The true driving force I use to empower my life, and that I teach others to use through coaching, is to envisage your perfect life, creating a dream for your life to drive you to the life you want to live in the future.
This Shabbat, we concluded the Book of Genesis, the first book of the Hebrew Torah, that began with Creation, and ended with the death of both Jacob and Joseph.
We read about Jacob’s last days—his blessing of his sons, his passing and his elaborate funeral and burial in the ancestral tomb, the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron. The final verses of Genesis relate Joseph’s death and the placement of his embalmed remains in a casket, in Hebrew, “aron.”
Joseph’s remarkable story is without doubt an example of never giving up. I’m sure you know the story of Joseph. I remember playing him in a school play when I was about five. Well I remember the amazing Technicolor Dream Coat my Mum made for me to wear. The story we have all learned tells of him being the favourite son, his dreams, the “coat of many colours,” hated by his brothers, sold into slavery, framed, imprisoned, yet preserved by God and eventually raised to a high office under Pharaoh.
I have no doubts there are many interpretations of his story, many meanings. Scholars and religious people I have no doubt understand this far more than me. But in my layman way, I love how inspirational I found the story of Joseph in regards to the challenges he faced, and his persistence despite all the adversity he faced. Of course there was also the faith he never lost. For you whether this is faith in God or in yourself and your ability to battle on to achieve your dreams and goals I leave that for you to determine. Choose the interpretation that inspires you the most that gets you to keep going and never give up.
The other point I take is the importance of having a dream for your life. Dreams played a major role in the life of Joseph as they need to do for you.
A person without a dream believes only in what is seen, only what is immediate, only what one can put their hands on. Those with dreams can imagine wonderful lives and then work on creating what they see.
Do you have a dream for your life?
One of the most essential things we all need is a vision for our life.
A person without a God-given dream is like a great ship made for the mighty ocean but trying to navigate in a millpond. This person has no far port to reach, no lifting horizon, no precious cargo to carry. Her/his hours are absorbed in routine and petty tyrannies. It is a small wonder if this person gets dissatisfied, quarrelsome and ‘fed up.’
You each need a dream for your life and goals to support it, and like Joseph be empowered by your dream which can keep you going in the midst of all troubles. A dream that inspires and energises you.
I’ve written before about J.F. Kennedy dreaming about putting a man on the moon, at a time when it was technologically and physically impossible. But that dream gave this nation direction and an energy to accomplish the dream.
“Only he who sees the invisible can do the impossible.”
Great men throughout history have been driven and guided by their amazing dreams. All of them had to overcome obstacles to make their dreams come true. Each of them could have easily given up in the face of adversity. Instead they kept believing that they could make their dreams come true, and they did.
Those who succeed in achieving their dreams always have one common characteristic. They never give up. This isn’t an attitude that they develop toward the end, it’s a mindset that they establish from the beginning and nurture throughout the process. They each held on to a dream, just as you need , a dream for your life
No matter what obstacles come your way you refuse to let them hold you back for ever.
It is time to find yours!
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. Eleanor Roosevelt
Life coaching can help you create your dream of the future you want to live. Your dream will provide you with the route map for your life that will help you achieve your goals and successfully create and live the life you really want. Working with a coach and setting goal setting is all about creating a life you want. Let me help you create a vision of your ideal life, a dream for your life, and set goals to get you there.
photo credit: Perfectance Techniflower via photopin (license)
