When I was six years old, my dad moved my whole family to a third world country. Guatemala. We were going as missionaries. At the time, the country was in the middle of a long civil war. People were frequently disappearing in the mountains and guerrilla attacks were common.
My dad was taking a pay cut. We barely knew the language.
It didn’t make much sense to other people. He was leaving security. He was entering uncertainty. And he was losing position. But it was his dream.
Others might not understand your dream. The good news is, they don’t have to.
Whenever others can’t see your dream, there are two things at play.
First, there is a difference of priorities. You see, my dad wasn’t concerned with safety, income, and position. He was concerned with following the dream God had placed inside his heart. That dream superseded those other things. His priorities were different than those who questioned his decisions.
Second, his dream was his. It belonged to him. Those who questioned his decision hadn’t been given that dream. They couldn’t see it because it wasn’t theirs to see.
It’s tempting to approach our dreams democratically. We assume if the majority vote “yes” to our dreams, that gives us permission to pursue them. But that’s not how dreams work.
If your dream is big and bold, you’ll probably never get consensus. The best you can hope for is a few “go for its” from the right people—the people who are there to encourage your dreams and celebrate your success.
And that’s enough. That’s all you need.
You don’t have to wait for others to see your dream before you pursue it. They may never see it until you make it happen. But that’s okay. That’s how dreams work.