Archive for October, 2011

I remember early on in my entrepreneurial journey, I was told by a mentor of mine that I needed to dream more.  He told me the kinds of things I needed to keep in the forefront of my head, but it just didn’t work for me.  You see, his dreams weren’t mine, and vice versa.

Over the course of my journey, keeping that dream alive was one of the most difficult things I had to do.  You see, I kept thinking that my dream had to be about material things, and I’ve just never been driven that way.  Now don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong if that’s YOUR dream, it just wasn’t mine.  Most of you know I’m a huge fan of John C. Maxwell.  I have been working through a book of his that is a Daily Reader with little “nuggets” each day that are totally inspirational.  The other day, I read his daily “scripture” and it really cleared up some of my own misconceptions about having a dream, it was titled “The Power Of A Dream”.

He makes some excellent points about how as success oriented people we need to have a dream that is in our heart, no matter what it is.  He says, “I’m not talking about wanting to win the lottery.  That kind of idea comes from a desire to escape our present circumstances, not to pursue a heartfelt dream.  I’m talking about a vision deep inside that speaks to the very soul.  It’s the thing we were born to do, it draws on our talents and gifts.”

So often as busy entrepreneurs, we get caught up in our daily activities and we forget the very reasons we are pursuing and pushing in our business lives.  We forget that when we started our journey, we had a dream and a vision.  In the book The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy, he recommends that we revisit those reasons daily.  As part of our morning “calibration” meeting with ourselves.  Deep inside of you there is a reason you wake up each morning and do what you do, I challenge you to write those reasons down and review them each and every day.  No matter the reason, it’s what matters to you!

I have said before that one of the greatest maxims of leadership is the desire to help others.  To go from success to significance.  I don’t believe that this goal is altruistic or mere “fluff”.  As business owners, it is incumbent upon us to provide value to those we serve, and with that comes our own success.

So dig deep inside of you and find out the thing that burns in your heart.  I know for me it is that deep desire to help others, maybe for you it is to be free from a job that you hate.  Whatever it is, write it down and revisit it daily.  Here’s what Mr. Maxwell says about your dream.

A Dream Does Many Things For Us:

• A dream gives us direction.
• A dream increases our potential.
• A dream helps us prioritize.
• A dream adds value to our work.
• A dream predicts our future.

To The Success You Deserve!

Want To Get Updates Like These Each Day? Put Your Name & Email Address In The Top Right Box Of My Site.