To expand on my previous post, I think there are two additional keys (besides hard work and determination) to achieving our dreams and pursuing the path God has for us: right motivation and another person’s belief in our God-given abilities. This is how we pursue being the “best-version-of-ourselves,” to quote author Matthew Kelly. And this is how we will find true joy in this life.
First of all, we need to be motivated by good things; not money, fame, materialism, etc. I’d like to share some lines from Rick Warren’s Daily Hope devotional blog on August 11, titled “Make the Most of Your Talents.” In this post, he writes:
Are you using what He’s given you for the benefit of others to make the world a better place? Or are you just using those talents to benefit yourself?
When God gives you a talent, he expects you to use it. It’s like a muscle. If you use it, it will grow. If you don’t, you’ll lose it. If you have a talent but are afraid to use it, or if you get lazy and don’t use it to benefit others, you’re going to lose it. Like the parable of the ten talents in Luke 19, if you don’t use what God has given you, he will take it away and give it to someone else who will.
But if you use your talents wisely, God will give you more. If you use your time wisely, God will give you more time. If you use your energy wisely, God will give you more energy. If you use your influence wisely, God will increase your influence. God will bless your level of faithfulness.
God has a purpose for each of us, but we need to trust Him and be open to using our gifts however He calls us. When we try to do things on our own terms on our own time-frame, we will find ourselves on the wrong track. We may have things that the world defines as success, but we will still feel lost. With God, we can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles. He gave us our talents and He wants us to use them. Believing that God wants us to follow our dreams, is what keeps my hope in Adam’s musical career alive! God would not give Adam all of these musical gifts and the passion that he has just to squander it. (Of course, how things will work out is a mystery, but we know there is a plan!)
I mentioned above that there is another key factor in achieving our goals and dreams: support of another person. Since I talked about Rudy in my last post, I’ll stick with that here. Most people in Rudy’s life, including his family members, thought that his dream of being a football player for Notre Dame was not a realistic goal. Rudy had one best friend, Pete, who encouraged him, though. Pete’s tragic death prompted him to go for his dream, despite the many obstacles in his way. It could be that without the support of his best friend, he never would have had the courage to do what others thought could not be done. Now, everyone loves the amazing story of Rudy Ruettiger and how he accomplished the seemingly impossible.
Adam and I were talking about underdog stories yesterday, and he pointed out that a lot of people only root for the underdog when they start to see success. People want to hop on board after a lot of the hard work has already proven to pay off. It seems that we are so quick to dismiss dreams, because they aren’t practical or “realistic,” and it’s hard to believe what cannot yet be seen. But once a dream comes to fruition, we want to share it and be associated with it. How much better would the world be, if we encouraged each other to pursue our skills and talents even when things look impossible?! Let’s be dream “ENcouragers,” not “DIScouragers!”
Have a great week!
A Dreamer's Wife 
I think you’re right in that we cheer for the underdog when we think they could win. I think that’s why we as people so often give up prematurely, because we’re not seeing success yet. I know I’m guilty of doing that quite often.