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If you are anything like me, you are a dreamer. I’ve always been that way. And thankfully I have parents who fostered that in me. From early ages if I wasn’t outside playing, I was inside working on something creative. My cousin and I started writing adventure books. I built a robot out of trash. I even started trying to make computer games. I know. I know. I was a really cool and popular kid. But isn’t that the case with a lot of dreamers; we don’t often get picked first for the team, we aren’t always the most coordinated, and we certainly don’t fit it.

But here are something’s I’ve learned about being a dreamer, so far…

#1 It’s Okay to be Different

Like I said above, being a dreamer doesn’t always make you a popular. In fact, most people will probably call you crazy. We’ve all heard the dream-slayers speech: “You can’t do that” or “That’s never been done” or my personal favorite “I had an uncle who tried that once and he lost everything.” So I salute all of you crazy dreamers. Don’t give up on your dream! Keep working! Keep fighting! Keep achieving! The only people who never reach their dreams are the ones that give up, give in, or give out. 

#2 Dream-slayers are NOT Invincible

We all have them. Dream-slayers. I’m not talking about people who keep you grounded, we NEED those people. I’m talking about the people who work to crush, destroy, or snatch away your dreams.This cunning creature rarely looks the part, instead they are more like a wolf in sheep clothing. You will know them by their weapons: the weapons of “can’t”, “never”, and “impossible”. Avoid dream-slayers at all cost. Don’t share your dream with them. Don’t associate with them. But if you HAVE to go toe to toe with them, come prepared and armed with the knowledge of every dreamer who came before you. Those that were told that they would never… People like Bethany Hamilton, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, J.K. Rowling, or Walt Disney. They all had dream-slayers, but dream-slayers are not invincible. They will exhaust themselves at every turn as you reach the impossible, do the things that have never been done, and prove that you can, you will, and you will continue.

#3 Find a “Grounding-Board”

I am a verbal processor. I’m also an introvert. Think about that combination. Thankfully, my wife is amazing. She gets to hear me talk through my far-out ideas. Some people would call her my sounding-board, but I’ve learned that she is much more than that. She is my “grounding-board”. A “grounding-board” is person who will hear your ideas and not immediately dismiss them, but will instead be honest with you about it. My favorite question I get from my wife is, “Are you going to have time for that?”. And usually, I pause trying to re-arrange my time in my brain so that I can say yes only to realize that, “No, I don’t have time for it.” It doesn’t mean the idea was bad. It simply means that I need to store that idea for a season of life when I have more time OR I need to empty somethings out of my life so I CAN have more time.

#4 Dear Dreamer, Keep Dreaming

When you have a dream and you really believe in it, you work it as much as possible and as often as possible. But sometimes when we focus on one dream so much, we don’t take time to keep dreaming. Never stop dreaming. I’ll even go one step further and say never stop dreaming BIG. Are you opening a business? Writing a book? Have you thought about what comes next? The next book? Or the next next book? The franchise or the corporation? When we allow ourselves, as dreamers, the opportunity to dream, we allow our minds to expand to new possibilities, our hearts to embrace new passions, and our spirits to receive God’s best for us.

#5 When Inspiration Hits

It’s 3 a.m., do you have a pen & paper ready? Inspiration hits at the oddest times, sometimes even in spurts throughout the day, week, or year. So as a dreamer, there are few things that have changed the way I deal with inspiration. Thank goodness for Pinterest. My own digital bulletin board. A place where I can at least attempt to organize the random-ness of my ideas. It’s easy to get to lost in that world, but it’s also a great place to be found. Keep a place to store your ideas. If it’s a smartphone or a traditional paper and pen, write it down. Habakkuk 2:2, tells to “…Write the vision; make it plain…”. And nothing could ever been more true.

I hope you enjoyed some of the things I’ve learned as a dreamer. And I’d love to hear some of the lessons your dreaming have taught you! Just put them in comments below.