Encouragement 4 The Day: “Dare to Embrace Your Dream”

RIP Steve Jobs.

It’s amazing how the death of a total stranger can affect you simply by the way in which they lived their lives. I admire Steve Jobs for one reason that’s captured in a small portion of his 2005 commencement speech at Stanford in which he stated:

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Read the rest of his speech here.

I would like to take it one step further. God did not create us haphazardly. Each of us was not only designed for a purpose, but there is a compass implanted within, calibratedto lead us to our divine destiny IF we choose to pay attention to it. Unfortunately, too often we let the ‘norms’ of society, the expectation of others and the rivers of self doubt coursing through our minds to dull our vision and thereby block our dreams.

·         Pay attention to what you love.

·         What is it that makes you feel alive and closest to God when you’re immersed in it?

·         Have you harbored a dream that you’ve pushed on the back burner simply because it ‘seemed unrealistic?”

Mr. Jobs dropped out of college and slept in the dorm rooms of some his friends while taking classes he enjoyed. If we had been asked to critique him right then, adjectives like ‘bum’ or ‘loser’ would probably come to mind. How seriously wrong would we have been?

Sometimes the opinions of others can be so deafening, that we need to withdraw from the noise, listen to the still small voice of God and answer His call on our lives. I can think of no greater reward than to hear the words: “Well done” when I meet Him face to face. Whitley Phipps sings a beautiful song: “Keep on Climbing.” As you listen, I hope you enjoy it and I do hope that you have the courage to Embrace Your Dreams!