(February 14, 2010)

Are you a dream weaver? Josh Hanagarne exemplifies the definition. He claims to be the World's Strongest Librarian (who's brave enough to doubt him?). He doesn't apologize for being nerdy. He is living his dream even though he knew that he would have to overcome Tourette's Syndrome in order to accomplish his goals. Are you an overcomer?

In the discovery zone, you are shopping around for a dream (see January 31). In the definition zone, you engage the process. Most people believe that the process can be boring. We overestimate the day and underestimate the process. We become Saved on a certain day and focus on that day, remembering all of the details, but then we realize that there is a process. We could have the greatest wedding day in the history of the world, but the process thereafter is what is most important.

Embrace the process. Sometimes we wonder if God will ever help us to realize the dream in our lives. We need to embrace the process. It doesn't happen all at once. If you are truly engaging your dream, if you are in the process, you must have it in your agenda daily. The sacrifice will be worth it. It will keep you focused on your dream. You need to be disciplined. You need to choose priorities such as Who do I invest my time with? How is my daily time broken down? You fill your calendar or others will fill it for you. Strengthen your will. Your will become strengthened when you spend time with God daily. Control your emotions in your daily agenda. Most of us love immediate gratifications. Our minds tend to drift to those things, but you have to be willing to reteach your mind to focus on your dream. Develop your imagination. Have imaginative prayer. A pastor of an area church prayed for a new gymnasium by praying Lord, I ask that you allow us to hear the bouncing balls and the sounds of children laughing and having a good time.

Embrace your true self. Embrace those things about yourself that you don't like. You don't have to submit to them, but you need to work to overcome them. See yourself as God sees you: nothing more, nothing less.

Identify your accelerators and your stumbling blocks. God allows both in our lives to help us define our dream. The devil will always try to trip you up just prior to one of God providing one of His accelerators for you. Before a breakthrough, be ready for a storm. Are you going to curse the storm or embrace it?

Eliminate wrong thinking and beliefs. Defensiveness. Reaction patterns to events. Beliefs are powerful, but your beliefs will either be for you or against you. Who has the beliefs? You! So are you going to be for yourself or against yourself?

Invest in your strengths. Warren Buffett realized this long ago. He invests his money to make money. If you invest in your strengths, you'll get stronger. If you invest your time wallowing about your weaknesses, you'll just get weaker and weaker.

- Jon Bruney
(credit to Mark Cherona)