Why People Fail at Obtaining their Dreams

Years ago, employed as a church secretary, I had the brilliant idea of adding a special feature to our church directory. Mind you, I had alterior motives because there was hardly a day that went by that someone didn’t call me and ask if there was someone in the church that knew how to do such and so or who provided services in various areas.

It seemed like a huge no-brainer. Just list what people loved to do, along with their contact information, and not only would they be able to act on their own dreams - others would benefit from their services too!

One by one I called members and asked if they wanted to place an ad in the directory for this purpose. (The small fee collected was going to go to the Children’s Church fund). One person after another would sigh dreamily and mumble something about how great it would be if they really could earn money doing what they love.

And one person after another confessed that they just KNEW they would fail at it and wasn’t sure if they should bother. My gift of encouragement would kick in and they would get really excited - all to collapse in a panicked heap crying out, “Oh my! I’d be so successful I could never keep up with the demand!” They would quickly excuse themselves and hang up the phone. Only the existing business people understood what I was doing and jumped at the chance to be listed ... all to no avail because due to the lack of interest, the service directory idea was scrapped.

My experience with the wishes and dreams of our congregational members really bothered me. We preach prosperity, and that God wants the best for us, and that all that our hands touch will prosper. But the actions I saw shouted another belief entirely.

My conclusion? Its easy to fail - that takes no effort. To succeed takes effort, perseverence, planning and risk. The bottom line? They didn’t want the responsibility to live out their dreams. It was easier to blame the devil for beating them up or to righteously declare that they would “pray about it” or that they were waiting on God.

No wonder many are called but few are chosen ...