Day 60+

WHAT'S GOING ON HERE !!??!!??
If you've come here looking for 60 Days of DREAMING - you're in the right place.


Instructions
1) Read the Right-side Information Panels
2) Begin at Day 1 in the Blog Archives (April 29)
3) Click on the next numerical day as you progress. 

I NEED YOUR HELP!!!!

60 Days of DREAMING Version 1.0 is complete - ready to be adjusted and improved.  I am looking for feedback and suggestions on how it could be made better and more useful.

Please email your comments, stories, suggestions to: info@60daysofdreaming.com  
  

DAY 60: "Re-Commiting"

ENGAGING THOUGHT

Let's finish the 60 Days of Dreaming challenge at the same place we started: at the edge of the cliff peering down into the abyss, wondering what might happen if we jump...only, this time something has changed, hasn't it?  This isn't quite the same cliff-edge, and we feel differently about it.

You're smarter about God's DREAM for your life this time around; you have pragmatic experience in pursuing it; you've faced some of the previously unknown aspects and conquered some of your fears.  So...no...this isn't quite the same cliff-edge as before.  Or, perhaps it is exactly the same cliff-edge...and you are the one that has changed?

I would contend that God's DREAM for your life hasn't changed at all from then until now - it is your awareness and understanding of it that has changed.  Your ability to recognize, formulate, and implement a strategy for the fulfillment of the DREAM has changed; you've changed in how you recruit and how you communicate; you've changed in how you evaluate and adjust; perhaps, you've changed in how you talk to and believe in yourself and in your own abilities to listen to and follow the voice and leadership of God.

Jumping over the cliff-edge and into the DREAM that God has for your life is still daunting and still a life-long pursuit.  You'll need to re-commit along the way and continue to alter and change your strategy as you grow in the process.  One thing will never change, however: nothing will ever be more exhilarating than knowing you are actively pursuing and living the fullness of God's DREAM for your life!  

ACTION STEP

JUMP!!!

Tomorrow is entirely up to you.  

DAY 59: "Next Step"

ENGAGING THOUGHT

Now what?  At the end of this 60 Days of Dreaming challenge - what are you supposed to do next?  Specifically - I can't answer that for you.  Generally, however, I can point forward - but first I want you to look backward and notice what we've done along the way these past 60 days.  Don't worry, this isn't another evaluation.  This time I'm going to let you in on the secret: there was more to the 60 Days of Dreaming challenge than just retraining your beliefs and behaviors when it comes to God's DREAM for your life.  It was also a (somewhat) sneaky attempt to give you practical experience with a new pattern of ten actionable stages in your pursuit.

Looking back and revealing the pattern will help you chart your course forward with intentionality and purpose.  The pattern you have followed is this:

1 - Identify
2 - Anticipate
3 - Commit
4 - Strategy*
5 - Communicate
6 - Recruit
7 - Implement
8 - Adjust
9 - Evaluate
10 - Celebrate

*You revisited the Strategy stage a few times throughout as you allowed other elements to influence the overall strategy (shareholder input, coaching, evaluation, etc.). 

As you follow this pattern of actionable stages it doesn't really matter where you are in the process of your DREAM-pursuit - the pattern can still serve as a general framework.  The ACTION STEPS you choose will certainly look different along the way as you will not necessarily need to repeat each ACTION STEP in full each time you cycle through.  Following this pattern of stages, however, keeps you moving forward in a constant pursuit of God's DREAM for your life.

Some may find that this pattern of stages doesn't quite fit them and their pursuit.  Great.  Modify it and make it your own - just be sure that you include each stage into your pattern and be certain that it continues to move you forward in your DREAM-pursuit.

Only one more thing remains...    

ACTION STEP

For today's ACTION STEP you need to prayerfully determine what your next step in the DREAM-pursuit will be.  You're putting all of your new thought-patterns and practices into action and setting yourself up for the next season of active pursuit. 

Make a new Written Plan that reflects this next season of your DREAM-pursuit (as opposed to the larger Written Plan you've crafted and modified as part of the 60 Days of Dreaming challenge). 

You know what you need to do - now do it!

Tomorrow we step off the cliff-edge one more time.  

DAY 58: "Was It Really Worth It?"

ENGAGING THOUGHT

So...here we are looking back and celebrating nearly 60 days of active forward motion in pursuit of God's DREAM.  At this point we need to ask a question - the answer to which will determine where we go from here.  It is another one of those path-determining questions.  No one else can answer it for you.  It doesn't seem all that big of a deal on the surface, but it is.

Was it really worth it?

That's it.  That question has the power to determine what you do next.  When we boil all of this DREAM-pursuit stuff down to it's essence - none of it (the new thought-patterns, retrained habits, skills, relationships, etc.) will have the slightest impact on our future pursuit if we decide the answer is, "no."  We're rather fickle that way: no amount of pragmatic evidence to the contrary can trump our answer to that question.  However, if our answer is, "yes," then no amount of frustration or difficulty will hold us back from continuing on in the pursuit. 

There are really only two different outcomes at this point, and, though the details will vary for each of us, the patterns are fairly universal.  The first outcome, if you decide that the 60 Days of Dreaming challenge was interesting and all - but not really worth it in the end, has you returning to your previous norm for life, perhaps with a few new stories and experiences, but nothing substantively will change.  Truthfully, if that is the conclusion you reach, I would say at this point, "Thank you for joining us this far, you need not return for the last two days of the 60 Days of Dreaming challenge.  May the Lord bless you in whatever you choose to do from here on." 

The other outcome is, of course, quite different: if you decide that it really is worth it to pursue hard after God's DREAM for your life - with all the twists and turns that this implies - then nothing will ever be the same again.  The next two days for you will perhaps be the most important part of the 60 Days of Dreaming challenge.   

ACTION STEP

For today's ACTION STEP you'll be writing another statement of resolution (similar to Day 16).  This time form your statement around the answer to this question: Is the pursuit of God's DREAM for my life really worth it?

EXAMPLE: "I have resolved in my heart and mind that God's DREAM for my life, which is to craft nachos on the International Space Station, is worth the hard work and determined focus it has taken me to get this far."

Tomorrow we'll utilize our new beliefs and behaviors as we identify the next step in the DREAM-pursuit.  

DAY 57: "Take a Look Around"

ENGAGING THOUGHT

Several years ago I took a group of teenagers on a day-hiking expedition to the top of Mt. Elinor.  I'm not a mountain-climber or an avid hiker (none of us were, truthfully) and I'm sure this particular climb ranks fairly low on the difficulty-meter.  Located in Washington's Olympic Mountains, Mt. Elinor is a dramatic looking peak with a relatively small area at the top.  The cool thing about reaching the summit is that you spiral around it for your last several hundred steps, so you never get to fully appreciate the view until that last step when you clear the top.  It is truly awe inspiring.

Standing on that mountain-top, spinning slowly around to take in the entire Olympic range (looking down on Bald Eagles soaring!) was a moment I will never forget.  It was also a moment when the reality of God's presence in my life shone as clear as the sun and sky I was witnessing.  Normally a gaggle of teenagers can be difficult to keep in check - not this time - they were just as awed as we adults were.  No one dared blaspheme that moment by talking about tectonic plates and continental shelves grinding into one another, forcing the mountain range upward.  None of us were interested in the mechanics of the beauty before us.  The only thing necessary at that moment was to soak it in and enjoy it.  Appreciate it.  Be grateful for it.

You've done a lot in pursuit of God's DREAM for your life; you've come a long way from where you were when you started; you have much to be proud of.  For just a moment set aside the strategies and plans, forget about the resources and the shareholders; let slip away the thoughts of diligence and perseverance and goals.  Just look around.  Soak it in.  Let the sense of accomplishment overwhelm you a bit. 

Yes, you are that much closer to the reality of living God's DREAM for your life.      

ACTION STEP

I would suggest you get yourself away from distractions and other people for today's ACTION STEP.  Grab your journal and a pen - you'll want to record your thoughts and impressions.

With the close of this 60 Days of DREAMING cycle looming near you've evaluated and celebrated your progress so far as well as checked in with and thanked your coach, your team, and your stakeholders - now it's time to hear from the One whose DREAM it really is. 

Begin by giving thanks to God for all that He has inspired and called you to do; thank Him for His wisdom and guidance along the way and for the encouragement of His Holy Spirit.

Next, ask specifically for His assessment of your progress so far on His DREAM for your life.  Don;t be in a rush or a hurry - wait for the answers He will speak to your heart and mind.

Tomorrow we'll ask ourselves the one question that will make all the difference.  

DAY 56: "Thanking the Stakeholders"

ENGAGING THOUGHT

As I look back at my childhood I can come up with one very specific way that my parents failed me horribly: they didn't make me send "Thank You" cards or notes after my birthdays.  Friends and loved ones would come to celebrate my birthday every year, gifts under their arms (almost always Legos - the greatest!)...after that I can only imagine them sitting at home waiting for an acknowledgment of their generosity...and waiting...and waiting.  It would never arrive.  No one ever told me I was supposed to do that.  My parents did not lead me in this most basic tenet of etiquette. 

I still struggle to do it, though I'm guessing I can no longer blame my parents, huh?  Expressing our thankfulness or gratitude to those who have blessed us isn't always easy - but at the same time, it isn't really that difficult of an action, is it?  My guess is we often fail to do so because it is such a simple action - so simple that we can do it later, right?  I mean, we don't need to interrupt our very important tasks in our super-busy day, right?  We'll get to it...tomorrow.  No, seriously...tomorrow...or the day after might be even better.

Uh, huh.

ACTION STEP

For today's ACTION STEP you'll need to put on your big-boy or big-girl pants and drop any excuses: write some quick notes of "Thanks" to all your stakeholders and team-members that have helped you get this far in your DREAM-pursuit.  Do it now.  Not later.  You won't do it later.  Seriously.

RIGHT NOW!!!

 

Tomorrow we'll thank the real Boss. 

DAY 55: "Erect a Memorial...Sort Of"

ENGAGING THOUGHT

There is one thing I've learned about people with tattoos: they love to talk about them.  I had a conversation with a young woman not long ago about her elaborate tattoos.  She had several of them, a few of which were highly detailed and intricate.   One in particular, a tree on her arm, she had gotten to commemorate a significant moment in her life.  It was interesting, actually.  She didn't seem interested in sharing what that moment was, so I didn't pry, but I thought it a bit ironic that she chose an incredibly public method for commemorating something she obviously wished to remain her own.  I can only imagine what would have caused her to get this permanently visible reminder as a memorial to some event.

Memorials can be significant and powerful when they are chosen with intent.  In the history of Israel there was a moment when the Israelites were once again being marauded by the neighboring Philistines.  The people of Israel asked the prophet Samuel to cry out to the Lord on their behalf, which he did, and they were given victory over their attackers.  The next verse is very interesting and significant for us as we celebrate our current progress in our DREAM-pursuit.

"Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shem [two adjacent cities], and named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far the Lord has helped us."
                                                                                         - 1 Samuel 7.12 (NASB)

If you didn't catch the gist of that verse, Samuel erected a memorial to commemorate that the Lord had helped them get to that point of victory.  This stone memorial would serve as a visual reminder for generations to come of the Lord's favor and their progress forward in His DREAM for Israel.  How many times over the next centuries would a little child ask their father or mother what that stone with the goofy name was all about?  Each time the story would be recalled and passed on to a new generation.  How many times did someone waffling in their faith look over and see that stone - and be reminded that they were not alone and that the Lord, their God, had helped them before?

Let's state the facts: 1) you've started out on the pursuit of God's DREAM for your life; 2) you're making progress forward.  Why wouldn't you commemorate this in some way?  What symbol or memento might serve to remind you when the going gets tough in the next stage of your DREAM-pursuit?  I'm not suggesting an elaborate arm-tattoo, necessarily, but the right memorial-object, chosen to commemorate your progress, might make all the difference in the right moment later on. 

ACTION STEP

For today's ACTION STEP you get to create some sort of memorial in honor of your progress on God's DREAM for your life.  Remember, this memorial is for you and will serve as a reminder to you that you can successfully pursue the DREAM because you have already made progress. 

It doesn't have to be anything large or obtrusive; it needn't be anything expensive or elaborate.  I would suggest that it not have too practical of a purpose - you want it to have little role other than as a reminder.  Maybe you should follow Samuel's example: choose a rock and write "Ebenezer" on it, then place it on your desk or bathroom counter.  I guarantee you'll have plenty of occasions to explain the purpose and meaning behind it - which will serve as an effective reminder!  

Tomorrow we'll do what we should have done after all those birthdays growing up.