"Is my dream really my dream?"

A thought by John C. Maxwell & Rob Hoskins in their book, Change Your World (p. 44). HarperCollins Leadership. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) 

That seems to be an important question for those who have a dream.

John says, "In my book Put Your Dream to the Test, one of the first questions I recommend people ask themselves is this: Is my dream really my dream? Why? Because if the dream you intend to pursue isn’t really yours, you won’t own it. And if you don’t own it, you won’t do what it takes to achieve it. Your dream becomes your dream when you recognize the contribution you can make. The same is true for becoming a catalyst for change. Only if you own it will you be able to fulfill it."

He continues,  "I was reminded of this in 2011 when I met with the board of my nonprofit organization EQUIP. We had just celebrated the fantastic milestone of training five million leaders from every country in the world. When you finally achieve a major goal that you’ve been pursuing for well over a decade, the question is, what’s next? The board and I were discussing what we should do next. Should we target training another million leaders to get to the six million mark? Should we celebrate our victory, shut down the organization, and call it a day?

"That’s what many of the board members wanted to do. But I had a strong sense that we were not done as an organization. Something had been stirring in me for several years, namely, to shift from training leaders to transforming leaders. The board members wanted to know more, but at the time I couldn’t articulate it. I didn’t know how we would do it. I didn’t even know how to define transformation at that time, but I believed we should take action despite not having all the answers."

John goes on, "Some of my board members were with me 100 percent. If I sensed it, they were willing to support it. Most were willing to support me while giving some time to figure it out. But not everyone was. A couple of board members simply didn’t see it and stepped off the board. That didn’t lessen my love for them. But I had made a decision. Even if I had to go it alone, I would commit to transformation."

He then said, "That’s the day I became the owner of the vision. When I made the commitment, it was a tangible step toward becoming a catalyst. I’ve learned that whenever I feel a sense of conviction about an issue, I just need to start moving in the direction I believe I should go, even when I’m uncertain."

That makes sense but it is also very difficult to do. Yes, yes? #continuethought