Dream And Plan
I have a confession to make. I love to dream about what I can accomplish. The problem for far too long was that I would dream, but I seldom made plans to reach those dreams. I would even less often act on those plans.
How many times did you hear the dreams of your parents or grandparents? Perhaps you heard the dreams of other ancestors. I hope that some of those memories include successes that show how to move forward with a plan.
Dreaming to me is a source of inspiration. When I ponder upon possibilities of what I want or where I could go in my life, new ideas come to me. So am I recommending dreaming? Absolutely! Dream on as the song goes, but take it to the next level and come up with a plan. Set some action steps that will propel you along the path to that goal.
Things Go Wrong
Have you ever noticed that your plans often don’t work out as you intended? Of course you have had that experience. Who is perfect in setting a plan in motion and everything works out? No one has that experience in life. Things will regularly go wrong. Problems arise.
What happens to your plan when problems come up? Do you give up? Do you rise to the challenge when the roadblock appears? What holds you back?
Who in your family showed persistence? Who gave up?
My Examples
My grandfather Doyle did not have success in life. He had dreams, but he did not plan or carry them out. Broken relationships and poverty were the results of his life. I never met him, though he died when I was twelve. There is a lot to learn from Doyle. I really believe that he had a lot of emotional turmoil in his life, and he did not know how to handle it. Ample opportunity exists for me learn to do better. I will not condemn him. I love him and feel that he is learning what he did not grasp in this life.
My grandfather Fred had success and disaster as a constant companion in his life. He had dreams and plans. When circumstances changed, he adapted. He didn’t become and engineer as he desired, but in the end, he was a very competent electrician. In between those dreams and that outcome, he saw his father suffer great health issues, redirected the production of his family estate only to lose it all in World War II. He finished the war as a wounded prisoner of war, yet he reestablished his family under difficult circumstances and brought them to America where he rebuilt his life ending with much more than he held after the war.
Everyone had faults and they have strengths. What are you doing to learn from the best and worst that has happened to others, or to yourself for that matter? Learn from the opportunities that are before you. You may even gain some valuable insight into why you do some of the things that bother or please you from the traits that have been passed through your family.
Delaying Is Sabotage
Also, don’t forget as you look at these examples that delaying is sabotage. Too often you find that you know you should have acted, but instead, you hesitated. You delayed action for some reason and opportunity was lost. Start looking today. Don’t delay.
Find your family, it is a great benefit.
Mark Fincher
Chief Mentor and Trainer
Living Tree Connections