Have you ever started something only to hit roadblocks along the way? Have you had a dream of doing _____, and left it behind because you didn’t think you had the resources, time, encouragement to do it? Doubt and discouragement love company.
I want you to try a quick exercise with me. Ask yourself: “If I had $1 million, what would I do?” If you are having a hard time getting started, here’s some things to think about how to spend that money: start your own business, retire, travel the world, buy a bigger, newer ____, etc. Ok, do you have your idea?
Now, how would you feel once you had that “dream” accomplished with that $1 million? Would you feel successful, secure, fulfilled? What would bringing that kind of money into your life mean to you?
I’ve always been an advocate for thinking big. I love being around people who are visionaries, and who see the possible from the sometimes impossible. A couple of years ago, I was thinking about this “If I had $1 million” concept. What I came up with for myself was to create something much bigger than just me and my family. What if I had enough money to not only accomplish some financial goals (paying off the mortgage for example) but also extra to do something more? My dream was to start a charitable foundation. Something that could be sustainable and everlasting for generations to come. In thinking through this idea, one doubt kept creeping up – I didn’t have $1 million to get this fund started. What was I to do? Or even better, how in the world was I going to raise $1 million?
Julie Andrews’ character Maria from the movie The Sound of Music shares a remarkable lesson with this memorable quote “When the Lord closes a door, somewhere He opens a window.” Now whatever your religious belief, there is a lot of truth to that statement. When I couldn’t get past the idea that it would take $1 million that I clearly didn’t have to start a charitable foundation (door closed), my window opened. A friend asked me this simple question: “Does it take $1 million to start something like that?” That threw me for a loop, because I honestly didn’t know. That one probing question opened up a large window that allowed me to see something possible. I did a little research, and discovered that it doesn’t take anywhere near $1 million to start something like this. In fact, what it took was attainable to even me, the non-millionaire.
Let me go back to my earlier question – “If you had $1 million, what would you do?” Take your answer and ask yourself this question – “Does it actually take $1 million?” My guess is that you can get started on that million dollar dream with nothing at all.