I am not a fan of New Year’s Resolutions; they’re usually lame and broken by January sixth.
I am a fan of action. I am a fan of showing up and dreaming dreams. Not just little dreams either, but great big hairy audacious dreams.
Remember Ralph Phillips, the boy in the Looney Tunes cartoons? Ralph couldn’t stop day dreaming. At school, at home, on the playground, no matter where he happened to be, he would easily slip into his imagination, submerge himself deep into adventure. Other kids laughed at him and teachers told him he better wake up. Still, Ralph dreamed on.
I hope this coming year you Ralph a lot. Dream. Dream big. Be intentional about moving forward. Forget about the obstacles; they’re huge for sure. Let me just end the suspense for you: There will always be someone smarter, prettier, thinner and more talented than you. There will always be someone with an advantage. So what? How does that affect what you have to say? How does that affect what you need to do? There is no perfect time. There is only now.
No matter what chapter you’re in in your story it’s not your WHOLE story. You’ve got more to write — more to do.
I got a HUGE smile on my face this week as my friend Karyn walked onto the Grand Ole Opry stage to perform. A few years ago she moved to Nashville alone with nothing but a Ralph-Phillips sized dream. Sure she’s got talent, but in this town that’s like saying you own a pair of boots. She spoke it, prayed it and worked it. And then one day she lived it. “To stand on that legendary stage and be given the opportunity to share was a huge honor,” Karyn said. “I am so grateful to the Lord.”
You can do the same. Speak it. Pray it. Work it. live it.
Forget resolutions. Go ahead and get more fit, quit a bad habit or start a good one. But in 2015, Ralph a lot. Ralph every day. And walk out onto your own Grand Ole Opry stage.
