Intentional Living and Realizing Our Dreams

Today I had lunch with a new friend who is in the process of making a major life change by jumping out of the corporate world into business for himself. He has had a very successful corporate career for the past 12 years climbing the corporate ladder to obtain VP and Director positions with different companies over the years.

He has had a dream for 10 years to launch a coaching business so where he can have an impact on men's lives as they strive to be all God created them to be in all aspects of their lives with special emphasis on their careers. He has a big mission and vision to impact lots of people through his business activities.

What I was most impressed with is how intentional he has been living the past 10 years in preparation for this new season of his life. He has paid off his home and has 1 year's worth of expenses in the bank as a cushion to launch his business. What a great margin he has created for himself and his family. His wife is a homeschooling mother of two who gets to continue doing what she loves while he launches his dream business.

I often hear of people with big dreams and aspirations, but seldom do I encounter someone who is so intentional about making his dream come true. Most people do lots of talking about having a dream but very little actual work or intentional living to accomplish such a dream.

Some lessons I learned from this new friend today that I wanted to pass along to you.

1. Achieving our dreams require both intentional decisions and intentional actions in order to bring them to life.
2. Achieving our dreams require a written action plan that we are held accountable to by ourselves and our supporters.
3. Achieving our dreams require us to learn and grow continually.
4. Achieving our dreams require us to learn from others.
5. Achieving our dreams require we get out of the boat and take risk. (Peter walking on water)
6. Achieving our dreams require we get help from others.
7. Achieving our dreams require we eliminate the distractions that inhibit our progress and block our path to success.
8. Achieving our dreams require we learn to serve others.
9. Achieving our dreams requires us to be people of character and integrity.
10. Achieving our dreams require us to create margin in all areas of our lives; spiritually, emotionally, financially, personally and physically.
11. Achieving our dreams require us to establish clear priorities and boundaries in our lives.
12. Achieving our dreams require us to be healthy physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and financially.

What are some things you can do to pursue your dreams with more intentionality?