Test on theguardian.com. From curiosity, I took one of their brief personality tests which, not surprisingly, indicated I should be a public speaker!
Did you know that the average person has between 25,000 and 50,000 thoughts per day? And much of your behavior depends on your thoughts and attitudes! While playing athletics I developed a saying to motivate me each morning: “I am alive, alert, awake, joyous, and enthusiastic about life!”
Although I had to rise each morning at 5 am for basketball practice, I would lie awake most nights with aching joints due to my rapid growth. How did I get up each morning? I programmed myself! I learned that getting control of my thoughts allowed me to control my actions!
Behavior is defined as the way in which one conducts oneself, especially toward others. It is also defined as the way in which a person responds to a particular situation or stimulus. By evaluating our behavior patterns, both to internal and external stimuli, we discover new levels of self-awareness.
For the next two days I will be sharing some tips that can help you take control of your thoughts and attitudes and move toward a healthier you!
Are you ready for greater mental clarity? Let’s look at 4 powerful exercises to increase self-awareness and eliminate mental chatter!
STEP #1: Order Your World! In her bestselling book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Marie Kondo offers insight into releasing ourselves from the clutter that produces chaos. Her how-to book has gained traction globally by helping people reform their own spaces, both physically and mentally. In other words, decluttering your space helps declutter your mind. Today: find time to organize. You WILL be less stressed and more focused!
STEP #2: Think Like A Child. It is proven that a child’s brain is flexible and adaptable. Children can quickly change their viewpoint. “When people begin thinking like a child, they see a fresh perspective,” says Jack Uldrich, bestselling business author. “They learn to step back and view problems, people and things from a completely different point of view.” Ponder these questions: As a child, what did you dream you would become? What toys or childhood activities did you most enjoy? Often seeds of greatness start in childlike attitudes.
STEP #3: Learn To Meditate. Biblical meditation provides a clear voice in your life that helps delete the mental chatter, focus your thoughts and identify your pathway. It is pondering and reflecting on what God’s Word says about you! The Holy Scripture says, “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” The Psalmist said, The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul. Ponder these 2 scriptures—they will produce peace for today and confidence for your future!
STEP #4: Identify Your Internal Conversation. According to psychologists, each of us conducts a conversation with ourselves known as “self-talk.” Positive internal dialogue can generate favorable expectation, while negative internal dialogue raises stress. The Reality: Negative thinking produces mental clutter. The Remedy: Take a mental inventory! It brings order to your mental world. Learn to capture and order your thoughts on paper! Begin today: Write down 5 optimistic thoughts about your life and surroundings!
Scriptures: Jeremiah 29:11, Psalm 23
If I were to put a bunch of apple seeds into your hand you would probably get a picture of what could be produced from them. The same is true if I filled your hands with turtle eggs.
If I were to put the seed of a human into your hand, try and think of the possibility!
We look at the Japanese bonsai tree with its artistic, dwarfed size and shape and admire it. Most of humanity has gone through an unseen process like the bonsai tree. Humans have been restricted, confined and twisted to a shape of another’s liking.
It could be religion, family criticism, personal inferiority and fears, or the example of others that has made you feel dwarfed and twisted, but Jesus came to set the captives free! Each of us has an ability to dream of the possibilities in our future. It is a risk to go beyond the parameters, but no one will ever know how high you can grow until you allow yourself to reach! God has put a future in you that reaches into eternity.
Stretch for it today!
Here are some soul-searching questions to direct you toward discovering both the talent you possess, and the talent you are willing to pay any price to develop!
First, ask yourself the all-important purpose questions.
What do I want to do? What am I passionate about? What brings me joy and fulfillment? Am I living my personal values? Sometimes your very first thought is the answer you have been seeking! Liberate the idea that’s in your heart! Write it down! If you do, you will discover that with a little attention the idea will grow!
Belva Davis, the first black TV journalist in the Western United States said, “Don’t be afraid of the space between your dreams and reality. If you can dream it, you can make it so.”
Second, ask the vital “What If” questions to expand your horizon. What would I attempt if I knew I couldn’t fail? Most talent remains undeveloped on the trash heap of If only I had…tried that new job, achieved that degree, written that book. What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail? Think about it. Document your thoughts. Raise your expectations and dare to dream the impossible! You can get out of the box! God-given talent and desires have been placed within you to impact the world for good!
According to success coach, Brian Tracy, “the key to success is to focus our conscious mind on things we desire, not things we fear.” These ‘what if’ questions will help you identify your fears and expand your boundaries! President Franklin D. Roosevelt is famously quoted as saying, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
Third, ask others their perspective to gain insight.
Who knows you better than your family and closest friends? Ask a friend, family member or co-worker what they perceive as your strongest characteristic, special gifting or unique ability. Write down the names of at least two people you can consult with.
Self-awareness is having a clear perception of your strengths and your weaknesses. You might be surprised at what you discover when you give others the permission to speak into your world! Remember: People pleasers will tell you what you want to hear. A true friend will tell you what you need to hear!
