This is a continuation of the previous post on Run With Your Ideas And Not With The Crowd where the importance of running with your ideas and the ills of following the crowd at the expense of your dreams, ideas and vision was talked about.
You can read it here
Today, we would be looking at how to run with the ideas God has given you for the year 2022 and beyond.
These ideas become your vision for the year and could also lead to your life's purpose.
To become successful at these ideas, dreams and visions, we have to be intentional and be ready to do the work.
Like it is commonly said "If wishes were horses, beggars would ride."
If we could all just dream and see our dreams come true with no work or effort put in place then we would all be riding on horses.
But this is not the case with God. If He has given you a dream or an idea, He expects you to work at it. He expects you to take a step of faith by taking actions to realize your dreams.
Bishop Oyedepo would always say "Any faith that makes God responsible is an irresponsible faith." That is like expecting God to take the steps or the actions for you after He has given you the idea.
No wonder James 2:26 says "Faith without works is dead." Our faith is suppose to spur us into action concerning our ideas or dreams.
Just having faith is not enough but taking actions in alignment with our faith is what brings the needed or desired result.
HERE IS HOW TO RUN WITH YOUR IDEAS
1. KNOW WHAT YOU ARE RUNNING WITH : So many people get lost in the crowd because they know little or nothing about the ideas in their heads. They create vague ideas they can't keep up with.
Have a background knowledge of the ideas you want to run with, do a research on it and understand it. Define this idea(s) to your own understanding making it as simple as it can be for you to run with.
Make your ideas realistic and your expectations achievable. Most people fail at keeping up with their ideas and dreams for the year because they set vague and unrealistic ideas or goals for themselves.
To succeed, you must learn to put in the work, make certain changes in your life such as your daily routine.
So the work you have to put in and the sacrifices you need to make to see your dreams come true have to be feasible enough for you.
2. WRITE THEM DOWN : Write down your ideas and dreams then paste it where you can easily see them everyday to remind you of them.
Habakkuk 2:2 says "And the Lord answered me, and said, write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it."
Each time you see your written ideas pasted on the wall, fridge, mirror or the door of your wardrobe, the more you would see the need to run with your ideas.
Seeing them reminds you that you have a set goal for the year or for a specific time. As you see your written ideas, dreams and vision, you get motivated to pursue them.
But the reverse is usually the case, when we don't have these goals written down. Ideas, dreams or visions not written down can easily be forgotten and sometimes, these ideas do not come back or resurface. I have experienced this several times and learnt my lessons the hard way⌣.
When you write your ideas down, they serve as motivators. Seeing them everyday energises you and propels you to keep running with them.
3. BREAK DOWN YOUR IDEAS INTO SMALLER PARTS : Breaking down your big ideas into smaller parts helps you to keep up in running with your ideas.
The secret to succeeding at running with your ideas is breaking them down into smaller chunks. You can't get a big idea established just like that except it is broken into smaller parts.
If for instance, if your goal is to gain more knowledge by reading more books, the best way would be deciding to read at least one or two chapters of a book daily and then gradually develop into reading more chapters and probably a book per day depending on your time schedule.
If your goal is to lose weight, breaking this goal into small steps would be working out 15-20 minutes every day and not 3 hours work-out at a stretch.
Another instance would be wanting to write a book. To achieve this by breaking this idea into smaller steps would be writing at least a chapter every day till you write the whole book.
4. GET STARTED : Getting started with our dreams or ideas can be one of the toughest things to deal with. There are times it is all in your head but bringing it down to reality can be difficult sometimes.
You have it all in your head. You see the big picture very clear in your head and it looks so simple to accomplish but when it's time to bring it down from your head into reality, it becomes difficult and vague at first. It happened to me.
But no matter how difficult it might seem or the challenge faced, get started anyway. Get started from where you are and with what you have.
Our ideas, dreams and visions will never become a reality until we get started. Start doing despite the fears or challenges.
All God wants us to do is to take a step of faith concerning that dream or idea and once we take the step, he takes charge of the rest. He won't put in your heart what He won't put in your hands.
If He has said it He would complete it and as long as you set your heart to it, you can do it by His grace.
You don't have to be a genius or a professional to get started. We only get perfected and succeed at what we do consistently so get started.
According to Dawson Trotman "The greatest amount of wasted time is the amount not getting started."
So no matter what, get started with your dreams. Once you get started, everything will begin to fall in place.
This is also why breaking your ideas into smaller chunks or steps is very important as they aid you in getting started.
Breaking your goals into smaller steps do not just help you get started but helps you to overcome procrastination as well.
The little things you do eventually lead to achieving a bigger success at the end of the day.
5. STAY CONSISTENT : Once you have broken your ideas into smaller parts and had gotten started, the next step or thing to do is to stay consistent.
Build your daily life around your ideas and keep going. Don't do it today and forget doing it tomorrow. Consistency is key to achieving success concerning our dreams and visions.
Success it is said is the combination of the small things we do everyday and not what we do once in a while or occasionally.
So be determined to be consistent at keeping up or running with your ideas. Being consistent keeps you in-tune with your goals and ideas.
But the moment you break off in a day, days, weeks and eventually months, you lose sight of your dreams.
GIVE YOURSELF A DEADLINE : Giving yourself a deadline towards the realization of your dreams is getting yourself committed and dedicated to your goals.
It is like signing a contract with yourself and giving yourself the contractual obligation to see that it is completed at a stipulated time.
Setting deadlines for yourself also serve as a motivator and a propeller towards the realization of your goals. It pushes you to keep working in order to meet up with the deadline.
You are much more likely to be successful in achieving your goals when you sign a contract with yourself on when to get it done with.
ASSOCIATE WITH LIKE MINDED PEOPLE : The people you associate with will determine how high you fly in life.
Your company of friends will either make you or mar you. They will either encourage you to pursue your dreams or discourage you from pursuing your dreams.
It is only those who have dreams and ideas of their own to pursue that can understand and encourage you to pursue yours and achieve it.
According to Warren Buffett "If you want to soar like an eagle, you can't be flocking with the turkeys."
STAY FOCUSED : Stay focused in the pursuit of your ideas no matter the challenges and the people around you.
Don't get lost in the crowd or in social media activities that you lose sight of your own dreams and identity.
You might experience so many ups and downs, it might seem like nothing is working out for you, people may be against you as regards your dreams, you might not get the needed support from people as you had hoped, they may mock and criticise you, still stay focused.
Just like Paul in Philippians 3:13-14 also say to yourself "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before. I press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."
That is the spirit we need in the pursuit of our dreams to keep our eyes stayed and focused on the goal ahead.
FINAL THOUGHTS
In the pursuit of your ideas, dreams and visions, there are times you may get stuck or lost for what to do, don't fret, it happens to almost everyone as it did me and still does.
When this happens, seek help by asking questions especially to those who are like minded, are on same path as you or have gone ahead of you.
Don't be ashamed or afraid to seek help directly or indirectly especially from such people as stated above.
Directly if you can see them face to face and indirectly by doing a research , studying them and listening to their audio tapes or watching them online.
If you fail or fall, get back up as many times as you fail or fall and keep going. You learn better and become better in the process.
Quote for the day - "When you have a dream that you can't let go of, trust your instincts and pursue it. But remember: Real dreams take work, they take patience, and sometimes they require you to dig deep down very deep. Be sure you are willing to do that." - Harvey Mackay
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