From Dream to Distress...to Destiny!

Have you ever dreamed of success, taken steps towards that dream, and then wondered who in the world you were kidding?

I see it all the time.

I work with all kinds of people. People who have great success and those who have seen success turn to turmoil.

It matters not the arena - business, sports, relationships...you name it, tests and trials follow the dreamer.

Sometimes a struggler looks at a winner and thinks the other guy never faced failure. That is rediculous.

In fact, there is a regular pattern to winning - it goes like this...

1. Dream - Every great accomplishment began with a dream, a vision of what could be.

2. Distress - Some people call this the "death of the vision." I call it distress. It is the point where your experience has yet to catch up with the vision. The conflict can tear at your emotions and make you want to quit, give up. Cynicism rears its ugly head.

Maybe during this time, the bills pile up, the relationship goes sour, the team who counted on you suffers a loss because of you...and you feel sick.

Some people indeed, throw in the towel during this critical phase. It's heartbreaking, it really is. Because every successful person came out of that phase with a spirit of...

3. Determination -
This is where you say, "To stop me, you'll have to kill me." The determined individual can look at the pieces, learn from what worked and what didn't and move forward, in spite of fear and doubt. In those actions and renewed vision, faith is born, and the "mess" becomes their "message."

The answers were there all along, but it is this process that allows an individual to stand up and receive his good reward.

Abundance doesn't come on the one who dreams only, but the one who works out the dream. The individual through distress and determination is able to receive...

4. Divine Strategy -It is all the experience together that teaches you what to do next. At this point, the struggle is over, and you see yourself victorious before anything even changes physically.

You realize that the steps were ordered before hand, and now you can just walk in them.

Where is the battle? Ultimately, it is in your head. That's why the Bible tells us to "labor to enter into rest" because "faith has rest."

Success is not about striving, but more often about allowing.

If you are feeling stuck in any kind of distress, then I encourage you to see what needs to die.

Were you basing your identity on an external factor? Let it die.

Were you looking for happiness in another person? Let it go.

Was the feeling of freedom supposed to hit you after a certain dollar amount? Give it up.

Was your success tied to everyone else doing their job correctly? So what? Set them free.

It hurts to relinquish control, when we are used to holding all the reigns.

However, it is by laying them down in the moment and walking in the finished success that it becomes easy.

Yes, that is the true battle. To cease from striving so you can see the Divine strategy. You know, you were made to win this game, to enjoy...

5.Destiny-
This is where you look around and say, "I was born to do this!"

It is where you look at your business and realize that you're getting rich doing what you love.

You look at your relationships and say, "I never knew it could be this great," and you look at your game and say, "I knew I was a winner!"

Does success come raining down on every area all at once? Not usually. There will always be opportunity somewhere to refuse to be moved by what you see.

But it is a good fight.

Do you ever feel your dream has turned to distress? Congratulations! You're right on schedule, now...don't quit.

Until next time...

Keep playing hard, and enjoy your game.

Gina