Never Give Up On Your Dreams
What is your dream?
Inside each of us there is a dream. Even if you’ve stopped dreaming, you can still feel a past dream residing inside your heart. What is that dream?
Have you dreamt of writing a book, or pursuing an instrument? Is your dream to travel the world or to one day move to the big city? Do you dream of performing and entertaining for a profession or packing your suitcase and being a staple on a public speaking circuit? There is a dream inside your heart… what is that dream?
What I’m about to share is a concept which comes from Jon Acuff’s book, Start, and it’s a powerful illustration that can help you come to the point where you will never give up on your dreams.
The Voices Dreamers Hear
Often when we begin to name our dreams we begin to hear voices in our head. “You’re foolish for thinking you could do that. You know what, there’s already a million people doing that, the industry doesn’t need you. There’s too many books as is, don’t bother. Competition is too fierce and it won’t be worth it.” These voices don’t tell us how great we will be at something, but rather, the voices tell us that it’s not worth the effort.
When you name your dream, what do you hear the voices saying to you?
I think deep down inside I’ve always dreamed of starting my own business. Right now the particular scene of that dream is launching an online training course helping organizations control their authority and brand on the internet.
The voices I’m hearing right now are saying things like, “who are you to train other people, you have a hard time just waking up at 6am,” or something like, “you’re going to spend all this time making videos and training materials and you know what, no one will buy it. No one wants that.”
If we listened to those voices every time we had a dream, what would we have missed out on? Would we have submitted an application to college? Would we have applied for that amazing job? Would we have ever asked out our spouse on that first date? Would we have decided to have children?
Get Past the Voices
When you begin to dream you trigger the voices. The sad part is, when we believe the voices we never attempt our dream. Getting past the voices is the most trying part of bringing your dream to real life. However, we’ve all done it… now it’s time to do it again.
What are the voices telling you about your dream and are you prepared to tell them to shut up… because if you do, you may just find yourself living the dream. Never give up on your dreams!
Yes! I needed to hear this especially tonight! I have so many dreams and I usually let those voices in my head talk me out of them. I dream of traveling the world, teaching and learning from others and making a difference as a creative and individual. Thank you for reminding me that my dreams are worth it!
You got it Kercia… do you have a clear dream right now that you can achieve before the end of the year?
Thats a great question! I don’t even know if I can answer that right now, which means I need to do some thinking and goal setting for sure!
Love this one, Dave!!! I definitely listen to the negative voices in my head too often! Thanks for reminding me to turn down the volume. 🙂
Okay Beth, question… what is your dream???
That’s a tough one for me! It changes day to day, depending on the struggles of the day. 🙂 I guess the biggest would be working towards retirement in the next 5-8 years.
So true, Dave. I hear these voices all the time and am actively doing my part to replace them with God’s promises for my life and positive affirmations. It’s a neverending battle we fight, but one I don’t intend to lose. Great article 🙂