Sunday, July 18, 2010

The Secret Key to Reaching Your Dreams

"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." -- Mark 11:22~25

Do you want to know the key to success? Read this passage from the Bible over and over again until its message will sink into your mind.

I grew up from a poor family. My father worked as a hand in a poultry farm while my mother worked as maid in the house of the owner of the farm. After they got married they built a shanty in a vacant lot owned by someone else. In short they were squatters. Needing more cash to raise a growing family, my father learned how to drive and became a private driver while my mother simply became an all-around woman – she became a dressmaker, a cosmetologist, a hog and chicken raiser, vegetable grower, a full time housewife, and a full time mom. On top of her already incredible resume, my mother was a very thrifty woman. With these credentials, my mother immersed my brother and me with the concept of working hard, of saving, and of being contented with what we have.

Fast forward to many years later. I was already an young engineer working in Amkor/Anam Philippines, a big semiconductor company located in Laguna Technopark. In my 1+ year stint there, I rented together with a whole bunch of guys from Cebu an apartment somewhere in Pilar Village, a middle class subdivision in Las Pinas. Everyday I saw families riding their cars while I was riding a tricycle. Yet despite my rather “economy class” travel arrangement, I always told myself that I don’t want to have a car. I had a whole list of reasons, but the truth was, I was afraid and I had doubts over myself – I believed that learning to drive was extremely difficult, that driving was dangerous, and that I couldn’t afford a car. It was only for the rich. Absurd? Maybe to you, but to me, my beliefs were real. In reality, I was never short in cash (I was still single with a high-paying job), but I was short in dreams…and faith, as well.

Fast forward again to several years later. I was already a full-pledge buffalo with three children. I was short in cash with bills to pay, but I had dreams, and lots of faith. One of my dreams was owning a car (finally!) out of necessity. And last year, my dream was turned into reality; God blessed us with a brand new 2009 Suzuki Alto.

Up to this point, some of you might be thinking, “You’re tooting your own horn, man.” Lexus is something to toot about. My point is, the quality of our life can extend to as far as our dreams, but it’s our beliefs that create our reality. Our belief is the key; our beliefs can make or break our dreams in life. Our belief is the key. There is a saying that goes like this, "If you think you can, if you think you can't, you're right." My personal belief is, "If I will believe that my prayers will be blessed then it will be because Jesus said so." Do I still have to work on my dreams? Of course. My need to protect my wife and children from the natural elements made me dream of owning a car, and my faith in Jesus oschestrated my efforts that concretized my dreams (how it happened is a story in itself). Anyone can dream, but not everyone has the right beliefs. At least not yet.

To believe, you have to have a believable reason. Some reasoned that because they are BS/MS/DR graduate or super smart or savvy negotiators or business-minded or highly-skilled or big shot in their company/industry or MVP, so they believe that they can reach their dreams in life. They are partly correct. I used to be one of those 'some'. But I changed. I don’t know about you, but to me the word "I" is not enough. The name JESUS is all the reason that I need to believe that through His name I can reach my dreams. And I have higher confidence in my belief now than before.

There is one more question we should ask ourselves though before we embark on our journey to success. "Will we be happy when we get there?" Think about that, and choose your dream wisely.

PS1: It’s easier to believe in what Jesus can do to your life if you have a personal relationship with Him just like it’s easier to believe to a close friend than to a complete stranger.

PS2: Dreaming for a material thing is OK as long as you really need this or you want to bless someone who really needs this. But our ultimate dream should be our salvation; things rot or get stolen, but our salvation is for eternity.

6 comments:

  1. Nice blog Raoul. I have a slightly different understanding of what the key to man's dreams is. For me, the key to man's dream is purpose. What is man's purpose? Man's purpose is to please God. My way of pleasing God is becoming a good parent to my children and to give them the best of what I can provide them with my God given talents and skills. I don't aim for second best in what I dream of, I aim high and wide. Ambitions and aspirations give me direction to my purpose. Hard work and complete trust in God is my way of getting there...soon enough.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Raoul, Thank you for sharing your blog...
    I'll leave you with this verse

    Psalms 127
    1 Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain.

    Marvin

    ReplyDelete
  3. I completely agree with you Raoul....because the time when we graduated high school or college, we also thought that we graduated in dreaming....we thought that dreams are just for kids....now I realized that if I just kept on dreaming while I was already working, I could have basicaly gotten much more in life......could have bought my own house, I could have gotten my own car....these are all necessities for a growing family...but I decided not to because of the fear of not having enough money to buy those...
    Today, I have kept my own Dream Book... everyday, I check on this so as not to forget what my dreams are and I believe that the more that you put it as a picture in your mind, the more it is going to get real and eventualy you will achieve it....this is where the law of attraction applies....work hard to achieve your dream......

    ACO

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks Anonymous for taking the time to share your thoughts. You have a very wonderful godly purpose. Being a good father to our children, and using our talents to serve Him are indeed a few great ways to please God. Honestly, pleasing God is the reason why I am writing this blog.

    According to online dictionary, a purpose is "an object to be reached; a target; an aim; a goal; a result that is desired; an intention". So by definition a purpose is what is behind the door; it's the reason why you and I want to open the door in the first place. It is what will motivate us to open the door, but it's not the key that will open the door.

    When will a person fail? It's when he quits. Why will a person quit? More often than not, it's because he doesn't believe anymore that he can succeed.

    The right beliefs enable a person to persevere against adversity until he reaches his goal. Once a man started to doubt and fear, that's when he started to sink. Simon Peter is a very good example I can think of when he asked Jesus to walk (on water) towards Him.

    As you rightly said (and if I may add, you believe), hardwork and your trust in God is your way of getting there (your goals and dreams in life). I couldn't agree more to your belief. I can confidently say that you have the right key. As Jesus said, "...whatever you ask for in prayer, BELIEVE that you have received it, and it will be yours".

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you Marvin. Amen! As I like to put in an equation:

    Success = 1/4Man's effort + 3/4God's blessing

    It's really a partnership. God doesn't like sole proprietorship, I believe. We can build a house but without God's blessing we will be in vain. (I'm sure God is with you Marvin when you built your lovely home.) And my favorite, we can plant the seed, but without God's blessing no plant will grow.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I agree with you ACO. I wish also that I started dreaming BIG earlier, because with faith in God nothing is impossible. Like you, fear and doubt got to me first earlier. That is why I started the blog http://conqueryourfearandgetoverit.com because I realized the devastating effect of fear (lack of faith). I want to warn others about it, and inspire them to conquer it. But it's never too late to change for the better, right?

    I like your idea of a dream book. I think that is a great idea! Another derivative is a prayer list. It's like a dream book or a list of our dreams for the year that we in our bible study group make at the start of the year, and we pray over during our first session of the year. And we also try to fast for it. At the end of the year, we go over the list to check God's blessing for us that year. Keep the dream alive, and put God's picture at the middle of your dream board.

    ReplyDelete