In only a few days, I’ll be boarding a plane to fly halfway around the world, where I’ll have the privilege of teaching in the Philippines, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, and Malaysia.
This kind of work is a dream come true for me. Of course, the scope is much larger than I originally imagined. But the dream of adding value to others is something I’ve been pursuing for close to 40 years.
The following excerpt from my book, Put Your Dream to the Test, is about the importance of imagination to the achievement of your dream. I hope it encourages and equips you as you examine your own dreams.
How do people discover their dreams? By dreaming! That may sound overly simplistic, but that’s where it starts. Imagination is the soil that brings a dream to life.
Nobel Prize-winning physicist Albert Einstein, a dreamer and thinker, understood the value of the imagination. He said, “When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge.” Einstein called his imagination a “holy curiosity.”
If you come from a discouraging background, or you don’t think of yourself as an especially imaginative person, don’t lose hope. You can still discover and develop a dream. God has put that ability in every one of us. If you know and watch children, then you know that’s true. Every child dreams. Every child possesses imagination. My wife, Margaret, and I have five grandchildren, and whenever we are with them, we see their vivid imaginations at work, whisking them away from this world to ones of their own creation.
You have it in you to dream. Author and friend Max Lucado is clear about your possibilities: “You weren’t an accident. You weren’t mass produced. You aren’t an assembly-line product. You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on the Earth by the Master Craftsman.” Beyond that, some people would even argue that the more drab your beginnings, the greater your potential for dreaming.
Businessman Howard Schultz, who came from a very humble background, used the fertile soil of his imagination to help him cultivate the idea of Starbucks, the company he founded. Schultz says,
One thing I’ve noticed about romantics: They try to create a new and better world from the drabness of everyday life. That is Starbuck’s aim, too. We try to create, in our stores, an oasis, a little neighborhood spot where you can take a break, listen to some jazz, or ponder universal or personal or even whimsical questions over a cup of coffee.
Who dreams up such a place?
From my personal experience, I’d say that the more uninspiring your origins, the more likely you are to use your imagination and invent worlds where everything seems possible.
That’s certainly true of me.
I believe God wants us to dream, and to dream big, because He’s a big God who wants to do big things and He wants to do them through us. My friend Dale Turner asserts, “Dreams are renewable. No matter what our age or condition, there are still untapped possibilities within us and new beauty waiting to be born.” It’s never too late to dream.
If you’re wondering whether the dreams of your imagination are likely to take root in the soil of reality, then start by asking yourself the following questions (from Put Your Dream to the Test.)
- The Ownership Question: Is my dream really my dream?
- The Clarity Question: Do I clearly see my dream?
- The Reality Question: Am I depending on factors within my control to achieve my dream?
- The Passion Question: Does my dream compel me to follow it?
- The Pathway Question: Do I have a strategy to reach my dream?
- The People Question: Have I included the people I need to realize my dream?
- The Cost Question: Am I willing to pay the price for my dream?
- The Tenacity Question: Am I moving closer to my dream?
- The Fulfillment Question: Does working toward my dream bring satisfaction?
- The Significance Question: Does my dream benefit others?
I believe that if you really explore each question, examine yourself honestly, and answer yes to all them, the odds of your achieving your dream are very good. The more yeses you can answer, the more on target you are to fulfill your dreaming. I truly believe that everyone has the potential to imagine a worthwhile dream, and most have the ability to achieve it. And it doesn’t matter how big or how seemingly outrageous your dream appears to others if your answers are yes to the Dream Test questions.
17 responses so far ↓
1 Kyle Gilbert // Jun 15, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Great post! Thanks for the inspiration!
2 Belinda // Jun 15, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Great as always!
3 Bill // Jun 15, 2009 at 1:29 pm
This is very good. Thank you John.
4 Steve Broe // Jun 15, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Dr. John Maxwell, thanks for your excellent insight. I love the dream questions that you propose.
Our dreams need to be protected. Although we may not have the circumstances to fulfill them immediately, we should consciously recognize that our dreams connect us to an important purpose in life.
Dr. Steve Broe
5 Steve Broe // Jun 15, 2009 at 1:32 pm
Dr. John Maxwell, thanks for your excellent insight. I love the dream questions that you propose.
Our dreams need to be protected. Although we may not have the circumstances to fulfill them immediately, we should consciously recognize that our dreams connect us to an important purpose in life.
Dr. Steve Broe
6 milton herring // Jun 15, 2009 at 1:35 pm
The concept of imagination and dreaming, the simple process of meditation until a spark of eternal creativity rises from within. This is the type of thing that brings personal and spherical transformation. If you’d like to see a great process for growth to maximize your potential or your company goto: http://www.growthprinciples.com
7 milton herring // Jun 15, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Dr. J thanks for your insight to a dream. Imagination how we overestimate the process of meditation, the simple process of taking time until there is a spark of eternal creativity birthed in us.
Milton-Lead Consultant
8 milton herring // Jun 15, 2009 at 1:41 pm
thanks john for the insight. Meditation a process to spark innovation- good stuff
9 jeltjie // Jun 15, 2009 at 7:18 pm
I’ve read many of your books but only discovered your blog today. It’s so exciting. You have changed the way I do everything in my life!
10 Timothy Carter // Jun 16, 2009 at 3:21 am
Brother Maxwell…what a tremendously inspiring post. Without a vision, the people perish…and so do dreams. Your list of questions really should be a requirement for people to grasp a vision & the powerful potential of their dream!
@TimothyCarter
11 Penny // Jun 16, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Great post! I enjoy your blog and follow you on twitter. I have a question for you or others that like to surround themselves with “thinkers”. I work at a community college and would like to start a regular scheduled “think tank” to encourage communication between administrators and staff. Any ideas or suggestions?
Thank you for your encouragement!
12 Nolan Hing // Jun 16, 2009 at 6:30 pm
Great Post! God has awesome plans for each of our lives and I believe he reveals his plans to us through our dreams and aspirations from the time we are young children. One of my passions as a Children’s Minstry Director is to inspire children to go after the dreams God’s placed in their hearts.
13 Emmanuel Eliason // Jun 17, 2009 at 12:28 pm
This is very inspirational. God bless you John.
Pastor Emmanuel Eliason
World Gospel Tabernacle
Aurora, Co
14 Tracey Messick // Jun 20, 2009 at 9:11 am
Thank so much for your words of inspiration. I am a John Maxwell junkie…and have been for years. As a preschool music teacher and business builder, your words continue to motivate me to achieve things I alone am not able to do….and those moments are when I know God is where He should be…in complete control.
Tracey Messick
Treble Makers!
Atlanta, Georgia
15 Julie Fugate // Jun 25, 2009 at 8:36 am
Dr. Maxwell,
As a child I was given a book of poetry and one in particular, by Langston Hughes, stuck with me always:
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
for when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
Thanks for your inspiration and guidance.
16 people-power // Jul 11, 2009 at 5:35 am
It ’s just a thought, but it could change your life. It all starts with a dream or thought first. How encouraging that even the most unimaginative person can still discover and develope a dream. We need to ponder personal or even whimsical questions, it’s all about process too. Be on target no matter how outrageous your dream. Loved this lesson because dreams are renewable. Thanks for posting, and now I am going to get ready for a wedding at my church and then off to Steinback for the reception tonight. Have a great day everyone at leadership on line.
17 Linda Hayles // Aug 6, 2009 at 4:53 pm
John!
I have to say your blog is coming along very nice! I remember when you first started it recently, you were being pushed outside your comfort zone as Twittering and Blogging weren’t things you were used to doing.
But as always, you figured it out and have remained committed to your followers. Love it!
This was a great post! I’ve read almost all your books but never read “Put Your Dream To The Test”.
I am sure to go pick it up. If I said I had one vice, it would be spending my money on self-help books.
Thanks for adding value to ME!
Linda