How to Reach Your Dreams
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Happy New Year, podcast family. If you're listening to this live, it's January 1st, 2025. If you're listening to this the week of, I want to wish you an incredible, happy and prosperous 2025.

This is the podcast that for the last seven years is going to do exactly what it's done this year. It's a podcast committed to you. We want to add value to you so that as all leaders do, you'll go and turn around and multiply value to those around you. My name is Mark Cole.

Today, John Maxwell is going to join us and he's going to share a lesson that we feel is incredibly important to start for the you this year. The first podcast episode of 2025. He's going to talk about putting our dream to the test.

He's going to challenge us with 10 questions from this book that he wrote that will make you think, consider, and reinforce about the dream that you're chasing. He'll help you reach those dreams. In this lesson, our challenge is going to be to get you to have goals that will help you live the life you want and the leadership you desire in fulfillment in what you're doing. Now,

After this lesson, my co-host and friend Chris Robinson and I are going to give you some practical ways that you can apply this lesson to your life and to your leadership. If you would like to download the free bonus resource for this episode or even watch this episode on YouTube, you can go to maxwellpodcast.com forward slash reach your dreams. It's time now.

Get the dream out. Blow the dust off of it. John is going to challenge you with 10 questions. Here is John Maxwell. How to reach your dreams. How to achieve the goals that you have for your life. Because here's what I know. As I'm talking to you, you have a dream for yourself. You have hope.

You have a desire to fulfill that dream that you have and to reach your potential and to strive to achieve the goals that you have in life. So the question is not, do you have a dream? You have one. The question is, how can we make sure that you achieve that dream? Several years ago, I wrote a book called Put Your Dreams to the Test.

And I love this book. I think it's been the most helpful book, especially in network marketing organizations, because people have great dreams. And yet many people who have great dreams never reach those dreams. And I kept asking myself, why is it that a person has a great dream, but they don't realize it? I was having a conversation with some friends many years ago in Las Vegas. In fact, I was there to do a conference and we were having dinner together and they were very successful people.

And so I asked them that night, I said, "Why is it that so many people, their dreams never are fulfilled?" And that night they really opened an amazing door of understanding to me because they shared with me that the more reasons that you have to achieve a dream, the higher the odds are that you will. And I had never thought of that before. Now, the moment I have more reasons to achieve my dream,

the harder it is for me to give up on that dream. Oh, I may get one knocked out from underneath of me, but I still got three or four and I say, this is enough to keep me in the game. So I sat down after that conversation and I began to write, what are the valid reasons to have a dream? And what would happen if I could take those reasons and make a question that would allow people to ask themselves a question to see if it's true that that's one of the reasons they're in the dream game.

So that's exactly what I did. Again, remember, the more reasons you have to achieve your dream, the higher the odds are that you will actually achieve it. So in my "Put Your Dream to the Test" book, I give 10 reasons in the form of questions that you can ask yourself to say, "Is my dream valid?" Now, let me tell you something.

I've gone through this myself and I've asked myself these 10 questions. I want you to ask yourself these 10 questions. But as important as you asking yourself the 10 questions, my precious friend, you want to ask your team these questions because you're going to find out real quickly those who are on your team for many reasons, good reasons that will keep them in the game versus those who maybe came for one reason that that reason probably won't hold them very long with you.

So here are the questions I ask and put your dream to the test. Number one is the ownership question. Is my dream really my dream? Good question. Because to be honest with you, there are a lot of people, they're doing something that isn't their dream. Maybe it was their parents' dream. Maybe it was their spouse's dream. But they don't own it. And what I learned a long time ago is if you don't own your dream,

You won't stay with it. I mean, it's like if you rent a car. I've never rented a car. I travel all the time. I rent cars all the time. I've never rented a car and felt that what I wanted to do when I finished was I didn't want to wash and wax my car. I didn't say, well, I really want this car to look good. I really don't care. I return the car with a bunch of junk and it doesn't matter to me. It's not my car. I don't own it. You see, when you own your dream, when you take ownership, it's mine.

Wow, that's a whole different level of commitment than if you're just renting someone else's dream. Question two is the clarity question. Do I clearly see my dream? And the reason this is so important is if my dream is not clear, if I have a fuzzy dream out there, I'll have a fuzzy commitment. No one ever committed to something they didn't understand. Nobody ever committed to something they didn't see. So the clarity question is a huge one for me.

Number three is the reality question. And that is, this is huge. Am I in control of reaching my dream? In other words, the reality question basically asks, do I have within my power, the abilities, the resources, the time to really achieve this dream that I've set before me? The more things that are outside of my control, the higher the odds are I won't reach my dream.

The more things that are within my control, the higher the odds are that I will. That's the reality question. The passion question asks, does my dream compel me to follow it? In other words, do I have to every day be talked into doing my job or do I just get up and love to do my job because I'm passionate about it?

The next question is the pathway question. Do I have a strategy to reach my dream? In other words, that dream is way out there. But do I have step one today that I need to take to get me to step two, to step three? Because you realize your dream one step at a time. You don't float to your dream. You walk to your dream one step at a time.

The people question, do I have a team around me of people that can help me reach my dream? And again, if you don't have the right people around you, if you don't have the right team around you, you just, it's your dream is going, you're just, you're just not going to reach your dream. Then the cost question, this is huge. Am I willing to pay the price to achieve my dream? Here's what I believe about potential in people.

I believe most people do not reach their potential, not because they lack ability or time or opportunity. I think most people don't reach their potential because they're unwilling to pay the price to get there. Because you see, the dream is free, but the journey is not. And because of that, there's a price that we have to pay every day to get closer to our dream.

Which brings me to the tenacity question. And in the tenacity question, ask very simply, am I moving closer to my dream? In other words, I'm not there yet, but am I a little closer today than I was yesterday? Do I have the tenacity to keep on keeping on until I get there? The fulfillment question asks, does my dream bring me satisfaction? Do I get fulfillment out of it? And the significant question,

Question is, does my dream benefit other people? I like that. In other words, what I'm doing today, is it not only wonderful for me, but is it wonderful for the people around you? Now, those are the 10 questions that you need to ask yourself to put your dream to the test.

And the more times you can take those questions and answer yes to them. Yes, I own my dream. Yes, I'm passionate about my dream. The more yeses you have behind those 10 questions, the higher the odds are that you'll achieve that dream. And that's what I want for you. I'm not only a lid lifter and help you go higher to reach your potential. I'm a dream giver and I want you to reach your dream.

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Hey, welcome back, everybody. I hope you enjoyed that lesson. As John was teaching the lesson, I thought about the quote from Harriet Tubman that said, Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world and

Chris, I'm sitting across from you, a guy that I know is a dreamer, and I'm talking with all of you, whether you're viewing us on podcast through YouTube or whether you're listening, whether it's the first time or you have just found us because listening to a leadership podcast is your New Year's resolution. I want to welcome you because we're just a bunch of leaders on a journey to become better leaders. That's why this podcast is so important.

But today, it's January the 1st, if you're listening to this real time or if you're listening to it this first week.

And isn't it true that of all the times in anyone's life, and Chris, this is true for us, that this time of the year awakens the hopes and dreams and the greatness within us more than any other time of the year? Does it happen for me on my birthday like it does January 1st? It doesn't happen for Thanksgiving, although I get really grateful. It happens right now. The beginning of this year, I'm ready. I'm fresh. There seems to be something that clicked internally with the calendar that clicked externally. Right.

And perhaps that's you today, too. You come and maybe you don't have a sophisticated life plan process like Chris and I have, or maybe you don't even have a growth plan with stated goals for the year 2025. But chances are you do have some things you want different. Chances are that you do have some New Year's resolutions. And today, January 1st, if you're listening current, you're fired up because you're one for one. It's happening. Yeah.

But my question to you is, is what will sustain you over the next one month, five months, 12 months, 10 years? And I believe what will sustain you is a dream that is tested, that is tried through the questions John just gave us.

and that is put into a strategic plan, a strategic action item that will bring that dream to pass. They don't just happen. And so today I'm really excited, Chris, to spend time unpacking this. We've worked together for many, many years. And-

Here we go again in pursuit of the best year ever, and I think we're going to have it. I'm glad you're here in the first session. Hey, me too. I'm ready to start this new year off right and excited for all the people out there that are listening. As I know, this is an aspirational time of year. And, you know, this content that John talks about from Put Your Dream to the Test, I truly do believe, you know, it's a phenomenal book. So if you don't have the book, get the book so you can, you know, go through this content as well, too.

But this really starts off with some serious questions to make you really think about your dreams. Because I think oftentimes we come to the end of the year, we're scrolling through Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, whatever. Like, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Let me write down these goals. And all of a sudden, we're looking at so-and-so's feed. We're looking at this person's feed. And, well, I think I would like a little bit of this.

But the first question that John talks about is the ownership question, Mark. So talk to me about how you've really dealt with and handled ownership of your dream and answering the question, is my dream really my dream? You said something that really struck me as we sit here.

you and I sit here listening to John and realizing what the first of the year really means. And I went through, much like I'm sure you did, I went through a three-day process of just reflecting 2024, putting plans in perspective for 2025. And today I'm listening to the podcast going, oh, shoot, I should have done a little bit more right there. I should have linked it to my dreams a little bit more. I should have asked these questions. Hey, if that's you, let's go back and do another year in review. But here's what I want to say about this ownership concept.

Ownership has very little to do with the first of the year. It has everything to do with a mindset that will last you throughout the year. I can remember, as all of our podcast family, you longtime listeners, you know that five years ago, five days from now, so January the 6th, 2020, we took over. Chris, you came alongside me. We took over ownership of our five companies today.

And that was the day I signed a document, but that is not the day I felt ownership. I'd felt ownership much sooner than that. Because I think when you answer the ownership question, it's not whose name is on the checks. It's not even whose bottom line responsibility the organization is. It's who has owned the vision of the organization, the delivery of that vision, and the result of the organization. Right, yeah.

And I remember many, many years ago, 15, 20 years ago, answering the ownership question. Now, for me, and I hope this will relate to many of you, I'm a type A leader. I've got my own plans. I've got my own thoughts. And I can remember the time. It was a year in review, much like I did a couple of weeks ago.

To where I asked the question, I went, is chasing the dream as it's playing out in my mind more fruitful than chasing John's dream as it is clearly articulated to me? And Chris, I can remember the moment that says, you know what, by chasing John's dream,

I will accomplish my dream and so much more. I think as leaders, and not many of you have the senior status of the top, top leader. Chances are out of hundreds of thousands of people that listen to this podcast, chances are less than 1% have the ultimate leadership

corporate legal responsibility of ownership. And yet that's not what John is saying in this question. His question is, can you see the work that you're doing relating back to the dream that's within you? And that's my challenge to all of us as we try to answer this question. I teach this often, Chris, and I want to make this point. I can remember the time I just referenced it about 15 years ago.

to where my agenda stopped being my agenda, and John's agenda became my agenda. It was after that that John noticed and asked me to be his CEO. So I had given up what I thought was my agenda to absorb John's agenda as my agenda.

What happened is over about three or four years of being his CEO, his agenda had become my agenda. And then before I knew it, it was our agenda. Before he set his agenda, he invited me in to set the agenda for the year, for the idea, for the program, for the company. Right.

And then what I noticed about seven years ago is his agenda that became our agenda became my agenda. And John began to endorse that. I will tell you second leaders out there, second chair leaders. I will tell you leaders on a leadership team. I will tell you people that's just got two or three people on your team. If you will answer the ownership question.

In the form of connecting what you're doing to your dream, there won't be another day in your life that you'll walk in and just be an employee or a teammate. You'll be an owner. Yeah, I love that. I love that. Now, I've got to bring the dichotomy to this. We are fortunate. I mean, we work with and for the number one leadership guru in the world.

Now, what would you say to the person that's out there? Number one, they hate their job. Yeah. They hate their boss. They don't really want to buy into that vision and they're really seeking their own. How would you take it from that context? Because we're in a little bit different position or bubble.

in terms of leadership space. But what would you say to the person that's out there that's struggling right now with the company's vision, the leader's vision, and even their vision? In other words, the people that think January 1st is the best day of their life because they've got it all. The best day of the year is January 1st because I've got it all. I don't have to go into work today. And I say that laughingly, but let me tell you what has happened for me, Chris, and perhaps for you.

I've worked for those kind of leaders to where their agenda was not my agenda. I've worked in the environments that they expected me to conform to something that did not resonate with me. What I had to do and what I would encourage anybody that resonates with the dichotomy of that question, which I'm so glad you brought up.

There was a season in my life that I went around saying, you know what? This current season, this current boss, this current environment, I'm learning what not to do when I finally one day get to make the decisions. I learned what not to do before I learned what to do. I had to respond to bad leadership before I could attempt to show good leadership from me. And I think wherever you are, even in the difficult moments, you can connect it.

with your purpose, if you will allow it. John teaches this all the time. I just did a teaching last month about leaders see more and before. That is a distinctive of every leader. If you're the leader in a situation, you have the responsibility and that absolute, it's a non-negotiable to see more and to see before everyone else.

In your life, in the ownership question, you have got to make a bigger picture perspective out of situations that are not comfortable to you. By the way, that can be the person that loves their job but hates the season of this job. Yeah.

You've got to be able to lead through it as an owner because the day you give up ownership because you don't like it, because it's not what you ultimately want to do, is the day that you will not, cannot, will never reach a sense of fulfillment until you go, no, I'm going to own this season. I don't like this season, but I'm going to own it. I love it. I love it. That's great.

You know, he talks about this question number five in here, pathway. Do you have a strategy to reach your dream? Talk to me about this one and how you've lived this one out in your life. You know, I do a lot of teaching. I've done a lot through the years of podcast. If you're new to the podcast, just kind of this is a New Year's resolution for you. Go back into our past episodes and you'll find at the end of most years,

Me and one of my co-hosts and John will talk about year-end planning. And what I can tell you is the single greatest thing that I have done to realize the pathway to my dream is put a strategic plan around the growth I want to accomplish and the life I want to live. It is being very strategic. And you go, oh, Lord, Mark, you use the S word.

The strategy word. I don't feel strategic. I'm not strategic. What do you mean? I mean, if you do not have a strategic plan to grow, let me simplify it for you for 2025. Who are the people you want to learn from? And you're going to be consistent. I hope our podcast is one of them. Chris and I want to welcome you into the family. The people who is going to who's going to be your guides this year. Number two, what's the content?

What is the content, the books, the podcast, the different resources you're going to invest in to make sure that you're being inspired by other people's thinking to live out your dreams?

And then the third area that I constantly challenge people, what are the experience you're going to take in this year that will make you better? So for years, it's been the content I consume, the people that I relate with, and the experiences that I take in that has driven my strategy. Now, it's a little bit more sophisticated than that now. I've kind of grown up and matured a little bit with life planning. But if you are just getting started,

The content, the people and the experience. And you need an intentional plan around that, that you hold yourself accountable. Yeah, I love that. And I love the simplicity of that, you know, because a lot of times there is this mystery or veil around, you know, a growth plan. And what does that look like? And for a lot of people just getting started going, hey, let me take a look at the people around me. Because if we look at, you know, as Charlie Tremendous Jones would tell us, you know, we're going to be the exact same people person you are today, five years from now, except for the books that you read and the people that you meet.

And if you want to get anywhere in life, it's going to be about the relationships that you have and the people. So you got to be very mindful there. So I love not only people that you're going to learn from, but people are going to be around. And then the content. And I was having that conversation with my son the other day as he just scans through YouTube like most kids do. And I said, well, what do you watch? He goes, I don't know, whatever comes up. I said, well, that's a bad idea. Yeah.

I said, well, why don't you program it on how to make some money? Just put in the search just a few times and you'll start to get more videos of whatever you want. I was like, just making that simple change of controlling the content versus just accepting content can change your life forever. That is brilliant, my friend. I mean, I sit here. I don't know if you just had the epiphany podcast family that I just did with what Chris did with his son.

Mindlessly scrolling is a pandemic right now. You want to go back five years ago to a pandemic? We're in a pandemic of scrolling right now. Right.

But just going in and they prey on us with their algorithms of what they want us to know. Why don't we give it right back to them and tell them what we want to do? Man, that is so good right there. Thanks for that. Tell them what we want. You know, I want to type in things like, how do I make some money to buy a car? Yeah. How do I pay for my insurance at 1760? How do I let my dad retire early and pay him? Yeah.

Right. So, you know, again, just simple programming there. But the content, we control that and making sure that we're filtering content, you know, because a lot of times we look at, you know, well, I'm going to read a book on this topic, then this topic, then this topic. Well, let's streamline it. How about, hey, let's read five, six books on the same topic so that we can consume and really get through it. But being intentional about that content we're getting. That's beautiful. And of course, the experiences, you know, we got to have that. You got to have that. That changes everything. Yeah.

This next question here, this is one that John always asks at the end of the year and has always asked me and you at the end of the year. Are you willing to pay the price again this year? Yeah.

Talk about this one, because I think this one is heavy. You know, if you're really striving for something, talk to me about how you've dealt with this one. Yeah, you know, I'm very inspired by all the people listening today. Again, you're probably listening because it's a New Year's resolution that you're going to better yourself. And hopefully this is a tool that you have picked that will do that. We believe that we we we work hard to do that through this podcast.

The price is easy to pay on the front end. The price is harder to pay during the mundane. And it is incredibly difficult to pay again. I've already paid it. Right. I did that last year. Some of you have the same New Year's resolution. Some of you have the same life plan components this year, 2025, that you had in 2024. Mm-hmm.

I got to celebrate you for a minute. Thank you for jumping back in. You're paying the price again. Because oftentimes people can start out early. They can count the cost and start out early. Yeah, I know this is going to take me some time. I know this. My daughter has been home for the holidays, and she's a first-year freshman at the University of Florida. And watching her come home, she's changed. Man, she is different in great ways. Wow.

And I asked her the other day, I said, are you ready to go back? And she says, oh, yeah, absolutely. I said, why? She says, I miss my friends. I said, whoa, that's good. That's not a good reason to go back. Because I'm going to tell you this idea that we can buy in at the beginning is absolutely important. Count the cost. John is doing that. The idea that that New Year's resolution, that life plan component will still being done July 1st, six months from now.

There's a lot will drop off. I'm sorry. This is January 1st. I don't want to be a Debbie Downer. A lot of you will drop off. But the people that I'm most interested in right here is the people that counted the cost, paid the cost, continued paying it mid-year, and then came back this year and said, I still haven't got the results I want. I'll pay up again. I'm coming at it again. And I've watched people like you, Chris, because I work alongside of you. But before I worked alongside of you as a leader, I watched you build a business and

And there is a unique identifier in people that believe in their dreams so much that they not only will count the cost, they're intentional with it. They're just not starting out happy-go-lucky. They counted the cost. This is going to cost me something. The people that are consistent in paying the cost, in other words, they signed up for it, but they didn't default on the loan. They didn't default on the payment. Right. They're still paying, but it's an altogether different one percenter that'll say, I'll pay it again. Right.

I'm coming right back around. I'm paying it again. And that's my challenge to you today. Is your dream big enough? Is your dream engaging enough that if you have to pay it,

Over and over and over again, will you do it? And the people that say yes, they're going after a big dream. Yeah, indeed, indeed. Now, I know we're running close on time here, but I want to combine these last two questions that John's going to ask about, which is fulfillment and significance, because I think they're really tied together here.

When I think of these two. So talk to me about fulfillment and significance being a part of your dream. Yeah, it's interesting because speaking of the bubble, we talked early on about the bubble of people that are not enjoying what they're doing right now. Mm hmm.

And that speaks to the fulfillment. How do you get fulfillment when you're going in and it's just a J-O-B, it's just a job? And what do you do? I think you have to get fulfillment beyond what you do. And you have to derive fulfillment, satisfaction, if you will, from who you are being and what you are doing and how you are helping others. I think that's where the satisfaction comes from. But often...

We teach that success is what happens to us. Significance is what happens through us. And you go back to this question of fulfillment. You go back to this question of significance. I'm glad you weave them together because I don't believe one without the other is a very good dream. I've worked for nonprofits.

Very significant nonprofits that did some significant things, but it didn't fulfill the calling and the skill sets that were in me. And I was very significant, but not very fulfilled. Now, how is that? You were doing something for others. It was all about others, but there wasn't that fulfillment factor in it. And I think that's because all of us are designed with skills, talents, abilities, and dreams that need to be pursued that brings a sense of fulfillment back.

to us. I think we need to check if all we are fulfilled with is the things that benefit us. Because I think there is a significance piece in all of us that we can get so self-absorbed that we stay in the fulfillment, personal fulfillment side, and we don't stretch for that significance piece. That's why I team these two together. It's what I'm doing bringing out the best in me and lifting me in my aspirations. I asked that question first.

But then I follow it up immediately and says, how about the others around me? Do they sense that fulfillment? Are they sensing a lift because of their engagement with me? Wow. Outstanding. I love it. You know, I

I really want to challenge you today. Again, many of you, you have a life plan. You've been listening to this podcast long enough to know that you almost think I'm going to call you this afternoon and ask you, do you have a growth plan? Because it's just that almost required. Batteries included for this podcast means you've got a personal growth plan, and this podcast is a part of it. There really are others of you that perhaps, whether you're a first-time listener or an early listener, a new listener, you've

or whether you just haven't done it yet. You don't have a plan and you're not sure where to start. I want to give you a growth plan in a box, if you will, a digital deliverable plan

way to grow and improve yourself. It's called Every Day with Purpose. It's an online course. Today is a great day to jump in, one, because it's the first of the year, two, because we're taking this $199 product and we're putting it down to $49. We're just slashing it to 25% of the cost.

Because I'm that committed, we are that committed to your growth, to what you're about. So go be a part of that. You'll find in our show notes, you'll find the link. You'll be able to go there to ask for a code and just put in podcast. And you'll be able to take advantage of that steep discount that I love. Hey, Arlene, you're such a great person.

viewer of our podcast. Arlene wrote us back last year in 2024. She was listening to the podcast, Redefine the Problem. Let me restate that. She was watching the podcast, Redefine the Problem. And she says, I really love watching your podcast. It really helps me in my personal development, and I gain a lot of knowledge. Here's the reason I said that and wanted to pull that comment out today. So many of us, we listen to the podcast, we get other-minded.

I've noticed that those that watch the podcast...

shut out distractions. I don't know if it's because of visual learning or whatever. They shut out distractions and they really get honed in on the content that's being delivered. Maybe this year you need to set a New Year's resolution and watch a podcast once or twice a month. Listen to it the rest of the time. We'll see you on YouTube. Arlene, thank you. We'll continue to take comments like that and make ourselves better. Hey, the reason we do this podcast, the reason we're starting out 2025 this way is because everyone deserves to be led well.

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