I had an expensive dream years ago. No, it wasn’t a million dollar dream; it involved a lot more money that that. Is it still my dream? Maybe, but I have exchanged it, at least temporarily, for another dream. This one is closer to a million dollars.
It’s not cash that I want, but a different business model. The million represents the investment required to make that goal a reality. Having said that, I must admit that there are a lot of steps between where I am now and where I’d need to be to make that business model work like I want it to work.
If the money fell out of the sky today, I’d be better off keeping it. It’s a blessing that I realize the challenge.
If you have a million $ dream, you’ll want to consider several things while you are working on it. You’ll need to understand: the purpose of the dream and achieving it (Part 1); the challenge of achieving it (Part 3); and the possibility of achieving it (Part 3).
I want to challenge your understanding of each of these. The purpose of the dream is not necessarily the goal. Achieving it is not always a challenge in and of itself, but what it brings could be. Finally, achieving even a big dream may not be as unlikely as you think.
The Purpose of the Dream & Achieving It –
A dream will motivate you to move forward, but you need to know where it is you are headed. You can do this by clearly defining why you’d like to achieve your dream, what you’d like your life to look like if you did, and how you’d use this accomplishment. You also need to know if it is your dream only, or if it is God’s plan for you.
Either way, if you build your dream around excelling in what God has shown you to do, your dream will not only motivate you, but it will also serve to give you focus and provide a target for all your actions. It will help you to evaluate all that you are currently doing. It will make you more effective. If you’ve ever heard the expression “you can’t get there from here,” that’s what I mean. For example, doing sewing alterations would not be the road for success as a master chief.
You must also realize that achieving the dream may not be the end result. Instead, it may be a pit stop on the road to greater things.
And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.
Luke 12:15-23
This man achieved what was probably a dream that he had. God said unto him: “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
During the time of this man’s greatest achievement and the road up to it, he had overlooked God. He hadn’t consulted God. He had not used his resources to reach others for God. He had only thought of himself and the great ease that he would enjoy.
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Mark 8:36
LIFE APPLICATION
On the path to achieving a dream, ask God if that is His plan for you or simply your dream. Question your motives. Is it all for you? Will you let it affect your thinking if you do achieve it? Consider if the dream is really just a funnel that God wants to use. Think about how God would have you to use it to reach others for Him. Ask God if achieving the dream provides a way for you to rain a blessing on others in the way of sharing the gospel and helping people that cannot help themselves.