Maxwell - Put your dream to the test: 10 questions that will help you see it and seize it

PUT YOUR DREAM
TO THE TEST

2009 by John C. Maxwell

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Scripture quotations taken from The Living Bible, 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Maxwell, John C., 1947

Put your dream to the test : 10 questions that will help you see it and seize it / John C. Maxwell.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-0-7852-1412-0

1. Success in business. 2. Success. 3. Conduct of life. I. Title.

HF5386.M4447 2008

650.1--dc22

2008044839

Printed in the United States of America

09 10 11 12 13 QW 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This book is dedicated to Margaret Maxwell,

the girl of my dreams. On June 14, 1969, we were married.

Since that day, we have been living the dream together.

I cannot imagine my life without her. Margaret, happy 60/40!

CONTENTS

Thank you to

Charlie Wetzel, my writer

Stephanie Wetzel, who proofed and edited the manuscript

Sue Caldwell, who typed the first draft

Linda Eggers, my assistant

What is your dream? Will you achieve it in your lifetime? Im certain that you desire to. Im sure you hope you will. But will you actually do it? What odds would you give yourself? One in five? One in a hundred? One in a million? How can you tell whether your chances are good or whether your dream will always remain exactly thata dream? And are you willing to put it to the test?

Most people I know have a dream. In fact, Ive asked hundreds, if not thousands, of people about their dream. Some willingly describe it with great detail and enthusiasm. Others are reluctant to talk about it. They seem embarrassed to say it out loud. These people have never tested their dream. They dont know if others will laugh at them. Theyre not sure if theyre aiming too high or too low. They dont know if their dream is something they can really achieve or if theyre destined to fail.

They have no idea how to achieve their dreams. What they possess is a vague notion that there is something they would like to do someday or someone they would like to become. But they dont know how to get from here to there. If that describes you, then youll be glad to know that there really is hope. And I believe this book can help you.

KNOW THE ANSWERS BEFORE YOU TAKE THE TEST

When you were a kid in school, do you remember a teacher doing a review before a test and saying something like, Pay attention now, because this is going to be on the test? I do. The encouraging teachers who wanted to see their students succeed said things like that all the time. They wanted us to be prepared so that we could do well. They put us to the test, but they set us up for success.

My desire is to be like one of those encouraging teachers to you. I want to prepare you to put your dream to the test so that you can actually achieve it. How? I believe that if you know the right questions to ask yourself, and if you can answer these questions in an affirmative way, you will have an excellent chance of being able to achieve your dreams. The more questions you can answer positively, the greater the likelihood of success! Thats the reason I wrote this book.

THE RIGHT AND WRONG PICTURE OF A DREAM

Ive studied successful people for almost forty years. Ive known hundreds of high-profile people who achieved big dreams. And Ive achieved a few dreams of my own. What Ive 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:

DaydreamsDistractions from Current Work

Pie-in-the-Sky DreamsWild Ideas with No Strategy or Basis in Reality

Bad DreamsWorries that Breed Fear and Paralysis

Idealistic DreamsThe Way the World Would Be If You Were in Charge

Vicarious DreamsDreams Lived Through Others

Romantic DreamsBelief that Some Person Will Make You Happy

Career DreamsBelief that Career Success Will Make You Happy

Destination DreamsBelief that a Position, Title, or Award Will Make You Happy

Material DreamsBelief that Wealth or Possessions Will Make You Happy

If these arent good dreamsvalid ones worthy of a persons lifethen what are? 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 energizesyour mind, will, and emotions, empowering you to do everything you canto achieve it. A dream worth pursuing is a picture and blueprint of a persons purpose and potential. Or as my friend Sharon Hull says, A dream is the seed of possibility planted in the soul of a human being, which calls him to pursue a unique path to the realization of his purpose.

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 youre not sure whether you have a dream you want to pursue? Lets 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 theres 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. As actress Josie Bisset remarked, Dreams come a size too big so that we can grow into them.

Dreams come a size too big so that we can grow into them.

JOSIE BISSET

If youve given up hope, lost sight of your dream, or never connected with something that you think is worth dreaming and working toward, perhaps it would help you to learn about the five most common reasons that people have trouble identifying their dream:

1. SOME PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DISCOURAGED FROM DREAMING BY OTHERS

Many people have had their dreams knocked right out of them! The world is filled with dream crushers and idea killers. Some people who arent pursuing any dreams of their own dont like to see others pursuing theirs. Other peoples success makes them feel inadequate or insecure.