Every one of us has hopes and dreams. Some may be more realistic than others (thank you, American Idol), but we still have dreams.

Our world loves the idea of chasing dreams. Chase your dreams. Become a better you. “I believe I can fly…” It may work for Disney with a little fairy dust and an over-sized pumpkin, but the truth is, dreams take time and work to develop.

One of the seven habits from Steven Covey is beginning with the end in mind. The beautiful part about having hopes and dreams is our imagination takes us right to the finish line. We’re already living the dream, life is beautiful, and I can almost see the credits rolling. The part we often overlook is there’s usually a long and difficult journey to get from where you are now to Dreamland.

It starts with needing a road map. You can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you are right now. What steps will it take to make your dreams a reality?

I’m in a big-time dream-chasing season of life, which I love and sometimes loathe at the same time (mostly love). I put together a road map for where I wanted to be, and I’m following that road map.

You need to build a road map custom-fit to your own dreams. Here are some steps to building your dream-chasing road map…

• Write down your goals and prioritize them – seeing your dreams on paper is the first step to making them a reality.
• Write down all the objections and obstacles you can think of to each dream, even the ridiculous objections. Fear is a powerful enemy and one we need to face with a sound mind and strong faith in what God’s doing in us.
• Do your research and add details to your goals (now you’re starting to define your reality)
• Ask your spouse (or best friend) for their honest feedback
• Ask your mentors for advice (you should have more than one)
• Put together a life plan (more on that later this week)
• Ruthlessly evaluate your life plan for potential roadblocks, obstacles, and detours – you can’t plan for everything, but you can usually make better plans.
• Talk with a success/life coach – this is a wonderful investment, especially if they know you personally and are in the same field you want to pursue.
• Now put together a timeline – what will you do and when will you do it? (this can be tweaked as you grow)
• …follow the map. Tenaciously, faithfully, wisely follow your road map.

Go chase your dreams, and happy trails to you.