Many dreams never leave the drawing board. Some never even get that far. But if you have been bold enough to dream, and to put forth your dream–and if you have taken an honest inventory of your current reality, practiced compassionate confrontation and non-defensive listening, made room for learning and loss–the time to act on your vision will invariably come. Clearly, manifesting dreams requires action. When that action is informed and guided by the first six acts of courage [link: https://theactsofcourage.com/], dreams have real traction.
Whether the dream is a personal one or in service to a group vision, you will be well served when you have taken stock of all your resources, taken an inventory of and addressed obstacles, opened to fresh ideas alongside tried and true methods, and searched for and acquired what is missing. Now comes the fun part: taking action. If your dream doesn’t manifest exactly as you imagined it on the first pass, you can quote Thomas A Edison: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” And then, take fresh action.
Consider the actions you have been avoiding. What is the cost to you emotionally and spiritually when you don’t take action on things that you know need doing? In particular, how does it make you feel when your dreams keep getting put on the back burner? Are there ways in which you could take the smallest action step in the direction you want to go? Is it feasible to wake up 30 minutes earlier every day and take action to accomplish your goal? Could you block off a longer chunk of time on your calendar, in service to acting on your dream, something as immutable as any “important” appointment? And most delightfully, who will help you celebrate your every achievement on the way?
If you have been a spectator or simply a character in your life, I invite you to become the scriptwriter. Set the scene, then courage, lights, action!
by Robert E. Staub