Dreams, Get in the Game: It’s Just About… Life.

Someone who follows this blog told me yesterday, of the more than 120 blogs I have written, it was the one about Dreams that stayed with them. I wrote that one nearly five months ago, but figured today, at the beginning of another weekend, I would repost. Pursuing a dream never gets old, and I’ve got a big update coming on mine. In the meantime, this blog is from March, 21, 2013:

More than a month ago I wrote a blog called “Dreams Do Come True”. It was all about Joe Flacco and the Ravens winning the Super Bowl. A big dream realized. A dream realized for them. So, how about you?

The Ravens winning the Super Bowl was their dream come true. What about you? The day after the big game life still happened, the sun came up, the sun went down, the world continued to spin on its axis, and so must the pursuit of YOUR dream. What I’m getting at is making sure the dream you have is yours and you are not just living vicariously through the lives of others who have seemingly reached the top. That is what makes life worthwhile and gives us purpose. The deal you need to make with yourself however, is to get in the game. Your game. Your dream.

Les Brown, in his book, Live Your Dreams, makes this statement: “Find out what it is you want and go after it as if your life depends on it. Why, because is does!” Leadership guru and author John Maxwell in his book, Put Your Dream to the Test, takes it one step further: “G-d has put a dream inside you. It’s yours and no one else’s. It declares your uniqueness. It holds your potential. Only you can birth it. Only you can live it. Not to discover it, take responsibility for it, and act upon it is to negatively affect yourself as well as those who would have benefited from your dream.”

I love that insight. Read the last sentence of that paragraph again. To not pursue your dream is not just cheating yourself out of a life well-lived, but you are cheating others out of your gift to them! Wow. Considering that fact that other people need you to actively work on and work toward your dream, might just give you inspiration to do so.

It is of paramount importance to take the time to think about and realize what your strengths, purpose and G-d given talents are driving you to do. If you don’t believe me, consider this: “If you are working on something exciting, that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.” The man who made this statement knows what he is talking about. For most of the years of his life he woke up every day trying to create something that could change the world with advances in technology and communication. It was not an overnight success. True success never is. The man’s name? Steve Jobs.

John Maxwell says this about success: “Success isn’t an event, – it’s a lifestyle. Dreams are fulfilled when someone performs with excellence day after day. That comes only if you work within an area of strength.” It is what I am trying to do on the pages of this blog, and in the future, in the pages of a book, many books. Sharing ideas, emotion and perspective is part of my purpose. I’m learning my strength comes from my ability to do so, and in turn, try to help other people to gain perspective and to become more.

I’m leveraging my talent to give back to the world in a way that I believe I can, in a way that can make a difference. With a vision in mind, with heart, with emotion, with a focus on gratitude, abundance and love. And I have to do so with consistency. No stops and starts. A journey with no true end, because the joy of the journey is what drives you. I don’t want to get there, I want to always be going there. If you reach the top of the mountain at some point you have to go down. I don’t want to descend, I want to ascend, and in doing so find a way to bring others with me. You.

So it’s your turn to think on your dream. Maybe you already have. Maybe you already do. Maybe you are already on the way. If not, take a step back and take a look at what you are all about. Deepak Chopra brings it all into perspective by asking you to ask these questions of yourself: “What do I want to do? What comes easy to me, but harder to others? What would I want to work on for a long time – even if I were never paid for it? And on the basis of those answers, what could I do to help the people around me?”

The dream doesn’t have to be big, but it should be bigger than you are. Something that you love to do, something you believe in. The most inspirational part of any dream is the beginning. Begin today.

I’m on the way. I hope you are too. Can’t wait to share our dreams together.

Until next time, thanks for taking the time.

Mark