One of the best things about summer in the Bay Area is that it’s baseball season and we have two teams. This past weekend I was really lucky to be invited to the A’s vs. Giants game in Oakland. We arrived pretty early and got to go down to the first row and see Tim Lincecum get some work in the bullpen. The first thing I noticed is that these athletes are really, really talented. The human body is capable of incredible things. I also noticed that Timmy, along with the rest of the players on the field, were suddenly “life-size” instead of the couple inches they appear to be when I measure them with my fingers from the upper decks. That’s when it hit me.

They’re people, just like you. People who dared to dream and then pursued those dreams with everything in them until they got there.Okay… they’re not just like me. They’re way more athletic. Baseball is NOT my gifting, but the principle remains. They had a dream, and they chased that dream with everything in them until they got there.

“They DREAMED,” I thought to myself. “Have I forgotten how to dream?”

Have you?

I turned around slowly, taking in the stadium. It took my back to my days in Little League. Those days where every play in practice was the bottom of the 9th and you were the winning run coming to the plate. The concepts I had be introduced to at Don Miller’s Storyline conference resurfaced with a vengeance.  I renewed my vow to not settle for being average or mediocre. I would continue working toward defining my goals and working out a plan to get there.

This post is a public declaration of that goal and process. Here’s a couple practical things I’m doing. I’m going to finish the modules from the Storyline conference. This will help me to define the roles I play in life and how I want to see those roles play out. I am also starting Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover. I’m tired of living paycheck to paycheck, and I’m tired of being a slave to the debt of my past bad decision making.

In short, I’m going to start letting myself dream again. Only it won’t stop there. As I begin to understand better who God has made me to be and what He has gifted me to do, I am going to chase those dreams down with everything in me. And when I get to whatever my equivalent is for warming up on the mound in front of thousands of fans thinking how incredible it all is, I’ll be able to look back and remember this:

It all started with a dream.

 

What did you dream about when you were young? Do you still dream today?