Are You A Dreamer?

The other day my wife told me that she was truly proud of me. She pointed out how I had a dream to write and publish a book and I had the courage and fortitude to see it through! She went on to share with me what she had heard one of her colleagues say during a meet and greet event at work. “If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough.” – Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

Whenever I think of a dreamer I always think of Joseph in the Bible. Here is a man that God gave a dream (a vision) for his life. He was excited about that dream! He wasn’t shy about sharing that dream! But even Joseph didn’t know all of the ends and outs of his dream, he didn’t know what it would require of him for his dream to come to pass. Often times we are the same way. We have dreams or we have a vision of how we want to see things go in our lives and the only way we will see those dreams materialize is if we understand three simple yet compelling things about our dreams.

Sometimes It’s Painful Pursuing Our Dreams

If you were to start reading from Genesis chapter 37 until Genesis chapter 47 you will see the hard and painful road that Joseph had to endure before his dream was realized.

-He shared his dream with his brothers and they hated on him. (Don’t be surprised if people don’t want to see you reach your goals and dreams, just remember that if God gave you this vision, you must press on until it is complete.)

-His brothers beat him and threw him in a pit.

-His brothers sold him into slavery.

-As a slave in his new master’s house he worked diligently and honorably. He was so dedicated and loyal that his master elevated him to a position of leadership in his house. His master’s wife had an eye for him and tried to entice him and seduce him but he resisted and so she lied to her husband and said that Joseph tried to assault her.

-Joseph is thrown into prison. (Going to jail is bad enough, but going for something you didn’t do must be the worse!)

-While in the prison Joseph meets two men that served the King but at the present time were thrown into prison as well. They spoke of their dreams and how the dreams disturbed them because they had no idea what the dreams meant. Joseph explains to them what their dreams meant.

-One night the King has a dream. His dream is disturbing as well. He has no idea what these dreams could mean and so he calls for the men that were “supposed to know”. The king couldn’t exactly remember his dream and so none of them could interpret the king’s dream. At that moment, the man that had spent time in prison with Joseph remembered how Joseph had explained his dream and how everything happened just as Joseph said it would. He shares this information with the king and the king sends for Joseph.

-Joseph tells the king what his dreams were and then explains what the dreams meant. The king then elevates Joseph to the highest position in the kingdom behind the king himself.

So when things get hard for you as you are pursing your dreams, think about Joseph. He went from being his father’s favorite to being beaten up and thrown in a pit by his own brothers. From that pit he was sold off to become a slave. Although he was a faithful servant he was thrown into prison. Even the prison walls couldn’t hold him back or stop him. The Bible doesn’t tell exactly how long he stayed in prison before being released, but the Bible makes it clear that once he was released, the dream that God had given him for his life was not hindered and it was still coming together. Don’t expect your dream to fall into place without any hardship, but know that EVERY tough moment that you endure will be worth it when your dream comes full circle.

Avoid Dream Killers

I try my best to never kill another person’s dream. I have been a teacher for nearly 15 years and in that time I’ve listened to many students call out their dreams for their future and I had to force myself to keep quiet and not destroy their dreams. I’ve heard kids say, “I want to play professional basketball or football.”, but when I watch them in the gym their skill level is very low and they have absolutely no work ethic. It would be easy for me to shout from the rooftop “Pick another dream Buddy!”. If you are a dreamer, you will surely hear people tell you that you won’t make it or that your dream is unattainable. Remember, “If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough.”

You cannot share your dream with everybody. Some people will try to throw you in the pit so that you will never achieve your dream. Not because your dream hurts them, but because they are envious that they don’t have a dreaming spirit like you. Your ambition will intimidate many. Don’t ever feel ashamed of being a dreamer, but be careful who you share your dream with! Surround yourself with other dreamers. Surround yourself with people that will pour into you as you pursue your dreams and be sure to pour into other’s dreams too. And when you do hear the naysayers speak up don’t let it hinder are halt your progress. And now that you see how hard it is sometimes to reach the promise land of a dream, NEVER kill someone else’s dream.

Commit To Your Dreams

Commitment is a word that is used frequently and misunderstood even more frequently. We think we know what commitment is until we start going after our own dreams and begin running into every obstacle that can possibly pop up. Watching other people’s dreams come true can be one of the most inspiring and deceiving moments for us to take in. If you’ve ever watched the NFL Draft you’ve seen the dreams of young men 21 or maybe 22 years old come true. You’ve watched them cry and their mothers and fathers cry. What you didn’t see were the many hours they spent in the weight room to get stronger or the many hours they spent in the film room to gain a competitive edge. You didn’t see the four jobs that his mother worked in order to afford the special camps for him to participate in so that he could become the best player possible. You didn’t see the hours they spent in tutoring because although the life of the student athlete is super demanding they promised their mother that they’d get their degree. So when their name is called, and they walk up on the stage and their dream has finally come to fruition, this only happened because of the weight room, the film study, the extra jobs, and the late night study sessions. This only happened because they were committed to making sure that this day would one day come.

Are you willing to work when everyone quits for the day? Are you willing to save when everyone else is spending? Are you committed to seeing your dream come to pass or will you change your dream each time things get tough? When I finished writing my first book Recap I was overjoyed that I had seen one of my dreams finally come to an end. I quickly found out that I wasn’t done yet. I still had several more tasks I’d have to complete before the dream was completely accomplished. I could’ve grown bitter and threw up my hands and quit or I could decide to press on and finish what I started. I had committed to start my journey, and I was commited to push until I crossed the finish line. I’ll never forget the day my book went live on Amazon. I felt like one of those young men at the NFL Draft! My dream had come true because I understood there would be pain along the journey and that I’d encounter dream killers but I must remain committed. If I can do it you can do it too! I pray all of your dreams come true as well.

Written by: Columbus Cody III.

Author of Recap and Too Many Toys In The Tub