Tis the season to be graduating! Yes, everywhere you turn there’s an invitation requesting the presence of family and friends to honor a student’s accomplishment of a major academic milestone.
Speakers from all backgrounds are invited to the hallowed halls of high schools and colleges. However, their common goal is to motivate and inspire graduates to continue to pursue their dreams.
Recently, I too had the opportunity to do just that. The high school graduates had decided that their theme would be, “Moving Towards Success Through the Power of Dreams”. Powerful stuff!
As I prepared for this address, I was reminded that everyone, including teachers, should live in pursuit of their dreams. But often times we are not pursuing with diligence because we don’t know how.
We must first value the dream that’s inside of us!
WHY ARE DREAMS IMPORTANT?
All great accomplishments started with a dream. They began with an idea, a burning desire, and a thought of achieving something more.
Everyone who has ever done anything great has had a dream. Martin Luther King Jr., Thomas Edison, Oprah Winfrey, Sir Lynden Pindling, Michael Jordan and even Doris Johnson started with a dream.
Dreams are like seeds. And these seeds must be planted in the fertile soil of imaginative minds. They must be nourished by belief and cultivated with appropriate action.
Believe it or not, everyone has a dream. They don’t have to be glamorous, but they must be big enough to get you moving. Sooooo…….
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
What seed has been planted within your mind about your future?
What are you passionate about? What gets you so motivated that you lose track of time?
What are you naturally good at that others seek your help with?
Where do you see yourself in the next 5, 10, 20 years?
If you haven’t given much thought, to any of these questions, now is the time.
HOW TO MOVE TOWARDS YOUR DREAM
As educators, we must be good examples of dream chasers. Whether our dream is to write children’s books, facilitate workshops, start a consulting firm or branch out into a totally different career, we must go after it. Our students emulate us. So, we can’t stop dreaming and pursuing our dreams.
Once you know your dream, you’ve got to start moving towards making it a reality. To do this, you’ve got to remember to do three important things:
- Expect ANTAGONISTS – No matter how nice you are or what good you are seeking to do, you WILL have opposition. Haters will appear no matter what. In fact, if you don’t encounter opposition, it probably means your dream isn’t big enough. So, be ready. People who aren’t pursuing their own dreams are likely to criticize people who are.
- Be AUDACIOUS – To have audacity is to have the courage to think big, to show initiative, and to take risks for a dream. This might sound easy but try doing this while facing the possibility of failure. Yikes! Now, that’s a tall order! But once you accept failure as part of the process, you’ll never be afraid to try. As Robert F. Kennedy said, “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.”
- Think in the AFFIRMATIVE – You have got to remain positive about achieving your dream. This means that no matter how it looks, you have to maintain the right attitude…..the attitude that you CAN do it! Believe in yourself and turn off the negative internal dialogue that sabotages your efforts. Surround yourself with positive people, books and audios that feed you with hope and possibility.
The world needs what has been deposited within you. So there’s no time for you to sit small. Dream BIG but be willing to start small.
Take action and grow with it. Take action even when things aren’t making sense. Step out on faith even when you’re ridiculed. Leap into it even when the odds seem against you. Move ahead even when you are afraid.
Just get moving to make it happen! If God plants a dream in your heart, He will equip you when you step out in faith to do it. Just do it!!!
Leave a comment: Are you a dream chaser? What do you do to keep yourself in pursuit of your dreams?
Awesome Points Dr. Sharmane Millers;
Just a thought to ponder, Dreamers are the reason why the world keeps expanding and shrinking. Those that pursue their Dreams, know that all things are possible once they believe in the power of the almighty God. So they will simply do whatever it takes to achieve their goals. They are convinced that their purpose, passion and persistence are the vehicles needed to accomplish their Dreams.
So the dreamers will continue to grow and change the status quo by shrinking all of the impossibility thinkers. This time of the year is a wonderful time to encourage those graduates who are starting another chapter in their lives to Dream Big! The world waiting for them to make their contributions.
“The dreamers will continue to grow and change the status quo.” Good stuff, Sylvia! Thanks for chiming in and reminding us that with purpose, passion and persistence we can pursue and fulfill our dreams.