“Look now toward heaven, and count the stars…” Gen 15:5
Everybody has a dream, their ‘somewhere over the rainbow’ place. But not everyone knows how to get there. Today I want to give you four principles that, if embraced, form a roadmap that can take you literally anywhere you want to go! Whatever your dream, your ambition – these are the steps that will take you there. No matter who you are or where you start from, this is your pathway to the stars!
1. See it. Every great achievement started as an idea. From the discovery of America, to the invention of the airplane, to the founding of Facebook – everything begins as somebody’s idea. We build things in our imagination before we ever build them on the ground. In the workshop of the mind we can shape things, test things, modify things, and evaluate things before we risk time or money building them. Step one is to see it. See it clearly. See it in detail. And see it passionately.
2. Believe it. There is a world of difference between seeing and believing! Our minds want to see all the evidence before we buy in. But this is precisely where the promises of God come in. Changing our beliefs is a process. First we see a possibility, then we begin to hope for it, and then we start to believe in it. Over time Abraham became “fully persuaded”. Ultimately it comes down to a choice to believe in your hopes. “Who against hope believed in hope…” And when your faith becomes stronger than your fears it will begin to change who you are.
3. Become it. Same old you – same old prospects. New you – new possibilities. It just makes sense that before we can go somewhere that we’ve never gone, or accomplish something that we’ve never done, we must become something that we’ve never been before. Changing who we are begins when we change what we believe. The Bible says that by believing we re-create ourselves, “old things pass away and all things become new.” Our beliefs control our behaviours. You can tell when you really believe something because you start to act like you do. Our convictions shape our character, then our character shapes our world.
4. Achieve it. Most of us would like to jump straight to this point! But success isn’t the preface to the book, it’s the epilogue. In other words the realization of your dream will be the natural result of seeing, believing, and becoming. When you take care of the first three, success will take care of itself.
Remember, I didn’t say this was easy. Or instantaneous. It’s not easy to see something you’ve never seen before. Especially when reality keeps slapping you in the face. Nor is it easy to change what we believe. Our beliefs are rooted deep in the soil of our being. It’s not easy, but it’s not impossible either. It just takes desire. And courage. And determination. And time. If you can see it, you are already on your way…
