How big is your dream? Is it ‘this big’ or ‘THIS BIG’? Is it as little as rat or as gigantic as a lion?
Successful men and women have schooled several generations to DREAM BIG! They say, “You’ve gotta dream big!” Some say, “Think big! Be big!” (You have to pronounce that well otherwise it will come across in Filipino as “bibig” and they will miss the point.)
For you not to miss the point, let’s break this down into three aspects:
First, ambition. This is the fuel of your dream.
The size of your ambition matters. Consider this as your fuel. How large is it? Is your fuel half gallon or full gallon?
When I was in high school, I joined the Cadet Officer Leadership Training. Graduates of this special and rigid training will become the cadet officers of the CAT class in the senior year. At first, we were asked what position we are aspiring for.
The highest position is the Corps Commander, then the Corps Commander Ex-O, followed by the four staff, then the company commander, and the platoon leaders.
Guess what I aspired for at first, it was among the lowest – the platoon leader. This is not to degrade the position (which is a vital position) but at that time, my fuel was like less than half a gallon.
Eventually, I was challenged to aspire for the highest rank – Corps Commander – which actually was the position I was dreaming for in the first place. And then there was a huge shift. My fuel became like a full gallon.
With the big ambition that I had, I was fuelled to do the best things I can. I would come early even on trainings conducted at dusk (before dawn). I would give my snappy hand salute to all officers and even to the police officers in the community (sometimes, they even get surprised).
I would follow commands as swift and savvy as I could. I obeyed orders, led the team, performed well in tests, navigated the turbulence of the training.
At the end, I got the rank. Thanks for that full fuel.
Second, action. This is the wings of your dream.
Most often, with big ambition comes big action. But it is not always the case. At times, you have ‘THIS BIG’ ambition but you have this ‘big action.’ There’s something wrong. It has to be aligned. If your ambition is ‘THIS BIG’ then your action should be ‘THIS BIG.’
In our batch of accountancy graduates, several of us have this ambition to top the CPA board exams. It was a BIG ambition. But not all of us aspirants are willing and determined to take the BIG action. While a good number of our batch passed the board exams, only two became topnotchers. They were my friends named Mark and Chester. They were able to do it because their actions were ‘THIS BIG.’ They solved tons and tons of accounting and auditing problems. They chewed on the thoughts, theories, and technicalities of business laws and taxation. They went the extra mile. After the first semester of review season, they even went for another review season. That’s how BIG their actions were. And the result – Mark Ngina landed as Top 7 and Chester Pacio, Top 9 (May 2010 CPA Board Exam).
That’s the importance of BIG action – it signifies the sizeable strength of the wings of your dream.
Third, abode. This is the landing place of your dream.
Some may argue, “I have big ambition and I have big actions. Why don’t I have big accomplishments?” Hmmm, maybe there is something wrong with your abode.
Abode is defined as your dwelling place. I compare abode as your psychological capacity to receive the fruits of your labor, the harvest of your work, the accomplishment of your action. Wise men say that you need to enlarge your capacity to receive blessings.
In the field of personal finance, Bo Sanchez has what he calls ‘psychological wallet.’ He explains that one of the reasons a person cannot increase his earnings despite the size of his action and ambition is because his psychological wallet is small. It may be due to the feeling of unworthiness or guilt that he needs to resolve. He needs to look into it to be able to enlarge his abode.
Thus, the size of your abode has to be aligned with the size of your ambition and action.
Do you have a big dream? Look at the three aspects and assess: How big is your ambition? How big is your action? And how big is your abode? Successful men and women would advice us to be BIG in these aspects so we can have BIG accomplishments. So how big is your dream? Is it ‘this big’ or ‘THIS BIG’?
(Chris Dao-anis is giving away a free e-version of his 2nd book ‘Move Closer To Your Dream Today.’ Visit www.chrispoweracademy.com to know how to get your copy.)
