The famous "I have a dream" speech was delivered on August 28th, 1963 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Martin Luther King Jr. made his dream real for everyone who was listening. He shared his vision, was willing to be held accountable, and in the end, prompted the 1964 Civil Rights Act. As a result of making his dream, his inspiration, and his intention public, he was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. While the prize was not his dream -equality was- his mission to get the world to notice was accomplished.
We all have dreams and visions of what we want our futures to be like. Some of us have vision boards that remind us of our wants and desires, share our dreams with others by writing them down, or even translate them into goals and business plans. Everyone should have a plan. Without a plan, how do you know where you are going or how you will get there?
Why don't we all realize our dreams? What keeps us from accomplishing them? For most of us, we need to take a long hard look at what it is we are afraid of. Fear affects all of us. People talk about the fight or flight response, but there's another reaction that is even more common and far more detrimental: becoming paralyzed, unable to move, stuck. Uggh... Fear is the biggest obstacle in achieving our dreams. Fear is what gets us stuck. Fear is what gets in the way of having everything we truly want.
The fear that stops us from having what we want is often just an illusion in our mind, but after a while our fear becomes our truth. How we observe the world is a result of the fear we are living in. Our fear has us. We no longer control it. We create our own personal prison with the language we use. "I'm not good at that", "I can't do that", "That will never work", "I can't sustain those results", "I don't have enough time." It's time to find out where the fear is coming from, get to the root, the source, because only then can we re-contextualize what caused the fear in the first place. Whatever we create, we can un-create, then re-create or re-invent, meaning we can choose again. And yes WE HAVE A CHOICE...
Fear didn't stop Martin Luther King, Jr. and there was a nation divided by his dream for equality. Fear of not succeeding propelled him. It drove him. He took a stand in the face of imprisonment, criticism, anger and hatred. He took a stand. He was unreasonable in getting his vision, his dream, and his intention across. Today, equality is a work in progress and he is remembered by many as a man who did not let fear stand in his way.
What is at stake if you don't accomplish your dreams? Is it you being happy, feeling satisfied, being in service, feeling love or achieving your dreams? Isn't it time you choose? Take a stand. Be unreasonable. Be committed. Be Driven. Choose powerfully to live the life you want, your dreams will be so glad you did.
"Courage is a work in progress" - Shelly Cofini
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