Dreams Move Us Forward: Put Yours to the Test

The Right and Wrong Picture of a Dream 

I’ve studied successful people for almost forty years. I’ve known hundreds of high-profile people who achieved big dreams. And I’ve achieved a few dreams of my own. What I’ve discovered is that a lot of people have misconceptions about dreams.

Take a look at many of the things that people pursue and call dreams in their lives:

• Daydreams—Distractions from Current Work
• Pie-in-the-Sky Dreams—Wild Ideas with No Strategy or Basis in Reality
• Bad Dreams—Worries that Breed Fear and Paralysis
• Idealistic Dreams—The Way the World Would Be If You Were in Charge
• Vicarious Dreams—Dreams Lived Through Others
• Romantic Dreams—Belief that Some Person Will Make You Happy
• Career Dreams—Belief that Career Success Will Make You Happy
• Destination Dreams—Belief that a Position, Title, or Award Will Make You Happy
• Material Dreams—Belief that Wealth or Possessions Will Make You Happy

If these aren’t good dreams—valid ones worthy of a person’s life— then what are?

What is a Valid Dream?

Here is my definition of a dream that can be put to the test and pass: a dream is an inspiring picture of the future that energizes your mind, will, and emotions, empowering you to do everything you can to achieve it.

A dream worth pursuing is a picture and blueprint of a person’s purpose and potential.

What Do You Have in Mind?

Dreams are valuable commodities. They propel us forward. They give us energy. They make us enthusiastic.

Everyone ought to have a dream.

But what if you’re not sure whether you have a dream you want to pursue?

Let’s face it. Many people were not encouraged to dream. Others have dreams but lose hope and set them aside.

I want you to know that there’s good news.

You can find or recapture your dreams.

And they can be big dreams, not that all dreams have to be huge to be worth pursuing. They just need to be bigger than you are.

Are You Ready to Put Your Dream to the Test?

Okay, you may be saying to yourself, I’ve got a dream. I think it’s worth pursuing. Now what? How can I know that my odds are good for achieving it?

Speechwriter and comedy author Robert Orben asserted, “Always remember there are only two kinds of people in this world—the realists and the dreamers. The realists know where they’re going. The dreamers have already been there.”

If you’re a dreamer who has already been there in your mind, then the next step is to put your dream to the test.

Explore these 10 important questions

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 dream?
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 Fulfillment Question: Does working toward my dream bring satisfaction?
10. The Significance Question: Does my dream benefit others?

Excerpted with permission from Put Your Dream to the Test by John Maxwell, copyright John Maxwell.