Dreams and visions are twin brothers, for both are vehicles of adventure into the future. Dreams here represent what you want to see yourself become in future as opposed to what you are at the moment.
Dreams attract no charges in the market of amazing destiny. Yet it is amazing that failures don’t patronize the great store house of dreams. If you cannot dream it, then you can not see it. For you must first admire to desire and to acquire. And if you cannot see it, you cannot have it.
Dreams are your road map to the place of destiny. Dreams give you directions if only you have the courage to pursue them. The world is like a market place, well packaged with every desire of man. But you don’t go to the market if you don’t know what you really wanted. Anyone who embarks on a shopping outing without a clear-cut picture of his or her needs is bound to end up as a wanderer. The person will be moving from one painful location to the other and in the process by- passing all the good things of life. Life thus becomes a wilderness of deprivation and total frustration.
No wonder George Adams said that, “In this life we only get those things for which we hunt, for which we strive and for which we are willing to sacrifice.”
It is our dreams that create rooms for us in life. Yes, it is through the agency of our dreams that we are able to positively impact our world and subsequently gain social and economic relevance.
Asa Candler said, “Every human life is made to fit some place, and there is a place for every life.” Those who passed through life without dreams are the real failures of history. The reason is not farfetched! Anita Roddick’s remark is an eye opener: “To succeed you have to believe in something with such a passion that it becomes a reality.” Your talents, gifts and passion are clear pointers to your dream. Myles Munroe, a great authority on the subject matter of dreams and vision also stated that, “Anyone who develops his gifts will become a commodity.” Your gifts are road maps to your dreams in life.
Dreams are personal issues, for no man can borrow your mind and dream your dreams. I am sure you won’t buy such an idea. All that others can do is to help interpret your dreams and also assist you in the direction of their actualization. If you don’t want to end up as a failure, then I challenge you to have a dream. Don’t waste away. Listen to Dorothy who said that, “No one has a right to sit down and feel hopeless. There is too much work to do.” Your immediate duty is to locate your dream in life. Go for it. Your greatness is buried in that dream.
You have no choice other than to pursue that dream. You will finish well if truly you are pursuing your divine dream. Myles Monroe has assured us that, “There is something for you to start that is destined for you to finish.”
Dreamers who are strong and determined enough to pursue their dreams rule the world. It has been said that, “What makes great men is the ability to see what others can’t see”.
Remember Joseph and his dream in Genesis 37:5. Earlier, concerning his own father Jacob, the Bible tells us in Genesis 28:12 that “And he dreamed.” His father had a dream in Genesis 31:10 and that was all it took during his trying moments in exile (so to say) to become a rich man. A dream is all you need to get direction and a change of destiny.
Dexter Yager pushed the point clearer home as follows: “Having a dream transports you out of the frustrations of the present into the possibilities of the future. A dream keeps you from wasting your life. When you have dreams and nurture and develop them, then you become successful.” What a comforting piece of information! And what a great opportunity for exceptional progress in life through the agency of dreams and direction!
In the words of Julius Bate, “He who wishes to fulfill his mission in this world must be a man of one idea that is of one great overmastering purpose overshadowing all other aims and guiding and controlling his entire life.” That is the best way to be a man of purpose. If you develop a strong hunger and passion for your dream there is every likelihood that you will become great.
According to Les Brown, “Hunger gives you that courage to take your ideas and run with them. Hunger helps you overcome discouragement; it moves you to use your talents and your life.” It is, however, important that you appreciate the fact that, your dream and direction must be God given. They must enjoy divine approval and the word of God is the standard of measurement.
Any dream that is not God given is certainly from the devil and can only lead to destruction because you will never find a good way of doing a bad thing. It is important you cross check your dreams through the mirror of God’s word and confirm whether they are valid or not. Your dreams must also agree with your God given abilities. Your dreams should point strongly in the direction of your inner abilities. In the words of Dorothy Brown, “Just as God gives each one of us our special talent, so does He give us our dreams, to make us aware of the talent.” If your dreams run counter to your God-given abilities, then you may have to go back to God in prayer for confirmation and direction. You must also take special note of the fact that it is not all dreams that eventually come to pass!
Like Prof. Zainab Alkali said in her novel, The Still Birth, that dreams are like pregnancies. Some are aborted. Some end up as still births while some are successfully delivered. It is not enough to have a dream. Dreamers who failed to wake up from their sleep and pursue their dreams are the worst failures in history. An adage says the man who picked up money in his dream should be counseled to work harder! Is it not true that the money you picked in your dream evaporates as soon as you wake up? Only hard work and tenacity of purpose can actually bring the physical cash your way. You must, therefore, be ready to pursue your dream. It may not be easy but try and be ready to pursue your dreams. It may not be easy but try and persevere. As you pursue your dreams you may wish to reflect on Montu Hill’s statement: “Actually, I’m an overnight success. But it took twenty years.”
I think it is necessary to state here that your dreams and direction should extend to a healthy desire to be rich. It is not a crime to have good money under your control in as much as you earned it legitimately.
Learn to conceive and nurture a healthy desire for money. John Demartin said, “If you don’t put a value on money and seek wealth, you most probably won’t receive it. You must seek wealth for it to seek you. If no burning desire for wealth arises within you, no wealth will arise around you. Having definiteness of purpose for acquiring wealth is essential for its acquisition.” You can now see clearly that there is a need for you to dream your way into the land of financial prosperity. This is so because you are only permitted in the school of amazing destiny to own things that you truly desire, love, appreciate and laboured for.
Dreams are necessary to help us maintain focus in life. Our dreams represent the very essence and purpose of our existence. That is why Brian Tracy strongly admonished us as follows: “Decide upon your major definite purpose in life and then organize all your activities around it.” Yes, that ought to be your approach to life if you don’t want to waste your destiny. But make sure your dream is big enough to move mountains! Jim Rohn said, “You want to set a goal that is big enough that in the process of achieving it you become someone worth becoming.” And let me add here that there is one funny thing about visions and dreams that I find necessary to share with you
The dreams of life are not always tied to pleasurable sleep. Rather, practical dreams are those things you want to achieve in life at great legitimate cost. One great philosopher once wrote that the heights that great men attained and kept were not attained by a sudden flight for they while their companions were asleep, were toiling upwards in the night.
The dreams of life are not always tied to pleasurable sleep. Rather, practical dreams are those things you want to achieve in life at great legitimate cost. The passion to get those things done as soon as possible will almost drive you crazy. You will wake up at night thinking of the way to get to your dreamland. Your brain will sometimes get so busy that sleep will run away from you for a while. Dreams will not only make you feel good, but it will sometimes make you feel bitter because a lot of people will misinterpret your dreams and give you bad names. You may be unjustly persecuted for daring to accomplish what some notable people have said cannot be accomplished.
Dreams will sometimes make you walk the lonely paths of life where you will be tempted to think that you are insane. Your dream may make you become restless because you don’t want it to fail. All these developments are normal factors associated with great dreams. In my own humble way, l had experienced them all. They are strong evidence confirming the authenticity of your dream. Face the challenges presently trying to steal your dream. Overcome them and move on to the land of your amazing destiny. Your dream is a reality dream. It is not a nightmare to be discarded. Forge ahead with every sense of determination.
Remember the popular saying: “When you find a dream inside your heart, don’t ever let it go. Because dreams are the little seeds from which beautiful tomorrows grow.” Dream big no matter how fast your heart beats out of fear! Seneca said, “There is no great genius without some touch of madness.” The obstacles in the path of your dream are dream deflators. Don’t allow them let the air out of your dream. Dexter Yager admonished: “You must turn your dreams into goals.” Goals are dreams with definite deadlines. At that point, the rule of the game is “fire for fire.” No going back. But Yager has a poser for you: “Are you willing to shut down your need for immediate gratification in order to wait for your dream to come true?” This is important for Gail Sheehy strongly admonished that, “Growth demands a temporary surrender of security.” The word “security” as used here means comfort zone.
Another great man, Mike Murdock, presents us with a very good reason why dreams get aborted: “Most people fail to pursue their dreams and goals hoping to reduce their confrontations, struggles and opposition. They choose to sit as spectators in the grandstand of life, rather than risk the arena of conflict to wear the crown of victory.” You can actualize your dream if only you are ready to pay the price. For Thomas Edison has said it all that, “Success is based on imagination plus ambition and the will to work.”
People without dreams and direction are not actually living. They merely existed on wishful thinking and inclinations. They are completely blind to the great exploits God has mapped out for them to accomplish. They are walking graveyards.
Thornton Wilder captured this point as follows: “We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasure.” I challenge you to have a dream and flow in the direction of your dream. Norman Vincent Peale said, “Naturally, in this process of achieving the best it is important to know where you want to go in life. You can reach your goal, your best, dreams can come true, you can get where you want to go only if you know what your goal is”. Stop wandering in the great market of destiny.
You have listened long enough to the meaningless noise of the market You have served long enough as an escort following people to watch their dream come true. It is time for your celebration. I mean it is time for your generation to celebrate you. What is your dream? It is good to pause right here and identify your dream in life. And let me add here that the bigger your dreams the better. “You will not do incredible things without an incredible dream”, says John Eliot.
Remember that your dream is your beginning and a sound success quote advised us as follows: “Take care of the beginning in every venture in life and you will have little cause for lamentation when you have reached the end of the way.” Check yourself again. Do you have a worthwhile dream? This is a very serious question because it is the pursuit of great ideas which manifests as dreams that makes a man or woman great in life. Victor Hugo said, “There is one thing stronger than every army in the world, and that is an idea whose time has come.” You need dreams and direction if you don’t want to waste away in the market of destiny.
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Success Booster for Champions:
Dream is the womb where great achievements are conceived and born. Those without dreams cannot conceive because they have no womb! – Oluseyi Amose.
NB: Extracted from Chapter six of my book titled “Amazing Destiny”.
