Five Lessons from Dream Chasers

   

Every person on earth was born with a purpose or dream for his or her life. Your dream was woven into your being from birth. And you have it for a reason: to draw you toward the kind of life you were born to live!

 

I connected with a few people in my world who I know are pursuing their God-given dreams, folks who, in many cases, moved away from comfortable positions and careers to chase their dreams. 

I asked each of them, "Do you have any key lessons you've learned as you have chased your dreams?" As they each told of their pursuits, I found 5 consistent lessons we can all learn from these Dream Chasers!

5 KEYS LESSONS OF A DREAM CHASER

1. Recognize God as The Dream Giver.

Some of our Dream Chasers mentioned that their God-given dream 'aggravated' them a bit until they pursued it. In some cases, they tried to suppress it or even try to fill it with other things but nothing else brought peace.

How do we find out what our dream is?

We first have to connect with the Dream Giver as He has given each of us a dream and everything we need to achieve it.

   

Jim Collins writes in his book “Good to Great” that all great companies ask 3 precise questions to determine their purpose.  

1. What can I be the best at?

2. What can I make money doing?

3. What am I deeply passionate about?

 

Understanding our God-given purpose starts with spending time with God and asking these same 3 questions. The “right place” for us all is at the intersection of these questions.

2. Prepare yourself to chase your dream.

Every Dream Chaser I spoke with began with a well thought out plan.

 

Your plan may require that you sacrifice and make big changes in order to pursue our dream.

 

If your dream includes being a missionary in another country, starting a business or going back to school, prepare yourself financially. Build savings and minimize debt. You may not have all of the finances worked out, but you will want a plan for how you will take care of basic living expenses for several months.  

 

While this is meant to encourage you towards your God-given dream, do not quit your job today!

Instead, educate yourself, do research, seek counsel, and pray. Some of the dream chasers I spoke with, stated they were careful not to waste or misuse their current employer’s resources but stayed at their jobs while pursuing their dreams 'after-hours.'

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3. Surround yourself with dream champions.

Our Dream Chasers stated they felt at times they were on thin ice about to break at any moment. The Dream Chasers stated they enlisted mentors and others with like minds to connect with and encourage them along the way.

You too will need Dream Champions around you to encourage you and speak life into you. Dream Champions will value you and believe in your dream.

4. Face your fear of leaving what’s comfortable.

The dream always lies outside our comfort zone. We will have to leave what’s comfortable in order to achieve our dream.

Yes, we all have thought it . . . "I would be good at this and really like it. But it would take too long or cost too much or I might not be successful. It’s probably better that I just play it safe and keep doing this job I hate. At least it pays the bills, and in thirty or forty years, I can retire and then do what I really love."

No matter how comfortable the situation is, you won’t fit anywhere but where God wants you. Pursuing our God-given dream can be scary. True courage is being afraid and yet moving forward in spite of our fears.

 

5. Realize your purpose or dream from God is never about you.

Your dream is aimed at meeting a need in the world.

 

Others people need you to pursue your dream. You are the only person with a dream quite like yours!

 

 

I’m not sure what your dream is but I’m certain you have one. It's never too late to live the life you were born to love.  

 

What’s your first step in pursuing your dream?