In John Maxwell’s newest book, Put Your Dream to the Test:10 Questions to help you see is and seize it, John tries to tackle the many questions about having life dreams/aspirations/goals and the path to pursue and hopefully achieve them.
I’ll admit, the initial impression of what I thought the premise of this book would be didn’t really appeal to me from just a judgment of the cover. I’m not one for your “self-help” pick-me-uppers ,which is what I thought this book was going to be about. But as I began to read I was more than pleasantly surprised.
As I read this book, I began to realize that the word “Dream” here can be replaced with what I would describe as “Calling.” My calling is directly affected by my relationship with Christ because I have committed to being someone who “Delights in the Lord“, allowing Him to give me the “Desires of my Heart.” It may just be a matter of semantics, but it made all the difference to me.
Personally, this book touches specifically on just a part of the spectrum good leadership (which is my favorite subject of study at the current moment) or what Covey would call a “Highly Effective Person.” The idea of a dream is what drives the human nature. Some “experts” of personal development call it “seeing with the end in mind”. In the Christian world, it has even been called in a round-about way, “Holy Discontent.” In normal circumstances this book might have been a snoozer for me, but at this particular juncture in life, evaluating my “Dream” is exactly what I needed – and this book had a lot to offer.
Here are just a few quotes:
- …a dream is an inspiring picture of the future that energizes your mind, will, and emotions, empowering you to do everything you can to achieve it.
- Failure is the price we must pay to achieve success.
- Followers don’t give their best to something they don’t understand.
- Yes, we do need to aim high. However, we don’t have the ability to attain whatever we seek. I don’t possess the ability to achieve every potential I can imagine. I don’t believe that I can achieve any goal. That is not reality.
- …you have to take a realistic look at yourself to know where your habits are taking you.
- …complacency kills passion. It reduces us to average.
- It is impossible for me to ignore the reality of my present position and be successful.
- Successful people think differently from unsuccessful people, especially in the area of failure. They see it as a regular part of success, and they get over it.
- The great men and women of history were not great because of what they earned and owned. They were great because they gave themselves to people and causes that lived beyond them.
I really needed this book at this time in my life, and I was glad to have read it and gained some insightful wisdom on how to approach the journey of going after my “Dream.”
Got dreams?