Just under one year ago, Laura and I gathered leaders on Mt. Washington to share our vision of developing young leaders into the men and women God called them to be. Leading up to the event, I was a nervous wreck! What if nobody shows up? What if nobody thinks what we’re doing is legitimate? What if.. What if… What if?
My father in law looked at me and said, “Doug, you’re going to look back on this day and laugh. This is just the beginning. You’re going to remember this day with great joy because you started something.”
Nearly a year later, I can tell you that my father-in-law was correct. We are so glad we had the courage to step out on something that was in our hearts. We’ve had so much fun leading this for the past year. We’ve made some great friends and memories and have gotten to see a lot of leaders grow and launch dreams that have been in their hearts for a long time.
Today, I want to challenge you to act on your dreams. Here are 3 principles that helped us launch our dream, I hope they do the same for you:
Put a Date on the Calendar – I’ve had a vision for Learning to Lead since 2007. I didn’t act on it until 2014! Why? Because I was afraid! What caused me to finally act? Laura MAKING me put a date on the calendar! We picked a date, created an event, and started inviting people. At that point, I couldn’t back down. She forced me to ship! While it made me a nervous wreck for 2 months, looking back, that was a moment that changed my life. It taught me that I can do what is in my heart regardless of what fears are holding me back. I just have to do it afraid!
Don’t Worry about Who Will Show Up – A few months before we started Learning to Lead, I had coffee with my friend, Paul. I was telling him the fears I had: What if nobody shows up? What if people do show up? What if people think it’s stupid? What if nobody cares? Paul looked at me and simply said, “Doug, some will, some won’t, so what?”
When he said that, I felt immediately at ease. The reality is, regardless of what you’re starting, some people will love what you’re doing, they’ll read what you write, listen to what you produce, and some people won’t. So what?
When I was sharing my vision with one leader, he said, “Doug, you have to ask yourself, “What will happen if you don’t this? Who will miss out? Whose life will never be changed as a result of you not going after what’s in your heart? More importantly, what will happen if you do, do this? Whose life will be changed forever because you cared enough to start this?”
The reality is, you never know the impact of you acting on your dreams can have. It could change someones life forever!
Recognize The Real Reason You Should Act – Jim Rohn once said, “The ultimate reason for setting goals is to entice you to become the person it takes to achieve them.”
Too many people go through life and never take one step toward the dreams in their hearts because they are afraid to fail or they are afraid of what people think. One of the main reasons you should act is to combat those fears.
When you act in spite of being afraid, you become courageous. You become more like the person you were created to be. Mark Twain one said, “I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.”
I can relate to that. Every time we put on an event for Learning to Lead, I get bombarded with thoughts that cause me to fear and worry. However, once the events are over, I am filled with the joy of not letting my fears and worries overcome me. Things always turn out much better than I think they will!
Even if you step out and fail, you will learn that failure isn’t fatal! Thomas Edison said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” If you fail, you’ve just discovered one way that won’t work. Try another way! The important thing is to keep trying, keep shipping, keep overcoming your fears.
The world is waiting on you to act on your dreams! Act now!
- What dream do you have in your heart that you need to set a date on the calendar for?
- What fears are holding you back?
- How could what you want to do change someone’s life forever? What if you never do that? What if you do?
- Who could you become if you develop the courage to act on your dreams?
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