Every one of us needs to think big. We all need to have a realm of fantasy. This happens all the time. It happens sometimes if you are watching a movie or reading a book.

You are looking at life and you are not speaking to anybody. You are drawing into yourself. You think and go over things in your mind. And especially as you think about the future, you begin to dream.

Of course I am talking about day-dreaming, visualizing, looking to the future and imagining things; trying to paint a picture and seeing yourself in that picture.

Every one of us has times of daydreaming and thinking about of the future. We think to ourselves,

"How wonderful it would be if…"

It can happen while you're watching a movie, and you wish you could put yourself right in there and be a part of it. You think,

"Oh I wish I could be like that hero of the movie. I wish I could have the kind of life he has and live that way. I wish I could have that amount of money and could travel all over."

We all at some stage have a kind of dream or fantasy about the future. We have a hope of what could happen in our lives.

Now let me ask a simple question. How many of your dreams have you fulfilled; those wonderful fantasies that you think about while you lie awake at night?

Have you ever gotten there yet? When do you expect to get there? Do you ever expect to get there?

Introduction to Goal Setting

Some years ago I got hold of some tapes from a self-help teacher called Jim Rohn. He had a little work booklet dealing with goal setting. He made you look at your goals, and say how you see yourself 5, 10 or 20 years from now.

You had to think about your own personal character and capabilities and your finances. It was very comprehensive and a tremendous little workbook. I sat down and faithfully completed each question - what I could see myself being and doing in the future.

Time went on, and many years later we discovered the workbook lying amongst all the junk when we moved house. It was fun to look and see what I had written.

But I was shocked at what I read. It sounded as though I had only written them recently, because I was still in about the same place I had been when I first wrote those goals.

My life really had not changed. My financial situation was just about the same as what it always had been. My capabilities and weaknesses were about what they always had been. I just had not made any progress at all.

According to the principles taught, if you could set goals you would succeed. You would get out there and accomplish. Well I set the goals. But many years later those goals just hadn't changed, and neither had my life. Something was wrong. I was confused.

Start With Small Things

In some of my recent teachings, I have taught that in order to birth the things we desire, it is necessary to start small.

In the past however, I had always believed that the bigger your vision the better. I thought that if you aimed for the moon and only hit the ceiling, at least it was a start. So you should rather aim further and at least get somewhere. That was always my logic.

Don't Confuse Dreams and Goals

Many people still seem to think that way. They teach,

"Don't say, 'I would like $1 000.' Say, 'I'd like $10 000.' Then if you only make $1 000, at least you made something, even if you were aiming further."

Now if I aimed for $1,000, I might only have made $200, because I did not set my sights high enough. That was my logic. But the problem is I was confusing dreams and goals. Everybody tends to do this.

So I want to show you firstly, the difference between a dream or vision and the setting of goals. They are not the same thing. They are in fact very different. And unless you can grasp this, you may spend the rest of your life waiting for your dream to come true.

Later in life you realize that your time is nearly over. You are not so young anymore, but are heading for retirement now.

You Need to Dream

Only a few years remain in your life and you have still not accomplished your goals. So you say,

"Well, I might as well give up that dream. It's never going to happen."

But we all need to keep dreaming. There was a famous speech made by Martin Luther King where he said, "I have a dream". Unfortunately, he did not live to see his dream fulfilled.

You need more than a dream. A dream is not enough. Everyone has dreams, and dreams are essential. Without them, you will never accomplish anything in this life. Only dreams have the power to inspire you and motivate you.

Dreams must be as big as possible. They must huge and magnificent. And they must go into and remain in the realm of fantasy, otherwise they are not dreams.

Go Into a Fantasy World

Reality doesn't inspire, because you look at yourself and you see that your life is not exciting. So you have to get excited about what is not there. You have to get excited about what lies in the realm of fantasy.

That is why even as children we loved the fairy stories, even though they were often demonic. Everybody enjoys the realm of fantasy because it helps us realize our dreams. I love to watch movies like Superman and the superheroes - things that are beyond the realm our normal lives.

One of the best dreams I ever had was one of flying like Superman over the earth. I was able to dive and go wherever I wanted. It was a wonderful feeling.

Of course that could never become a reality, but what an exciting thought. Imagine being free as a bird, to be able to fly and to have magnificent powers like some of the great super heroes in those comic books?

We all want a life that is free of stress, free of problems and free of difficulties. You dream of a day when life will be easy and there will be no pressure.

Of course that will no longer be a fantasy when we get to Heaven one day. But on this earth, there is a limit to what you can achieve.

You have to move out of the fantasy and into the real world. Many of the things you dream about are possible in this world. Others are living the kind of life that you'd like to live. If it is possible for them, then it can surely also be possible for you.

Desires Build Your Dreams

So you build your dreams around your desires. But all of us have different desires. Having great wealth isn't necessarily everybody's dream. In fact, having wealth is seldom the main goal for anybody.

It is the things that the wealth can bring that you aim for. What you really desire is the kind of life that is possible with wealth. You desire a place of freedom.

Some perhaps have a desire to be in control. They would like to hold a high position and be in charge of other people. That's a foolish desire really. Taking care of a whole lot of other people just brings more stress.

Many have the fantasy that to be at the top and be the boss makes things easier. You don't realize the responsibility that goes with it. But that is beside the point. If that is your desire, then you will dream about it.

Dreams are Always Future

The operative word in dreams is 'want'. A dream is always future, and a dream has no time frame to it. A typical statement you might make based on your dreams is something like this:

"One day" I would like to (whatever your dream is)."

Isn't that what dreams are like? You say,

"One day my ship will come in. One day I will rise up and be like a queen (or a king)."

"One day I will drive in limousines, and I will fly in my own private jet."

"One day I will… do this."

It is always a future orientation and it has no time frame. In the end it is really just a fantasy and a hope. But in your mind you are thinking,

"It is way beyond my reach. I don't know if I will ever have it. I'd love to have it perhaps one day."

Dreams Motivate You

If you start out with those kinds of dreams and you are still very young, you perhaps have many years in your life for good fortune to shine on you. Maybe as the world puts it, 'good luck will come your way'.

And maybe, by some pure accident, if it's your lot in life, you might just make it and fulfill that dream. But it is somewhere out there in your vague future emotional fantasies.

You say, "Perhaps one day I'll be a millionaire or a billionaire. Perhaps one day I'll just cruise around the world in my own ship."

Everyone has fantasies and dreams, and sometimes you have more than one. But dreams do not have the power to change your life. Dreams only keep you motivated and going on in life. They keep you headed towards the future. You live in the hope that one day you might fulfill your dream.

That is why your dream must be big and filled with emotion. It must be exciting. It must be something that thrills you and drives you to keep going. It says,

"Wow I would really love to do that with my life."

Your Dreams Through the Years

Consider your life until now. Think back on what you dreamed of when you were a young child, if you can still remember that far back. What kind of dreams did you have as a young child? What kind of dreams and visions did you have for the future?

Then as you grew up and you reached the adolescent age, what dreams did you have for the future? And if you are a bit older like me, as you came through to that middle year stage, you married and settled down and had a family, what were your dreams for the future?

Then think about where you are right now. Can you honestly say,

"I am living the life I dreamed of?"

Or are you standing at the end now, knowing that you only have a few years left. You are already on the downhill run. But you have still not come close to attaining the things that you dreamed of.

Many people did achieve those things. Do you know someone that was at the same place you were when you started? Now they are fulfilling their dreams. Today they are living the kind of life that you dreamed of. They made it.

Are there people you knew from school that rose up and became successful? They became leaders of big companies and were wealthy and influential. How many people that you knew back then have risen up and you didn't?

What made the difference? You say,

"Well they were just lucky I guess."

No they weren't lucky. They went beyond their dreams. And if you don't go beyond your dreams, you will sit there for the rest of your life and you will die still dreaming.

That is all it will ever be - a dream. It will never become a reality in your life, because you have to go beyond dreams. You have to come out of the realm of fantasy and into reality before you can fulfill your dreams.

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