I have an important question to ask you. How committed are you to fulfilling your dreams? Most people say they’re committed but one thing I noticed is that when the going gets tough most people gracefully bow out. I need you to understand that going after your dreams is not going to be comfortable all the time. That discomfort may include one or more of the following:
- Enduring a season of financial hardship
- Losing “friends” who don’t understand your vision
- Being misunderstood and/or criticized by loved ones who don’t understand your vision
- Dealing with rejections and multiples “no’s”
- Failures (please notes that I used that plural term because chances are there will be several failures)
- Delay: things are not happening as fast as you’d thought
Are you willing to commit to your dreams if you had to deal with any of these? I hope so but I understand how scary that can be as I’ve dealt with them all. Today, we highlight the benefits of success but fail to mention the process. In order to be committed to the benefits of success, you must be committed to the process. Your process is yours which may not look like everyone else’s around you but you’ve got to get to a point where you become secure and confident about your individual journey.
There may be seasons where you’ll have to walk your journey out alone and that’s fine too. Too many of us women want the comfort and security of having a team of people who approve of us on our journey with us side-by-side but you cannot allow your security to be in the opinions of others. The only approval that matters is the one that you have for yourself and if you’re not willing to stand alone for your dream or better yet, be willing to look a little crazy, endure criticism and judgment then you’re not ready yet. Someone is always going to have something to say and the higher you go, the more opinions will arise but you have to be so committed to your vision that come hell or high water, you’re going birth that dream inside of you.
What you focus on, you empower to grow. Therefore, the more you focus on what other people are saying about you the more you’re giving their opinion more power of your life. I heard a statistic the other day that said 25% of the people you meet will not like you, another 25% of people will like you but can be convinced not to like you, another 25% of people will not like you but can be convinced to like you, and 25% of people will like you no matter what.
Don’t be caught up in trying to get everyone around you to approve of you or the decisions you make to manifest your dreams. The vision was given to you; you can’t expect people who God didn’t give the vision to, to understand your vision. That’s the power of being a visionary instead of being ordinary. You see things past where they are today while focusing on the possibilities (not the limitations) to make the vision a reality.
Sometimes the vision may not be for a business or a career, it can be something like restoring a relationship with a loved one, having a baby, having a happy & healthy marriage, becoming wealthy or owning your own home. All the naysayers and ordinary people will point out all the limitations and give you their opinions on why it’s not possible. But it’s not their faith, perseverance and tenacity that will be rewarded, it’s yours.
Yes birthing a vision is difficult and perhaps one of the most challenging experiences that you’ll ever endure. But I’m encouraging you to see past where you are today, past your previous failures and past other people’s opinions. Those are distractions that are trying to steal your destiny from you.
Today is your day to make one of the most important decisions of your life. Will you allow these distractions to steal what’s yours or will you choose to be the visionary who presses on towards her destiny?
XOXO,
Maria I. Melendez
@embraceherlegacy