How Do You Know If Your Dream Is Attainable?

March 09, 2009

John Maxwell

The Leadership Authority

The following was excerpted from John Maxwell's blog. To read it in its entirety, visit John Maxwell On Leadership:

I’ve been a proponent of positive thinking for as long as I can remember.  I believe that to a large degree, if you expect positive things in life, you get them. And when you have to face something difficult, if you remain positive, you have a much better chance of getting through it.

In spite of my positive outlook, it’s always bothered me when I’ve heard motivational speakers say something like, “If you can believe it, you can achieve it.”

What a crock! I don’t believe that about your dreams, and I don’t believe that about mine. 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.

Writer Richard Bach similarly asserts, “You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it true.”

If you give that even a moment’s rational thought, you know it’s not true. At some point in time, just about every child dreams of being able to fly like a bird. Wouldn’t that be fantastic?

But it’s not going to happen, no matter how clearly I imagine it.

Granted, dreams, by definition, are not supposed to start with reality. They are supposed to be fantastic, incredible, and out of the box. After all, they are birthed from hopes, desires, and possibilities. They are the products of imagination and creativity. However, if they are nothing but pie in the sky, how much do dreams help us?

John Maxwell is one of America's foremost leadership experts and the author or more than 50 books including the forthcoming Put Your Dreams To The Test. For information on bringing him to your next event, visit www.premierefaith.com/john_maxwell.