Are Your Dreams Putting You to Sleep?
"I haven't done much on that project."
That surprised me.
Two months ago, a friend told me about his plans to build a beautiful twenty-five-foot pergola. The lumber had already been delivered. His schedule was cleared. Everything was lined up.
But as we sat across from each other at a barbecue restaurant, he shrugged. "I just haven't done much."
It wasn't laziness or a lack of time. The issue was deeper, one that’s often discounted.
He had a vision with no thrill.
That's a problem because vision isn't just a picture of the future.
Vision is a preferred picture of the future that produces passion.
If it doesn't stir something inside us, it isn't doing its job.
We use the word vision for everything—from raising toddlers to writing books, starting businesses, getting healthy, or transforming a space with a pop of color and a feng shui vibe.
But, people who make progress don't merely dream.
They create visions as tools.
A compelling vision…
Gives direction when decisions are fuzzy.
Supplies energy when motivation dissipates.
Reminds us of our why when the work gets hard.
Calls us to become someone new.
Recently, my own coach asked me a painful question, "What's keeping you from taking massive action to build your coaching practice?"
I thought I had a solid vision.
The income goal interested me.
The potential impact sounded noble.
But emotionally?
Bleh.
I realized I'd built a vision that looked good on paper but didn't make me want to get out of bed. Like my barbeque buddy, my vision didn’t produce passion.
I intended to help leaders become more successful and find deeper meaning. I liked that idea, but it was a little sleepy. So I kept digging.
I started imagining the people I really want to spend my life with.
Leaders who have accomplished a lot but know there's more in them.
People carrying dreams bigger than their current courage.
Athletes striving to be the best in the world, but wanting more than what that world offers.
Artists producing good and beautiful things but who are limited by their demons of insecurity.
Anyone wanting an advocate for their vision.
Then my imagination started sprinting.
I pictured having clients around our dinner table and gathering leaders in remarkable places around the world.
Watching friendships form between people who otherwise never would've met.
Sharing ideas, histories, and hearts.
Creating catalytic moments where we feel God stirring and our spirits coming alive.
I envisioned businesses launched, families restored, books written, ministries started, churches healed, companies transformed, and people becoming more joyful because they finally discovered what they were capable of.
Something happened in me.
My pulse picked up.
Like a Jack Russell watching a brownie fall off the counter, I suddenly wanted to move.
The vision had become thrilling.
My friend with the pergola had the same problem. He saw lumber, expenses, sweat, and blisters.
What he wasn't seeing was burgers on the grill. Friends laughing under the beams. Summer evenings with his kids playing in the yard. Conversations that matter with his wife under the moon.
He had focused on the construction rather than the life it made possible.
I wonder if you've done the same thing.
Maybe you have something you've wanted to build for years.
A business.
A healthier body.
A restored marriage.
A new ministry.
Maybe you don’t want to die without getting that book into the wild.
You might dream of a new career or a philanthropic mission.
Has that dream you've carried become more regret than excitement, more of a weight than wind?
Can I suggest something?
Maybe you don't need more discipline.
Maybe you need a better vision.
One that is specific, feels just beyond your reach, and amps your engine. Maybe you need to redesign a vision that produces passion.
Because without the thrill, the dream will chill.
I don’t believe our Maker gives us dreams for sleep, but to lead us to live.
What do you need for your visions to produce passion and action?