Own Your Dreams

An excerpt from

Own Your Dreams

by John Maxwell What is your dream?

How will you achieve it?

The first question may be difficult to answer. You may have many dreams. Yet, there must be one that stands out above all others...one that inspires you, energizes you, and empowers you to do everything you can to achieve it.

The second question is the reason most people never realize their dreams. They have no strategy in place for attaining it, no knowledge of what is needed and must be sometimes sacrificed to have the dream come true.

Will you achieve your dreams in your lifetime?

I'm certain that you desire to. I'm sure you hope you will. But will you actually do it? What odds would you give yourself? One in five? One in a hundred? One in a million? How can you tell whether your chances are good or whether your dream will always remain exactly that—a dream?

Most people have no idea how to achieve their dreams. What they possess is a vague notion that there is something they would like to do someday or someone they would like to become. But they don't know how to get from here to there. If that describes you, then you'll be glad to know that there really is hope.

 

 Change is a process that most people do not like to undertake. Whether it’s a change in jobs, homes, relationships, memberships, etc., in almost all areas people complain about the change process. Instead of embracing the new that is approaching on the horizon, people lament the old that is slipping away. You might think of it as the dawn and the sunset. Both occurrences are beautiful and serve to enhance each other. Yet alone, a lifetime of sunsets would not be the same as a lifetime that experiences both.

Looking at change from a different perspective, it would be a happier and easier process if we looked at what we are gaining rather than what we are losing. Think of it as the yin and the yang of the universe. Without change we would become stagnant. Stagnant water stinks. It is not drinkable, and no one wants to swim in it. Animals avoid it and people do too.

Conversely, living water is water that flows and refreshes itself and its boundaries. It invites us to its shores as we watch and listen to the process. It invigorates us rather than depresses us. Change can be that way too if we allow ourselves to see it from the angle of newness.

Being part of the here and now requires us to embrace change. A change in routine, diet, exercise, or in whatever else has become stagnant in our lives, can change our world. It does not have to be monumental to make a difference in our lives, but we do have to begin the process. It could be as simple as a thirty minute walk during the day that can be the start of further change.

Why not challenge yourself to the change process if you feel you are stuck in a stagnant life? Find a small change to make that is non-threatening at first, and then do it. Like the snowball that gathers speed and size as it rolls downhill, I just bet you will find that everything about change is not negative. And, there is much more of the positive that you will like to explore in this process when you take that first bold step toward gifting yourself with more of life!

Be Your Very Best Always,
Judy Williamson