When you realized what your dream was did you finally feel complete? If your dream was to find and marry a soulmate and you are married, then you ought to feel contentment. It doesn’t mean your life will always be perfect but you know you are on the right track. A happy marriage gives you a feeling of satisfaction, fullfillment and contentment. Your commitment to this dream gives you the passion and the willingness to make sacrifices to keep the dream.

I believe this will hold true for any dream we have for our future. Ask yourself, “Am I willing to pay the price for my dream?” If you hesitate to answer yes, then your dream may need to be rethought. There isn’t a single person in the world who has achieved a dream without paying a price to reach it. Some pay with their lives or their freedom. Others pay by giving up options or finances or relationships. Again I ask, Are you willing to do whatever it takes, give up whatever you have to, just to make your dream a reality?
“Every journey toward a dream is personal, and as a result, so is the price that must be paid for it”, a quote from John Maxwell’s book, Put Your Dream To The Test.

Look at how many people change their careers after years working in another profession. They go back to school and get another degree or maybe they just change jobs to something completely opposite of what they have done for years. Why does this happen to so many people? I believe it is because we were living someone else’s dream for us. Parents (I am guilty) sometimes tell their children from a young age, “You are so good at talking to people, I know you would be great in a sales position”. Maybe we convinced our daughters to be teachers because that is a great job for a working mom. I taught school for TWENTY years before I finally left. I always wanted to be a mom so I listened to my parents and that is exactly what I did. Was I happy, not really. I should have gone to school and learned about working with the elderly because I love helping them now. I volunteer with senior citizens because that brings me joy to help them.

Dreams must have a strategy to achieve them. There is no magic power in having a dream. You can’t just wait for it. You have to work for it. Mary Webb said, “Saddle your dreams before you ride them.” That means we need to plan to plan. Most people neglect to plan. In John Maxwell’s book, “Put Your Dream To The Test”, he devotes a whole chapter on strategies on how to plan.

If you hate what you are doing in order to pursue your dream then you are on the wrong path. Try to discover why you have set your dream as your goal. Are you paying too high a price for your dream? Maybe your problem is your attitude. The most reliable way to reach a big dream is to broaden yourself.
Never forget that the greatest reward of pursuing a dream is who you become as a result. And that is a good thing, because when you achieve your dream, the world is a better place.

God Bless You in your journey toward your dreams!
Beverly Monical

The ability to answer yes to this question, “Does my dream benefit others?” has been a journey for me. When I was younger I admit I had dreams but in the end the dream was all about what I would achieve and how I would benefit. As I have gotten older my dreams are still there but now I am wanting to help others to acheive their dreams. Instead of thinking “What can I get from others?” I am asking myself,”What can I give to others”? I think that has put me on a better track. Being selfish sure didn’t get me closer to my dreams at all.

Mother Teresa once said, “A day lived without doing something good for others is a day not worth living”. That hit me hard the first time I read it. I read it daily as my mantra.
Thomas Edison said,”I never perfected an invention without thinking of how it would benefit others.” Have you been confronted with that decision?

A dream isn’t worthy of a person’s life if it doesn’t benefit others. I believe that is why we are here: to help other people. I know that is why I am here.

If I can help you in anyway, please contact me.
God Bless!
Beverly

In John Maxwell’s book, “Put Your Dream to the Test”, he shows us how to do the things needed to make your dream come true. He starts out with 10 questions. He calls this the Dream Test.
1. The Ownership Question: Is my dream really my dream?
2. The Clarity Question: Do I clearly see my dream?
3. The Reality Question: Am I depending on factors within my control to achieve my dream?
4. The Passion Question: Does my dream compel me to follow it?
5. The Pathway Question: Do I have a strategy to reach my goal?
6. The People Question: Have I included the people I need to realize my dream?
7. The Cost Question: Am I willing to pay the price for my dream?
8. The Tenacity Question: Am I moving closer to my dream?
9. The Fullfillment Question: Does working toward my dream bring satisfaction?
10. The Significant Question: Does my dream benefit others?

If you can answer yes to all these questions (check the book for the additional statements) then the odds are very good you will see your dream come to fruition. The book has 10 chapters to cover each question. If you have ever read any of his books then you already know what an awesome writer he is and how thorough this book will be. I highly recommend this book as one that you should purchase this week.

Anytime you see people making a midlife career change, you can almost be certain they have been living someone else’s dream and lost their way.

Parents mean well when they encourage their children towards a career. Children see themselves through the eyes of their parents or role models so it’s no surprise that many times they go down the path that their parents wanted for them. These are the adults we see with the mid-life career changes.

When the dream is right for the person and the person is right for the dream, the two cannot be separated from each other. You have to own your dream! That is the key that opens the dream to everything else. When you own it your passions will increase which make you set the goals, and develop a strategy to acheive it.

Do you own your dream? Are you willing to do whatever it takes to acheive that dream?

Will you share your dream with me? I would enjoy hearing you tell me all about it.