I started wearing glasses in the fifth grade. My vision was so weak that I couldn’t see more than several inches in front me without them. I hated every minute of it.

When I got older, I transitioned into contacts. Definitely an upgrade, but once the contacts came out, I was back to where I started! Then came Lasik, the laser procedure that improves vision, and I was overjoyed!! After my procedure, I had 20/20 vision again. I got excited just to wake up in the morning because I could finally see the digital clock across the room with no trouble at all. It was a miracle!

After I turned fifty, my vision started to revert. It’s the normal near-sightedness that most of us tend to have after the age of forty. And once again, I’m back to glasses and contacts. That crystal clear vision was fun while it lasted.
Having a clear vision of our dreams is just as important as having perfect physical vision. With clarity comes focus, drive, and ambition to take our dream as far as we can go.

How much clarity do you have on your dream? Are the details so clear to you that you can almost touch it, or does it feel more like you’re straining to see something in the distance through a dirty window?

Today, let’s talk about the need to clarify that dream of yours!

A clear dream …

Turns a general idea into a specific one

When I first started down the road of chasing my God-sized dream, I started like everyone else – with a vague idea! I knew two things: God was calling me into ministry of some kind and that the intended target audience would be other females. Well, you can’t get more generic than that!

Over time, I worked on that thought. Thank goodness my very first coach asked me a very important question: “How is your women’s ministry going to be different from everyone else who has a women’s ministry?” Great question!

It took some scratching of the old noggin to figure it out, but eventually, after lots of research and discussions, it became clear that I wasn’t meant to do “women’s ministry” in the sense that it is done within the walls of local churches. I was meant to create a ministry for women who were seeking to use their gifts and talents outside the church. Today many women are starting faith-based businesses, parachurch ministries, and nonprofits that benefit the communities they live in. This kind of ministry is termed marketplace ministry. Sound familiar? I thought so!

Furthermore, I realized that with female mentors and coaches in limited supply, they may not have access to a female role model who can teach them important skills like leadership development and business savvy.

See how having clarity about my dream helped me to move from a generic idea to a very specific one? It can do the same thing for you!

Once I was able to get crystal clear on my dream, I was able to start moving forward in a more effective and efficient manner. It also helped me to explain what I do for others in a concise way. You’ll hear me more than once tell folks: “I am working to empower everyday women to chase God-sized dreams by bridging the gap between their vision and their destiny - one business, one ministry, one nonprofit at a time.”

I know exactly who I want to work with and how I can help them (and you!).

Takes a little effort

Now, I know what you’re probably thinking. How long did it take you to get clear on your dream? Well, the answer is two-fold. It took about three years and several coaches to truly identify my target audience, understand their needs, and position myself to be of help to them.

That doesn’t mean I was sitting idle for three years, it means I was testing different avenues and continuously refining the dream. Heck, the refinement process is ongoing because getting clear on your dream takes effort! It doesn’t happen overnight. You’ll be refining your dream for years to come all while doing that thing that you love to do. All great world changers do!

So, here’s the plan in a nutshell. Start off brainstorming every angle you can when it comes to your dream and then edit, edit, and edit some more until you find the clarity you are seeking.

This is where coaching can be extremely useful. Working on your vision yourself can be productive but running your vision by someone trained to help you see past the obvious is game changing! Every coach I have had has added something to the process, helped me see a little farther than I could on my own, and challenged my thinking when I thought I had thought of everything. They have all been a part of clarifying my dream.

As the saying goes: “Sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know.” Work the process!

Affirms your purpose

There is no doubt that having a clear dream is extremely motivating, but it’s also a confidence boost that you are indeed living out your true purpose. And who doesn’t want to feel that their life has meaning? I promise, God has put you here for a purpose and nothing validates that purpose more than a dream that is fully visualized and ready to manifest.

Though we can link arms with others in discovering our dream and bringing clarity to it, we must always remember where our dreams come from – the Lord Himself. With that, when it comes to seeking clarity, let’s not leave Him out of the equation. After all, Proverbs 19:21 states: “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand” (ESV).

For me, I know that my purpose in life is to nurture others. Whether I’ve taken a personality test or a spiritual gifting quiz, nurturing has always been in my top two or three traits. In past years, I channeled this gifting through a career in nursing and truly enjoyed it. However, now that I’m channeling that gifting into helping others rise to their calling, I feel not only satisfied but complete.

My purpose is now aligned with a crystal-clear dream, and it is that thing that gets me up in the morning!

Jack Canfield states it this way: “If you can tune into your purpose and really align with it, setting goals so that your vision is an expression of the purpose, then life flows much more easily.”

Determines your priorities

When you have clarity regarding your dream, you can then logically order your steps to make that dream come true. Even more important than that, you learn what to start prioritizing in life so that your dream becomes a reality. Let’s face it, wanting your dream to come true and making your dream come true are two entirely different things.

Though I enjoy a good night watching TV or hanging out with friends, those types of activities have to be the exception and not the norm. I would have never realized my dream if I had not lined up my priorities correctly.

When it comes to realizing your dream, you must delete or regularly limit any and all things that don’t help you to move your dream along. Having a clear vision of where you want to go will help you with these decisions.

Remember, however, dream building priorities shouldn’t completely overtake or take away from other important things in your life, such as family, church, school, or work. But they shouldn’t be left hanging until you’ve binge watched season two of your favorite show. It’s a delicate balance and takes some dedication.

Since launching my dream, I’ve let go of a lot. I have a clear vision of where I want the ministry to go and what I want to accomplish through it. I spend little time watching TV, I limit my time on social media, and I arrange my schedule so those things that are important to me and/or support my dream are a huge part of my schedule. And you know what, I am so excited to be one step closer every day to my dream that I don’t miss anything I have ever said no too!

What are you willing to give up today so you can have your dream unfold tomorrow?

Provides direction and motivation to those who help you

Don’t forget at the end of the day, no one ever truly accomplishes their dream by themselves. We all need good people to help us. Building and leading a team that can help move the dream forward always starts with a clear vision of that dream. When you can elaborate on your dream in such detail that those around you can see it too, you create excitement and buy in.

As a testament to the power of a clear dream, let me tell you about the first time I hosted what is now my nonprofit’s signature event, the She Steps Forward International Women’s Conference. I led a team of women for an entire year prior to that first conference. The first thing I did for them was to lay out a clear idea of what I envisioned the conference to be like, who it would serve, how it would flow, and most importantly how it would transform the lives of women who attended.

In doing this I created excitement and buy in within the group. Because they had a full understanding of what our task was, they immediately went to work. We were able to break down the conference planning into specific categories of need (e.g., registration, volunteer work, catering, etc.) and then divide up the work. Since everyone had perfect clarity regarding the task at hand, by the time conference came, the team was so dialed in they could have run the conference without me. That’s the power of clear vision.

Well world changer, it’s your turn! Ready to get clear on that dream?