Do More Than Dream: Encouraged to Leap

Do more than dream.

Dreams are important for living bold and intentional lives. BIG DREAMS push you out of where you are and dare you to jump into all you are designed to be.

But you have to do more than dream.

“If you want something to happen in your life, then you can’t sit around and wait for it to come to you.” – Kathryn Lang

The words are for my husband, but they smack me pretty hard as well. There are things that I dream about and hope for, but what am I really doing to make them a reality in my life? The answer is nothing.

I’m sitting on the front porch waiting for them to show up.

I’m talking to people about what I’m dreaming while I wait for them to show up.

I’m planning for the dreams and making maps, WHILE I wait for them to show up.

It’s hard to step out into your dreams. The questions and doubts and fears seemed ready to pounce at my first movement in that direction.

It is easier to stay where I am than risk not getting to where I want to be.

Fear of failure cannot be an option. After all, the only guaranteed way to fail is to not even try. It may be scary to jump out with nothing but faith holding me up. The road ahead may be dark, intimidating and even overwhelming. The mountain may look impossible from this vantage point. One step small step out, just one little piece of the puzzle at a time, and a long, deep breath will get me going in the right direction.

Martina McBride has a song out called “Anyway.” In it the lyrics talk about dreams so out of reach that they might not ever work out, but that you should dream anyway. It’s one of those songs that sticks in my head and encourages me to dare to believe.

Believing and dreaming are only part of the equation. Like I was telling my husband, I have to do. So today, I will send out a query about my novel – even if it’s not perfect just yet. Today I will make a notice to send out about speaking to women’s groups. Today I will do more than dream. Today is the day that I leap.