Not sure if your dream is significant enough to chase? Most people aren’t. Let us help you identify three areas and one goal that should factor in when determining your dream’s significance!
World changers are humanitarians by nature. Their dreams, in some form or another, are meant to make the lives of others a little better. Sometimes they affect the lives of very specific communities and other times they affect the world at large. Most of us will be making smaller contributions, but those smaller contributions add up to some pretty big changes over time.
What do you foresee as the significance of your dream? Don’t be tempted to downplay it. Your dream has both worth and significance.
Let’s look at three areas you should consider when deciding on the significance of your dream.
I want to do something significant …
For myself. Friend, God has been so good to me, better than I deserve and I want to give back out of gratitude. I bet you feel the same way. A faithful follower of Christ always wants to show thankfulness to God and do their upmost best for Him. Who doesn’t want to hear: “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23 NIV)?
Paul is one of the best examples of this. He expressed his gratitude to God over and over for just being a small part of God’s plan. He expressed gratitude for the people who supported him and his work. And he was grateful for the body of Christ at large. Paul wanted to do something significant so he could show himself worthy to God and he certainly accomplished that mission!
You, world changer, are someone of significance because God has created you to be.
“If only you could sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person.” Fred Rogers
Never underestimate your significance.
For others. My greatest joy is serving others. Following Jesus’ example of servant leadership is important to me. Being a change agent in someone else’s life gets me up in the morning. Jesus said: “The greatest among you will be your servant” (Matthew 23:11 NLT).
Who do you want to reach? What type of transformation do you want to bring about in the lives of others? These are great questions to ponder as you contemplate the significance of your dream.
Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, “What are you doing for others?” Martin Luther King, Jr.
With others. We are made for community, and we can accomplish more together than apart. Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 12:12 (NIV): “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.”
Not only do you need a dream team, but you also need connections. Partnering with others is the best way to get your dream off the ground and then sustain it. Finding the right partners is important because misalignment is exhausting and frustrating. When seeking partnerships, make sure that you seek out people who have the same mindset and values as you. If these two things don’t align, it will not matter what kind of resources they are holding.
“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” Henry Ford
As we close out this series on evaluating our readiness to chase our dreams, there is one last thing I would ask you to consider –what will your legacy be?
Leave a legacy. Have you given much thought to how you will be remembered once you are gone? Some famous celebrities have given us a smile at their departure from earth and at the same time reminded us of their legacies. For instance, Rodney Dangerfield’s epitaph reads “There goes the neighborhood” and Jackie Gleason’s tombstone states: “And away we go.” Others, such as Richard Nixon, have left us with more serious thoughts in which to convey their legacies. His epitaph reads: “The greatest honor history can bestow is the title of peacemaker.”
The truth of the matter is whether we want to claim a legacy or not, we all have one that we will leave behind. Jim Rohn once said: “All good men and women must take responsibility to create legacies that will take the next generation to a level we could only imagine.”
For me, I want to be remembered as the girl who while reaching up to obtain her goals, also reached back to pull another woman up. Honestly, if that’s what people remember about me, I would be thrilled. I would also like to be known as an influencer who started an international sisterhood that truly loves and builds future generations of women leaders. This is my dream legacy!
“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. Their dream was to do something that benefited others.” John Maxwell
Hey world changer, what’s yours going to be? You’ve got some thinking to do!
If you found this post helpful, there’s more where that came from friend. You’re at the end of an 11-part series based on John Maxwell’s book, Put Your Dream to the Test: 10 Questions to Help You See It and Seize It. We’d love to hear your takeaways in the comments. And we’d really love it if you shared this post with your friends.
You can find all eleven posts under the Test Your Dream category above.
As a certified coach, speaker, and trainer with the John Maxwell Team, I can’t wait to share with you not only the best John Maxwell materials but my lived experience as a faith-based entrepreneur! Helping you chase God-sized dreams is what I do best! Feel free to ask me about the Entrepreneur DREAM Course and how you can create your own She Steps Forward “World Changer” Action Plan.
Elaine Lankford
Elaine Lankford is a faith-based life and leadership coach. She is the founder and executive director of She Steps Forward Ministries LLC, a nondenominational, parachurch ministry focused on empowering everyday women to chase God-sized dreams, and She Steps Forward International, a faith-based non-profit that works within the United States and Africa to equip everyday women to fulfill their God-given destinies. She is passionate about assisting other faith-based entrepreneurs to follow through on their God-sized dreams. Her coaching packages include uniquely designed roadmaps complete with practical action steps that help guide each entrepreneur through the process of making their calling come to life. Her mission is to raise up a generation of diverse women who are excited to both lead and mentor other women to reach their full potential in Christ.
Elaine is also an author and international speaker. She self-published her first book, Love Echoed Back, in August 2014. Prior to launching her ministry and non-profit, Elaine was in the nursing profession for over sixteen years. In the local church community, Elaine has served as a women’s small group leader and an intercessional prayer partner. She has considerable experience in organizing and leading missions teams out of country. Elaine is currently working on a Master of Arts in Theology Degree at Jakes Divinity School. She is a Virginia native, wife to Darrell, and mother to Nicholas.
All scripture taken from:
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.