You’re Going Do What?

            Was there a moment. . .a particular point in time when you wanted to be somebody special. . .do something bold, daring or humanitarian. . .go places where others could only wish. . .achieve your greatest dream?

            What was it?  What was your dream?

            My first dream career was to be an archeologist.  This was long before Indiana Jones (not too long, I’m not that old). . .though Indiana would have been certainly more inspiring than the real source of my motivation.

            The original source was “The Mummy” and I don’t mean the one of the past ten years.   During my childhood I watched the movie with Christopher Lee and Boris Karloff.  It was a time when horror movies used real suspense and not the gory mess of today.  The idea of finding the tombs of hidden Pharaohs intrigued me.

            But that dream gave way to my determination to be a professional baseball player. . .I was going to play first base for the New York Yankees.  Then, a back surgery ended that dream.

            Next, it was to be the youngest United States Senator ever elected from North Carolina. . .when I was in high school, I made a list of the 19 steps it would take me to make that dream come true.  I had completed 16 of them when things changed rather dramatically in my life.

            My dream. . .my goal, my passion, my vision for the past 29 years has been to get the Body of Christ out of debt and into God’s abundant provision.  It’s a dream that I’ve been able to realize some success.

But let’s get this blog back where it belongs. . .on YOU

            First, what is a dream?

            WordNet.Com defines dream as “imaginative thoughts indulged in while awake”, “a cherished desire” and “someone or something wonderful.”

            The American Heritage Dictionary defines it as:  “A series of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations occurring involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep” and as “A condition or achievement that is longed for; an aspiration.”

            In this blog I’m going to focus on the second definition.  “A condition or achievement that is longed for; an aspiration.”

            What was your first dream?  Do you remember it?  Are you still living it?

            Did you change those dreams as you got older or did you other others and circumstances to steal your dreams?

            Just because someone couldn’t see your dream. . .doesn’t mean that it’s not real.  Perhaps the reason they couldn’t see your dream is because it wasn’t theirs.

            Way too many believers resign themselves to a life of mediocrity or mere existence because of what somebody else thought.  That’s why it’s important who you surround yourself with.  You have the choice of associating with “Dream Chasers” or “Dream Makers.”

            First, let’s talk about “Dream Chasers.”  Unfortunately, society for the most part does not encourage your uniqueness, creativity and dreams of the way things can be.

            These are the friends who will say, “you’re going to do what?”  “Are you kidding me; that’s never been done.”  “Who do you think you are?”  “You’ve never done anything like that before.”

            Would it surprise you to learn that by the time the average child is in fourth grade they have heard the phrase “no, you can’t do that” SEVENTY THOUSAND (70,000) times.

            We’re influenced by the opinions of others.

The 18/40/60 Rule

            I read once where someone said (my apologies for not remembering who) when you’re 18 you worry about what others are thinking of you.  When you’re 40 you don’t care what others are thinking and when you’re 60, you realize they probably weren’t thinking about you at all.

            The life of Joseph gives us insight on how others respond and react to your dreams of success.

            Some people will not understand your dreams.

“And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us. . .”                                     Genesis 37:8a

            You have to realize that some people will hate you because of your dreams.

“. . .And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.”  Genesis 37:8b

            Some people will want your dreams to go away permanently.

“Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.”

Genesis 37:20

            There is only one person. . .that should have an immediate and lasting impact on what you think about your dreams. . .and that’s the Holy Spirit.

            There will also come a time when others who heard your dreams will be impacted by the remembrance of them.

“And there was there with us a young man, an Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret.”    Genesis 41:20

            A Godly person can gain wisdom and direction through dreams.

“As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.”   Daniel 1:17

         You’ll never be too old to dream.

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:”     Acts 2:17

Dream Maker

         I love reading stories of people who, despite the odds and the negativity of their surroundings, achieved their dream. . .and as a result, improved the quality of life for all of us.

         Will Kellogg by all accounts was introverted, only had a few friends and no obvious gifts or talents in any area.  He started his business career selling brooms before moving to Battle Creek, Michigan to help his brother Dr. John Harvey Kellogg run the famous and some say, infamous, Battle Creek Sanitarium.

         Will worked for his older brother for $87 a month.  In an endeavor to improve the quality of food for the patients Will accidentally discovered corn flakes.  He allowed boiling wheat to stand too long and when it tempered it rolled into a flake.  Will asked his older and more wealthy brother to help him market the flakes but he refused.

         But Will’s brother didn’t keep the commercial potential of the corn flakes a secret and one guest at the sanitarium, C.W. Post, ran with the idea and started his own company Post Cereals, which later became General Foods.

         Will became so upset about what had happened to his dream that he left his brother in 1906 and started his own company, the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company, which later became the Kellogg Company.

         Will had a dream. . .the person closest to him doubted and then someone else copied it (I’m being nice).

         You must realize that if God stirs a dream in you. . .don’t let anything or anyone hold you back from achieving your goal. . .your divine destiny.

         One last thing, Will was 46 when he started his own business in 1906, when the average life expectancy was 47.

         Never ever give up your dream.

         It just stirred in my spirit that some might be saying….what if I don’t have a dream?

         Here’s a fact…if you don’t have a dream to motivate and protect you…it will be much harder to get motivated and stay motivated long enough to become successful.

         Without a dream. . .each day becomes “not today.”  That means your life and the quality of your life is not going to improve today.

         Without  a dream. . .someday will soon turn into never.

         As I started typing this teaching. . .it stirred in me that our Heavenly Father wants His children to have dreams.

Six Keys To Developing and Making Your Dreams Come True

Decide what you want in life. . .based on God’s purpose for you and passionately pursue it.

Recognize the absolute necessity of having God direct your path in overcoming all the roadblocks of life.

Expect divine connections with the right people at the right time even though you may not have met or heard of them before.

Accept temporary mistakes and disappointments as just that, temporary.  Learn from every mistake and move forward, no looking back or blaming anyone.

Maximize your time and creativity so that every step you take brings you closer to the fulfillment of your dreams.

Stretch your personal and previous limitations. . .sustain yourself in the midst of every adversity and challenge being confident in the knowledge that with God all things are possible.      

Now It’s Your Turn

What is your current dream?  Do you have a plan to make it a reality?

I want each of you. . .to get a legal pad, notebook, PDA or some other technical gadget and I want you to keep a daily list. . .once you establish your dream….

Look What The Lord Has Done Today, In and Through Me                Date

Here are several motivational quotes to think about.

“I choose not to be a common man.  Me, it’s my right to be uncommon if I can.  I’ll seek opportunity, not security.  I do not wish to be a kept citizen--humbled and dulled by having the state look after me.  I want to take the calculated risk, to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed.  - - President Theodore Roosevelt

“It must be borne in mind that the tragedy of life does not lie in not reaching your goals, the tragedy lies in not having any goals to reach.  It isn’t a calamity to die with dreams unfulfilled, but it is a calamity not to dream.  It is not a disaster to be unable to capture your ideals, but it is a disaster to have no ideals to capture.  It is not a disgrace not to reach the stars, but it is a disgrace to have no stars to reach. - Dr. Benjamin Isaiah Mays

People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are.  I don’t believe in circumstances.  The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, MAKE THEM. - George Bernard Shaw

And finally, George Forman.  Bev and I had the pleasure of meeting him years ago.

He said, “If you don’t dream you might as well be dead.”

Every New Year’s Eve, you need to ask yourself seven questions….

• What have you accomplished so far with your life?
• What are you doing right now with your life and does it line up with your dreams?
• Where are you going next in your journey to success and the good life?
• Have all your life expectations been met? Have you found what you’ve been looking for?
• Are you challenging yourself to move outside the previously established boundaries of your life?
• Is your life an Indiana Jones adventure filled with thrills, chills and fulfillment or are you existing from day to day?
• What’s your plan to make more of your dreams come true in the next year than the past one?

Finally, I think a lot of folks have trouble with their comfort zone. . .I recently came across this poem on The Comfort Zone.

THE COMFORT ZONE

I used to have a Comfort Zone

Where I knew I couldn’t fail.

The same four walls of busy work

Were really more like jail.

I longed so much to do the things

I’d never done before

But I stayed inside my Comfort Zone,

And paced the same old floor.

I said it didn’t matter,

That I wasn’t doing much.

I said I didn’t care for things

Like diamonds, furs and such.

I claimed to be so busy

With the things inside my zone,

But deep inside I longed for

Something special of my own.

I couldn’t let my life go by,

Just watching others win.

I held my breath and stepped outside

To let the change begin.

I took a step and with new strength

I’d never felt before,

I kissed my Comfort Zone “goodbye”

And closed and locked the door.

If you are in a Comfort Zone,

Afraid to venture out,

Remember that all winners were

At one time filled with doubt.

A step or two and words of praise,

Can make your dreams come true.

Greet your future with a smile;

Success is there for you!

Author Unknown

I know the Lord wants to use this teaching to move you outside your comfort zone and in hot pursuit of the dreams. . .that He has given you.

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