Think Big: Dare to Dream

Earlier this year, I was invited to deliver a keynote on UPGRADE to a group of young adults at an online leadership conference. Passionate about helping these budding leaders tap into their deepest potentials, I targeted making a shift in they think about themselves as I have always believed that like the strength of a bow determines the power and speed of its arrow, so does our mindset determine the impact we make through our skillset as well as the overall progress of our lives.

One of the crucial shifts I urged the participants to make by all means while they are still young is the shift from “I CAN’T” to “I CAN.” It is the shift from self-doubt to self-belief, from impossibility to possibility. This shift is so crucial that our lives – and the success of many others – depends on it. Unfortunately, not many people make this shift in their lifetime; hence, most do not even scratch the surface of the goldmine in them.

Part of the problem is that we grow up in a society in which leaders are more of control freaks than nurturers of potentials, beginning from our parents to our teachers to even leaders in religious circles and government with a few exceptions.

From our childhood when our ability to dream was sharp but our verbal expressions were crude, we were constrained and conditioned to think that our dreams, opinions and feelings didn’t matter much, if they mattered at all. And at some point, we were not just being silenced but also becoming silent as we accepted the external disapprovals as our internal reality.

Then, as we also grow up, our environment supported that assumption very well. Various forces restrained us in different ways. We learnt that resources are never enough to satisfy our cravings. We bowed to the fact that we could not eat our cakes and have it. We came to the awareness of problems and limitations which set rational boundaries to how far we could go. By the time we attain adulthood, our ability to dream has waned greatly.

Remember Abraham? He always wanted to father a son. He waited and waited. When he had a son through Hagar, everyone discovered that his wife was barren. And she had even hit menopause. When God promised him a nation, he could not imagine it because he allowed his problem to becloud his thinking – he did not even have a son yet God was talking about a nation. Impossible!

Experiences from his past and problems in his present were limiting Abraham from thinking in terms of possibilities just as they still do to many of us today. To help Abraham, God had to open up his mind by a subtle exposure. Since making a nation would require both land and people, God reinforced Abraham’s vision by showing him a vast land – east, west, north and south – and promising him that he and his descendants will possess them forever.

Again, to help him catch the vision of having a nation of people (not just a son), God took Abraham outside and told him, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them. So shall your offspring.”

That brings me to the first significant step we must make to think big – we must be exposed beyond where we are coming from and where we are. Take a break from your past. Step away from your original coordinates of existence. Take a journey. Go on an adventure. Etc.

It is true that no one around you has achieved the kinds of things that God wants to achieve through you; hence, you might not find a picture of it in your environment. He needs to expose you to better pictures – through books that document inspiring stories of those who have succeeded against all odds in similar situations as yours, from ancient to contemporary times. You will also have to identify successful people who become role models that you can look at and catch a vision of where God is taking you to and even beyond.

If your environment does not inspire you, don’t be constrained by it. Step out and see what God has done and is doing somewhere else, then when you have gained sufficient adjustment in your mindset, you can return to change the environment from which you came. If the people around you don’t inspire you, you just have to look for positive models outside of your circle. These are important transitions you must make.

At some point in your life, there are some questions your biological parents and closest friends cannot answer; God would have to give you ‘new’ parents and friends who both challenge and encourage you in your spiritual walk, in business, in career, etc., thereby, nurturing your vast potentials and the magnificent visions in your heart.

We call them mentors. Samuel had Eli. David had Samuel. Ruth had Naomi. Bill Gates has Warren Buffet. Dr Sam Adeyemi has Dr David Oyedepo. If you don’t discover and latch onto such kind of people early, you will be limited in many ways. But I trust that you will find them and be blessed immeasurably.

While you anticipate the second part to this piece, permit me to ask you: are you thinking big enough?

To your greatness,

Bright UK

The Chief Scribe