“We must dream no small dreams. We must envision great, ambitious, difficult goals. Yet our objectives must be within our reach.”
~ Former Dallas Mayor Erik Jonsson
The white-haired man with a small limp approached the Corner. He had come so far. The first day I met him he had been laid out on the brown dirt by the big tree, detoxing from a chemical addiction. He seemed almost half-human that day, but now here he was, completely coherent and all smiles. Now, he imparted joy to me just by his presence.
That first day I met him, he was in such bad shape that we called 9-1-1, and an ambulance came to make sure his vital signs were okay. Although he turned out to be okay, I would never forget the state he was in. Today, he truly seemed a different person. He and his wife had stayed together through it all – what dedication and love! He often talked of how she supported him and stuck with him through their homelessness and his addiction.
As I continued seeing the white-haired man each week, he started talking to me of his dreams. Although he had been homeless for a few years, he and his wife were about to be able to move out of the shelter. He was already dreaming of how he could give back. A college grad, he was considering starting a business or working in the South Dallas community that had given so much to him at his lowest point.
If someone who has been homeless for multiple years still has dreams after so much difficulty, you better believe all of us non-homeless people do too! We all have an idea of what we’d love to do—even if this idea is not fully formed.
It begs the question, what keeps us from pursuing our dreams?
Sometimes it is simply that they are vague—even to us. Perhaps we have a sense that there is something more for us—whether it be a different job, or a new hobby, or a new way of doing our current job—but we can’t identify how things could change. And even if we can identify how things could change, we still feel stuck because we don’t know how to pursue this change. The idea still may seem far off and unreachable.
How do we get to where our dreams become reality? Below I list five ways dreams can take shape:
One note: The dreams we have for our lives are in all fields of work all over the world. There is no such thing as a higher or better dream. Some of you have business-related dreams; some have home-related dreams; some have local mission related dreams; some have foreign mission related dreams; some have artistic dreams; some have Excel spreadsheet dreams; and the list goes on and on. There is no box or formula.
- Willingness: Are we willing to let our dreams potentially disrupt our safe, comfortable life? Perhaps they won’t, but opening ourselves up to our dreams will most likely challenge something in us as we step out in new ways. If they were easy to pursue, don’t you know everyone would be doing it?
- Small Steps and Openness to Redirection: Rather than thinking we have to accomplish our original big dream right away, or even that we have to have it defined, we can just take small steps to explore that “thing” in us. As we begin opening doors and exploring, redirection may come as well. If you can’t put your finger on your exact dream yet, this exploration time is especially vital, as you will begin to discover more specifics of your dream as you open doors.
- Time: Dreams becoming reality take time. What I’m doing now is a sort of “dream” job for me; however, all of my twenties has been preparation to get here. Had I given up on my undefined dream a few years ago, I wouldn’t be here today. Don’t be afraid of how long it takes—don’t give up!
- Circumstances: Some things are outside of our control. Sometimes the stars align and sometimes they don’t. Sometimes circumstances that arise are meant to help direct us. We might have been going down one path, but a circumstance (like my losing my job in 2012) shows us that perhaps there is a new, different way. Let your circumstances be an opportunity rather than a hindrance for your pursuing your dream.
- People: PEOPLE are so important! Make sure you talk to those you trust throughout your search for and pursuit of your dream. It’s hard to open ourselves up to share our deepest dreams for fear of rejection, but it’s so important. People will help guide, direct, and connect you to discovering and instituting your dream.
In conclusion, the world needs more dreamers! Dreamers are world-changers. That does not mean that what you are dreaming will impact three thousand people, but simply that your pursuing your dream will mean you are living in your passion. Your living your passion will not only change your life but by virtue of the passion-spillover will also change other people’s lives. World-changers are focused on affecting the one life in front of them through their unique calling and gifts.
Even though the post is titled “The Small Impossible,” it’s an oxymoron, for nothing that seems impossible to us is actually small. If it feels impossible but we dream it, and if we take slow, small steps to pursue it, its impact on our life and the lives of others will be huge—even if the impact is never quantifiable.
God is looking for people through whom he can do the impossible—what a pity that we plan only the things that we can do by ourselves.
A.W. Tozer
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