Introduction
INTRODUCTION
I have read enough, watched enough, and listened to enough books, webinars, and podcasts. Enough! It’s time to begin! Of course, I have fears and excuses. Who am I? What do I know? It’s all been said. So many more people are more qualified than me. Would anyone even want to read what I write? Why would they? Do you ever have these thoughts? If you do, this book is for you! BUT everyone is just one, just a person seeking to find their way in the world and seeking to help others by what they find. I could keep waiting until I have more experience, more success, and more wisdom, but I think we all always feel like we are not yet prepared. At some point in time, we have to just DO IT. Go for it! Begin. Start. Something, anything, done is far more powerful than all the knowledge and ideas in the world that are still only “in the head” and not brought into being yet. It is time to bring those hidden visions, dreams, and ideas to life.
“The day before something is a breakthrough,
it’s a crazy idea.” -Peter Diamandis
“God has given me this day to use it as I will.
I can waste it or use it for good, but what I do today is important, because I am exchanging a day of my life for it.” -Heartsill Wilson
I will begin today. Who knows what this small, tiny beginning will bring or become? All that is required of me is that I give my ‘5 loaves and 2 fish’ (John 6:9), that I give what is in my hands to Jesus, to others. That is all that He requires. He will multiply it. He is the God of abundance. I constantly remind myself that I ‘have an abundance for every good work’ (II Corinthians 9:8). I have enough time, enough resources, enough energy, enough!
I want this little book to inspire and encourage YOU to truly allow yourself to intentionally begin TODAY to step into YOUR dreams and visions—those things that are deep in your heart to do. What is it you care about? What are you passionate about? What do you love? What do you hate? What are you doing when time passes so quickly you are not even aware of it? I want to encourage you, dear one, to discover and believe that you are truly creative, created in the image of God, our Creator. He is amazingly creative, so creative that we are still discovering things He has created for us to find in this big, beautiful world!
Creativity is not only expressed in the arts, but in doing everything in our lives creatively. Can you believe that there is a creative solution for every problem you have and every problem on this earth?! What is stopping you? What is stopping me? Let’s free ourselves, encourage each other, and collaborate with one another to see and to discover creativity that is in each one of us. Let’s stop comparing ourselves with each other and feeling “less than” or “more than” others.
Do you realize that each and every one of us is truly one-of-a-kind? No one else is like you, has had the same experiences with the same people in the same circumstances, or sees the world the exact way that you do, with the same gifts and passions and callings. If we can just realize that all that is expected of us is to be ourselves, only ourselves, what freedom we would experience. We don’t have to be like someone else or measure up to someone else. All you have to be, is you! Doesn’t that take a load off your shoulders?!
I don’t really like anything imitation, do you? Not chocolate, or diamonds, or gold, or silver, or even hamburger! And of course, none of us really like it when someone is not real to us. What a relief it is to realize that all we have to be is ourselves, created in the image of God with plans and purposes that He actually gave to us before we were even born.
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
-Ephesians 2:10
I am enough! You have created me, led me,
equipped and empowered me to do ALL
that You have called me to do.
We don’t need to be like someone else. We don’t want to be imitations of someone else and miss the opportunity to be the best at being ourselves. The world will miss you if you are not you! God showed me in 2015, while in the shower (Yup, I seem to hear well in there!), that I had some rejection and feelings of not being good enough. I heard Him in my mind say, “If I created you to be you, then all you have to be is you! Who are you trying to measure up to? No one. You are created to be you. You are free from comparison, competition, and expectations! Just be you because no one else can be!”
Be YOU because no one else can be!
God is so incredibly multifaceted and rich and deep that each person expresses a unique facet of God that no one else can. No one else can express Him the same precise way that you can. Wow! Isn’t that amazing? We are created in the image of God, who is creative, therefore, we are creative! God calls into being the unseen, the invisible and makes it visible. We do too! We imagine things, and we create them. Every single thing in the world/universe was invisible/unseen at one time. Everything began as a thought, an idea, and then it became a reality—and not just physical things but the spiritual things as well. God inspires us and urges us to do all that He put in us to do! It’s LIFE!
“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost.”
-Martha Graham
Always remember that your worth does not come from what you DO, it is in you from God, Your Creator. He loves you no matter what you do or don’t do. You are so precious and valuable to Him. He simply extends an invitation to you to join Him in sharing love, joy, and peace to the world. You’re DOING comes out of your BEING. And no, do not think, “Who am I to ______?!” If we think someone else can do it or is more qualified, etc., nothing gets done. Receive and accept your calling. That’s all that you’re responsible for. Arise! Shine! Fly! You don’t have to wait to love and serve the others. Seek out the opportunities you have TODAY! What is stopping you? What is stopping me?
Don’t let the word “passion” or “calling” scare you. Just pursue what interests you, what you are curious about, what you love to do, or a problem you want to see solved, or person you are motivated to help. You will pursue these things with passion and a sense of purpose naturally. What is it you are willing to invest in with your time, your energy, and your money? What are you willing to sacrifice for? What really gets you fired up or brings you joy?
Passion is just living through your heart. You feel fulfilled because you are where you’re supposed to be, doing what you want to do with love, meaning, and purpose and creating good in the world. Stop agonizing about not being where you think you “should” be. You are not finished yet. You will grow and change. Just be you, right where you are. You can experience happiness and joy in the journey.
If you do not know what your dream is, please release the anxiety of not knowing or of not knowing how to do it, where, when, etc. Just breathe. Relax. You are on your own journey. This is not about me or about anyone else and what or how or where someone else is on their journey.
This is all about you being open to actually hear yourself, to welcome your dream/vision to make itself known to you. Honor the dream/desire/vision that comes to you. Don’t just “blow it off” like it is a fantasy, an impossibility. Don’t shut it up. Let it speak to your heart. Let yourself dream it. Don’t stop it. Hear what it is saying. Don’t judge it. Be open to hear new ideas and possibilities as if there were no limit … there isn’t! “All things are possible with God.” You have a dream. You hear it. You see it, because it is there. It is there for a reason—YOU are to do it!
When you hear and see, treasure your dreams and ideas by recording them. Write them down in detail. You may want to even use a special journal or notebook just for your dreams and ideas. You can also write out your dreams in first person and in the present tense. Imagine and visualize what you are doing, how you are feeling, who you are with, etc. You might even want to record yourself speaking this first-person visualization of your dream/vision and listen to it often. Give yourself permission to pursue and move forward so that the dream becomes reality.
Allow this book to encourage you and give you some light or direction to move forward. It is your intention that draws to itself all that is needed. Always keep to your vision. Think, Speak, Act according to your vision. Do not be moved by what you see or whatever happens along the way. Walk in faith and release and trust that God is working with you and for your good. Avoid judging yourself or your progress because you do not know the chain of events that are in motion or what is happening that you cannot see. You cannot judge it. You do not have the perspective to see it correctly. Walk it on out in faith. Realize that today is the day to begin. Or if you have started and then have become discouraged; take courage and move forward. The act of picking up this book is evidence that you know you are called, and you are drawn to take action! Yes, there is timing, but because the dream has been revealed to you is evidence that it is to become a reality, and it is time to take a step toward your vision that is calling you today!
“The time is always now.” -Peter Beard
.... What is stopping you? What is stopping me? NO ONE can keep you from being you but YOU, not others, not the devil, only you. We will uncover the “stop signs” in our lives that are slowing us down and holding us back from living out the life of our dreams and all that is in our hearts. I believe your passion is just like mine. I want to be me and do what I am called to do. I want to see you discover your creativity and use it to make a difference in your world of influence. We will truly make a difference when we step out into our creativity in our families, work, cities, and nations!
