Part Eight – Putting Feet to your Story, Potential, Purpose, and Possibilities
So we have talked about what makes a good story, written characteristics and discovered aspects of our stories. We have come to realize that the word damaged, when it comes to our lives, only means that we are human, infallible, have experienced pain and deal with just plain ole life. We discovered our passions, burdens, and themes in our lives and saw that our feelings often get mistaken for the problem when in actuality they are simply indicators. We learned about the top excuses and obstacles that people use in failing to pursue their dreams and visions. Last time, we discovered what it meant to Dream Madly, Pursue Wildly, and Trust Completely.
Today, we come to the conclusion of our blog series with “Putting Feet to your Story, Potential, Purpose, and Possibilities.” All this discussion and learning would be in vain if we didn’t put feet to walking it out. After all, how many times have you had a wonderful idea or thought about a new concept you wanted to pursue but it never got off the ground because legs weren’t put to it.
A regret I am still kicking myself for is the instant weave invention. For those of you unfamiliar, the instant weave is a gathering of human or synthetic hair set between two large plastic combs in the front and back. The hair piece attached to the woman’s hair and beautifully (well supposedly) combines with her natural hair.
About fifteen years ago, I was frustrated with the cut of my hair and wanted more fullness in the back. I didn’t want a wig and did not like the options available. I remember playing around in the bathroom for hours with the concept of take hair from a wig and attaching it to two combs (front and back) to my head. My roommate said, “You outta patent that invention!” I told her that was a good idea then walked away and did nothing. Do you realize the possibilities if I would have followed her advice and worked on getting a patent. Oh man! I could just kick myself. Obviously the person who did follow their idea is getting stupid paid now. Okay, I’m back. All that to say, it is important to put feet to our dream and visions.
A Dream without a Plan is a fantasy:
The work that you have done up to this point will have little effect if you overlook this final part of the blog series. Daily I mentor or speak with people who have incredible ideas and dreams. They have a passion for their projects and a great desire to bring their dreams into fruition. However, when I ask them, “So what is your next move?” or “What is your plan to make it happen?” 8 out of 10 times, the person has no clue or ever considered a game plan.
For those of us who are planners and administrators, we love to plan, create post it notes, make lists, and make post notes of the things on lists that we to accomplish for that day. You have to love us…we love to plan, organize and accomplish!
For most, the thought of putting together a plan, researching avenues, making connections, getting organized and working a plan are one step worse than going to the dentist. Most people don’t like the administration side of walking out their dream. Remember, everything is a choice. Hopefully you wrote out your strengths and weaknesses earlier during this series. If planning is not your strength, find help, ask others who have moved forward on their dreams to give you advise or work with you. The key is you must make a plan and write out the long term dream/vision and the process of steps in between in order to reach that dream. Goals don’t just happen. Somebody planned a course of action, worked that plan, and put in the hard work needed to make it happen.
Think like a Businessperson:
Once you have a written plan on how you’re going to proceed, think like a businessperson instead of an individual with a wonderful dream. I remember watching a television program where inventors or people who had ideas and dreams could present them to judges who would give them money based on the quality of their idea. That show proved my point. The contestants who usually received money by the end of the show were those who had a plan worked out, done the needed research, had a great product or vision to accomplish and…thought in terms of business. Others who seemed to lack the business sense and approach did not fare as well.
Become an expert in your area of pursuit. If you want to begin a non-profit to provide cosmetics or health and beauty advice to women in underprivileged countries to help with their self image become an expert as you pursue it. Learn and understand the psychology of self image and the cultural norms of the women you’re serving. How much is your non-profit going to need? Who will be your supplier of goods to the women? Your dream becomes a type of business the moment you include other people in it.
Understand who your audience is for the dream you plan to pursue. For example, let’s say you have a dream of becoming national speaker and impacting people’s lives. Excellent! If you have difficulty speaking clearly, use slang and have problems speaking effectively within diverse audiences, either some vocal training will be needed or you might want to alter your dream based on your ability. Again, go beyond the passion of what you want to do and think in a business-like way of realizing what will be needed to make that dream happen.
NOTE: For Christians
Often as Christians we have a different motive for what we do. I continue to talk to Christian writers, speakers and ministry leaders who believe non-profits are set up to not make money or because they are in ministry they should donate or simply offer their services and publications for free. You are certainly free to make your own decision in what you believe you need to do. However, non-profit does not mean no money and ministry does not mean “all of me for free”.
Ministries in the bible often had the benefit of others who willingly gave to support the ministry. That is not as easy to find today. Of course, ministry is about ministry and the focus hopefully is not money. However, according to the 501C3 form you filed to be a non-profit, you are a business. Think of it like one. Keep in mind ministries, in general, that are not official non-profits have gotten a bad reputation for being unprofessional, unreliable, and lack business sense. Please don’t be caught as one of them.
Be the Exception not the Rule
According to statistics, the majority of people who have followed this blog series or have dreams, visions and goals will leave their possibilities at the doorway. They will get excited or motivated due to something said or done that has stirred their heart. Then depending on the person, will fail to move forward because the road to their dreams is not easier, wider, faster, less costly or in reach. They will remain in the number of those who had big dreams yet never pursued them.
I get it, I really do. I run into the many who just want to focus on their passion while magically thinking the website, the promotion, connection making, creating documents, spending money, learning how to run a business or learn their craft part doesn’t exist. In time, those people get tired and burned out then eventually lessen their dream to something more compatible with their comfort zone.
Please, don’t do it. I understand the “I’m not an organized person”, “I don’t like promoting myself because it’s about God”, “I’m not good with computers”, etc. comments. Remember, this is your dream, your vision, your goal to be reached. If it is a vision, your part is to do everything humanly possible to stay in the flow of that vision given then allow Him to make the vision happen. Nobody should work harder or care more about your dream than you. If your vision is not worth you moving out of your comfort zone, learning a new skill, or growing as a person in the process, perhaps it is not a dream worth following.
It is easy to look at a Beth Moore, Tony Robbins or John Maxwell and marvel at their accomplishments and the dreams and goals they set for themselves and achieved. If you ask every one of them, they will tell you stories of the labor that came with those vision and dreams and how every step was worth it because of reaching that dream.
Now to you, I end this blog series with my hope for your success in every step of pursuing your dreams and visions while praying you will learn and be stretched in every failure or mistake along the way. There is no such thing as coincidence. Your vision is yours. Your dream is yours. You are the one who has been assigned for the task. Please do not allow life, your past, feelings, obstacles, dream killers, or you to get in the way of that dream. You CAN do this!
Take care
Charlotte
Dream Madly, Pursue Wildly, Trust Completely
www.charlottehunt.com
Copyright © 2017 by Charlotte D. Hunt All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, or otherwise- without written permission from the author except for brief quotations in printed reviews.