Oliver Wendall Holmes once said “Many people die with their music still in them.” I think that captures the fear of about 99% of the people I see who come in for career coaching. Either they know exactly what gift or talent they have that they are not using or they are just afraid they have somehow missed finding their real authentic and fulfilling path.
What is that area that is lying dormant for you? I recently had a pharmacist approach me at the end of a short presentation I titled Hold Fast to Dreams. He said he had been in his profession for 17 years and could not think of any dreams he had. In his description of his “responsible, predictable” life it became clear to both of us that his dreams had become buried along the way. All those childhood passions had been put aside as one responsibility led to another. At this point he was so desensitized that he couldn’t even bring them to mind anymore. He began weeping in the 3 minutes of our conversation as he identified his current life.
You know the symptoms: as a child you loved singing but now you haven’t sung in 20 years. Or every time you see a news item about the starving people in Africa it brings you to tears – but you’ve never done anything to help. Or when you see a beautiful painting you remember how much you loved that second grade art class. You may recognize that whenever you are around old people you are energized by the compassion and wisdom they have – but you only go there once or twice a year.
Change – even when unwelcome or unexpected, often wakes up those dormant dreams. I have seen physicians move to the country to take up organic gardening, pastors who switched to fulfilling careers as artists, and housewives who emerged from the years of raising children to release their gifts in writing and counseling.
“Many people die with their music still in them. Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live…Before they know it….time runs out.” Oliver Wendell Holmes
Check out this 7 year-old singing the National Anthem. He’s getting his “music” out. It will be interesting to see where he is 30 years from now. Will he be enjoying singing as he does today? Or will the realities of life have him push that down as “unrealistic” as he goes off to his cubicle each day?
Dan Miller's Blog 
February 19, 2008 at 11:25 am
Time has passed and the passions maybe coming through. At seventeen, I was a baker at a summer camp, the best job I ever had. Through the “guidance” of my older sister I took the path of being an engineer. Now at fifty-five, I am neither and engineer or a cook. Well, not as full time.
I put on pizza events in homes. This allows me to cook, perform (another passion) and make a little money. And, I have a 99.5 percent rating of “Bill, you make the best pizza I ever have had.”
Last week I started as substitute instructor at a Job Corps center. Let’s see, there is culinary, there is construction/engineering, and there is performance (of sorts). The passions just may be fulfilled.
February 19, 2008 at 11:36 am
Great post! It used to really bother me that I couldn’t play a musical instrument. I love listening to music, and I wanted to be able to play. So four years ago (at the age of 30), I bought a mandolin and took some lessons. Now I also play guitar, play in a band, and write songs. It’s been even more fulfilling than I imagined.
February 19, 2008 at 12:42 pm
As I sit here with tears streaming down my face I realize too that my dreams are just sitting dormant within me because of the need to be responsible and practical. I left my career with the United States Air Force in April of 2005 due to a disability and my passions and talents have been rotting in the corner every day since. I’m hopeful that one day I will be able to let my music live….before it is too late. Thanks for the inspiration….
February 19, 2008 at 1:17 pm
[…] Is your music still in you […]
February 19, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Great piece for me because my passions fall quite literally within the music field. I’m not able to make it full time in this area so I work an unfulfilling job that I hate but it pays well, in order to spend my evenings, weekends & vacations doing sound production & recording. Thanks for everything you do, Dan.
Travis
February 19, 2008 at 2:04 pm
I can totally relate to the pharmacist. I feel like my path has led me down an alley and I’ve hit a dead end. Even worse, the tall buildings surrounding me make it impossible to see where I am or where I can go and I have too many responsibilities to back track.
I make a good living with a consulting company but I just started to deliver pizza (ala Dave Ramsey) to get out of debt. Funny thing, I find working in the pizzeria more rewarding.
I don’t know what gives me meaning, I don’t know what my dreams are. I envy young people because they have all of the opportunity in the world.
February 19, 2008 at 2:21 pm
I can definitely relate to this post. I am a struggling artist. I have always known that I wanted to be an artist. However, the catch-phrase from childhood on through today has been “on the side.” You know, “Go ahead and get you a ______ job, and you can always “do” your art “on the side.”
I NEVER FOUND fulfillment doing that. Resentment built up. And discouragement. And disillusion. It seems that no one believes that I can make a success of art. Even well-meaning family members.
Too often, “on the side” gets pushed so far “to the side,” that it has fallen off the plate into the floor. Now, it is danger of being swept up by the vacuum cleaner, never to be seen from again.
I pray that that seven-year-old continues to sing his heart out. And keeps the faith. It is difficult for me.
February 19, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Thanks Dan! Great column. A few years ago I was turning 40 and really started thinking about these things. What dreams had I let slip by for responsibility and practicality. I had been home raising my kids for a decade but what was I going to do with the rest of my life? I decided to take a leap of Faith and do what I had always dreamed of doing…singing and recording a record. (I had a music degree) I did just that and WOW! What a difference a year makes! It’s selling on amazon, Itunes, in our local Borders and it is going on National radio in a few weeks(Mar.2008)I’m independant-no record label. It’s titled ” The Rest of Your Life.” All because I was willing to believe that I really could do what I was gifted at and make a living…still in that process! JOhn Eldrege says there is a reason why those passions churn inside us! These are gifts God wants to give the world through us..reflected through us. Thanks for your gifts! Love your books!! Dream everybody…then make a plan and take steps to make those dreams a reality!
February 19, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Wow!
………Dan, the pharmacist in your Hold Fast to Dreams class…. what did you recommend to him?………
Blessings, Lynne
February 19, 2008 at 4:31 pm
brought tears to my eyes!
February 19, 2008 at 5:15 pm
*sigh*
February 19, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Wow, that is simply incredible – talk about doing what he loves – it shows in that entire song. GREAT JOB – Again, I would like to see what he is doing in 10 years.
February 19, 2008 at 7:17 pm
I had the same thought about what my wife and I would do if we had the chance/money/time all at once to take our first vacation (never had one in 18 years) but it’s been so suppressed for so long it’s hard to imagine. As ” responcible” people paying bills and being there for family (who for the most part left us in our times /years of need and setback), we’ve recently taken stock of how we’ve been irresponcible with our commitment to our first love – Jesus and second each other.
My previous boss calls it layoff, some call it unemployment but we feel God’s calling us back to him. Yes there are unused talents to build on, huge monthly bills staring us down, etc, etc. Yet, bad habits of speaking the problem (whether money, rebellious teenager, physical ailments) and sinking into complacency once another job rolls around have really been our own demise.
Priorities must be right or you lose the focus and strength to accomplish what you really want. First things first and your sight, imagination and
blessings will return to you.
February 19, 2008 at 8:34 pm
Is there hope? Can a person who has spent a lifetime “eating around the good part” ever bite and finally enjoy living? I tell all everybody around me who is younger to re-build, renew, revive, but never, ever REGRET. Get in it! Life lived on the sidelines is no life at all.
February 19, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Wow – great article and SO TRUE!
I have positioned myself as a ‘tent-maker’ in one of my businesses so I can afford to pursue some of my passions…but now I’m axious to fulfill some other interests so I BOUNCE out of bed in the morning!
thanks for the insight! and thanks to all of you that had the courage to post!
Carrie
http://www.theBossMovie.com
PS And I KNOW the kid in that video!! His mom and I were in the same direct sales company EONS ago!!!!
February 19, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Three years ago, I went to broadcasting school. I had always been told I had a great voice for radio, but I had no way to go about getting into it. When I discovered there was a broadcasting school in my area, I went for it. Even after my mother tried to talk me out of it because I was unemployed at the time.
I got a job in radio after graduation, but it didn’t work out. I came back home and went to college to get a degree in broadcasting. I love broadcasting, radio especially, and want to make that my career… at age 44. And I’m going to do it. I waited long enough, it’s time for me to make my dream come true.
February 19, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Yes this really struck a chord with me, too! I have looked back upon the last 5 yrs and realized I have done some of what I wanted, but then I realize that a lot of times you think you want something only to discover it is not that great. But I KNOW for sure no one grows up wanting to work in a call center! I think of so many thinks I could have done and I try to be realistic about what I can do now. It is disheartening and disappointing to the poinit of exhaustion to do something evryday that you dont like and feel like you do just for money – something you dont care about.
February 19, 2008 at 9:59 pm
I cried as this boy sang one of the best renditions of our National Anthem I have ever heard. He has an obvious talent that hopefully will be properly funneled. I’ve felt for most of my life that I have never found my “niche”. I have a gift for writing and encouragement, and I love studying the Word of God and have a passion for Israel. Most of the jobs I’ve had amounted to secretarial type work, though I taught in Mexico for a year and ESOL in Georgia for two years. I could not handle the pressure and politics in teaching but still care about kids. I’d love to do some kind of motivational work, but what do I do at age 61, single and without work, when I don’t know how to tie my “passions” into something that would support me and bless others? In the midst of this, the Lord has almost miraculously provided a two week trip to Israel for me which I will take during Passover this April. None of it is going on a credit card! Most everything else in my life is! Thank you, Dan, for sowing into so many lives and helping people connect with their destiny.
February 20, 2008 at 12:05 am
Just as Jason mentioned about loving pizza delivery over his other job, I too found a lot of enjoyment in it. Even when I had an incorrect order or was really late because of the Superbowl demand, I had the opportunity to change people’s minds and attitudes.
AFFIRMATION is delivering an incorrect pizza to an irate person late on a Friday night and when you apologize for the mistake, go have the correct pizza made, deliver it, and thank them for the opportunity to make it right – they insist you take a tip!
I love cooking for friends and family. I have actually been considering making breakfast wraps for Sunday mornings and selling them at church to raise money for my wife and I to attend mission trips. I see a need (or a “USP” as Dan puts it) – many people come to church in a hurry and do not get time for breakfast. We have a cafe that serves coffee, lattes, smoothies, and donuts. Maybe I’m on to something here. I always make the wraps for teacher appreciation day at church and people scarf them down and ask for the recipe. I always thought the love of cooking and enjoyment of food was the German or Yankee in me, but it may indeed be my calling. Actually service in general is my calling and I am a mechanical engineer.
February 20, 2008 at 1:28 am
I am also a pharmacist and in the past worked in retail which left me very drained, exhausted, anxious and plain worn out. Then God allowed me to find my niche. I now work as a consultant pharmacist in long term care and get to make a difference every day. I am fulfilled in my work and see how God intended to use me all along. By the way, I also sing and lead worship at church! 🙂
February 20, 2008 at 2:01 am
WOW! he’s SO good. like the high note at the end.
WATCH OUT JOSH!!!
Christ Reigns
February 20, 2008 at 3:51 am
Dan, if you’re going to tear me up every week like that, I’m going back to monster.com!!! My Daddy told me (with the best of intentions) I needed to stop drawing pictures of the boats I loved, give up the dream of being the world’s youngest production boatbuilder, and get a “marketable skill.” Along the way I’ve learned to work in Civil Engineering, have been a librarian, a musician, a musical instrument repair technician, and a full-time vocational pastor. Now I am back designing sanitary sewer systems and realizing that with the last trench dug my dreams were unearthed! What do you do with all the other “talents?”
February 20, 2008 at 8:10 am
i am trying to revive it…………..
February 20, 2008 at 9:47 am
Dear Dan,
I am writting from Kenya, I have come to your website and articles today because I ned some encouragement. This article has encouraged me. I have many dreams and passions lying dormant, but just this year, I decided to do a masters course, I wanted something flexible in which I can also do some music classes, I have my music written just want to know how to get them out there. However the masters course turned out to be a disaster, it has been hell for me. Somebody paid the money for me, I wanted to quit but I keep on going to class, If I quit I have to pay this money back to the lady, but now, I think I will quit and just pay back the money, I will loose my time and money. I am amother of two and my husband is not with us always. I feel so bad since it is the lack of faith and boldness that made me just be in a class where the lectureres were saddist and be so stressed I used ti have stiff neck and thuis is just the first semester. I know I could have used the money to do other simple course but I was so confused. Please Dan, pray for me and pray for Kenya.
God bless
Grace Onyango
February 21, 2008 at 2:31 am
I’m so touched by all of your messages. I just read 48 days…what a great book. I love to sing. I have sung in church my whole life and have found my greatest joy in singing praises to God. It has been a while since I was really deeply involved in serving God in my church through music. I have let my job, working on my master’s, etc. get in the way.
I am really passionate about leadership too. I love anything written by John Maxwell. Another reoccurring “theme” is my desire to travel. I have really enjoyed the leadership opportunities that my job has provided, but it really does not pay enough for my husband and I to reach our dreams of family, owning rental property, and travel…
So now I am charged with figuring out how to find a career where I can sing, lead and travel…and start a family…wow….ONLY GOD CAN. 🙂
February 22, 2008 at 1:32 am
his voice is SO good. great kid, great ministry.
hope he knows what he’s sing’n about.
Christ Reigns
February 23, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Thank God for using you to speak through him in my time of need.
I am in the midst of making a life changing decision to move to Nigeria, the original country of my family, to pursue my goals as the African Queen of Hip Hop. It’s like I know clearly what I have to do to fulfill my dreams but I keep letting “outside influence” change my mind. I know God has a plan for me that is unique to many in my field, so I am not meant to go about things in the way they do. I am a visionary, and an activist, more than the average hip hop entertainer. But I have been allowing lack of finances to slow down my vision. Just as I prayed about taking a job or just leaving it all behind to move to Africa, where my destiny lies, I opened up your blog.
Once again, Dan you are an anointed Man of God and I someday hope to invite you to Africa to partake in a seminar.
Thank you and God bless you!
February 23, 2008 at 6:16 pm
So I’m getting ready to retire from my responsible job (not career) in September. How do I unlock that true passion to run after it?
February 25, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Dan,
What do you do when your music can never come out. I have known since I was a child that I wanted to be a wife and mother. However, I am 46 soon to be 47 and it has not happend. What do you do with that. I told God I would hold on to my faith in him but I find it very hard not to just give up. It is too late for my passion. What do you do when it is to late. I have no more dreams.
February 26, 2008 at 4:57 pm
You know, I’m 21 and that’s my biggest fear! I feel called to do music and every once in while in a blue moon I’ll doubt. I’m not saying God is a liar but it’s more doubt in myself. I do want to get married and settle down eventually but I don’t want to compromise my dream and calling for that. I’m currently going to school (half-time) to get my A.A.A. in Music with Jazz/pop Specialization. I currently play for my churches Young Adult band as their guitarist but I dream of this being my full-time ministry. I’m doing my best in setting goals to make sure I can assure this as my future “job” and nothing else after that until I “retire” then again in ministry you don’t ever retire but I don’t mind it’s for Jesus. My goal in assuring this future is apart from studying music, I’m also preparing myself into be possibly ordained by my church (Assemblies of God), and having a minor in business and possibly also in religious studies from the school I plan to transfer to (whichever that may be). All I know is that I want to secure my dream/calling and make it a REALITY and not just a hope or dream or hobby. I want to fufill God’s call on my life and Keep His dream (which we both share) alive but believe me it’s tough with “responsiblities I already have”. I’m paying off a car, credit card debt, school, and misc. expenses. I can only imagine what it would be like to have a mortgage, kids and family to sustain. So I understand where this need to supress your dreams and click back into “reality” comes from…but I really want my dreams to truly be reality!
-Allan “Tico” Guzman
February 26, 2008 at 5:01 pm
To DBason,
It’s not too late, stop focusing on “YOU” and look around and see what God has place in front of you. Where can you serve? A homeless shelter with homeless children? Parentless children? Having a child does not make you a “Mother.”
Are you marriage ready? Or are you holding on to baggage and bitterness because you’re 47? Do you love you? If you can’t love you then how do you expect to love someone else?
Be careful what you ask for you just might get it but will it be what God has for you? What does the bible say about being anxious…..
Oh by the way I will be 49 this year, single (never married) but I’m a single parent of two, one grown and on their own and the other a high schooler. Their earthly father was never present/supportive in their lives but our heavenly Father took care of everything.
February 26, 2008 at 5:26 pm
I look at the perfect example and role model — our Savior, Jesus Christ. He fulfilled his mission here on earth perfectly. I often find when I am the most discontent it is because I am only thinking of myself–what my own dreams are. It’s important to dream and set goals but most often, as we live our lives thinking of others, that’s when we find ourselves. We never know who we are affecting and helping as we just simply do our best.
I “bounce” out of bed each day because I am doing what I love the most; raising 6 amazing kids. We sing, dance, laugh, cook, volunteer in the community, sew, budget, listen to Dave Ramsey and 48 Days, go to church, have ping pong tournaments, plan parties with our neighbors, excel in school, donate to charities, teach lessons at church, sing at the old folks home, clean the house, go to the beach, market for our home business, have leadership positions at school, take care of each other when we’re sick, and work out problems together.. no, I mean think of solutions! I love my life and feel overwhelmed with gratitude. But I have to say that there have been days when I don’t feel that way and it’s usually when I need an attitude adjustment! Living the life you love often is right NOW in your heart.
February 26, 2008 at 5:43 pm
I am 30 years old and am attending a university for a BS in Network Communications Management. But even before I started on my way to a BS I had doubts as to whether this was the path that God had for me. I chose it because it was the practical and responsible way to go as I have a family. Soon after I found Christ I started feeling a real desire to share Him with others and help those in need. I do not know which way to go anymore. Do I abandon my current course to follow my heart or do I put this on the back burner and continue down the road I am on? Not to mention that my schooling takes so much time out of my life that I have little time to spend with my family and God. My biggest problem is that I have not been good with my finances and so my family is in a lot of debt, including thousands in student loans. I fear that if I do not get a good paying job that my family will suffer for it. I just pray that, somehow, God will get me out of this mess that I have created so that I can devote myself to the life he has for me.
February 27, 2008 at 2:22 am
God says that if we pray believing in our hearts that we have already received what we are asking that it will be granted. Hold fast to your faith and don’t think it is too late. You are probably referring to the “late” part as haveing children. Remember in the Bible about the woman who thought she was too old to have children and God blessed her and her husband with child? Or you and your future husband may adopt, or be foster parents to many children. The opportunites are endless with God. You are in my prayers. Be blessed.
March 6, 2008 at 2:11 am
Thank you Sharon for your understanding. I have asked God to reveal my purpose, and I still do not have an answer. I don’t want anyone to think I am just stuck on what I want. I have prayed that if I am wrong about the family that God take away the desirer and he has not. I just want to understand what he wants of me, so that I can get to work before my time is up. Thank you again Sharon for your prayers.
March 7, 2008 at 11:12 pm
sometimes the road to your dreams/desires are a long and winding road filled with roadblocks and brick walls. sometimes these walls have windows, sometimes doors and then at other times, it seems as though you have to back up and retrace your steps. all in all in the past 2 yrs, my husband and i have gone from making a very good living to NOTHING at all due to a job loss not of his doing. He studied and took his health and life insurance exams and he not only passed but he was one to the top scorers. he tried the insurance business for a while, but we both felt that God had other opportunities in store for us. He took another job as a salesperson for a very well known company, but was constantly gone on the road EVERY evening and weekend. We still have a child at home, so this was very trying on all of us. plus, although my husband is a terrific salesman, the problem came from not being able to get people financed for the upper line of product that he was selling. So, here are AGAIN at another wall wondering why God has led us down this same road as before. I have been wanting my husband to go back to college and finish and get his degree, and have been praying that God will place in my husband’s heart the desire to go back to school and earn his degree in SOMETHING!! I never really mentioned this to my husband the fact that i am extremely wore out of this sales business, so i just kept praying for God to take care of the situation.Recently, my husband came to me and relayed to me that he felt as though God was stirring in him the need and the desire to go back to school and earn a degree. Sometimes it seems as though it takes years for God to answer a particular pray or dream that we may have, but i feel as though there are things that God must do in our lives to prepare us for a particular work or service or must teach us so that we are aware of what that new career change,life change may be.In any case, in all of our ups and downs, and wondering if God is really even hearing our prayers, when God DOES finally answer your prayers, you are ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE that it is from him.It is NEVER too late to ask god for our dreams or desires to become a reality, just may not be the right time. My husband is in his 40’s and is getting ready to take his next big step in a new career in which WE BOTH feel is an answered prayer.
March 8, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Just as music is meant to be shared to be of maximum benefit, our giftings need to be released into the world to serve the purpose God has for every one. Finding hope in a discouraging world can overwhelm us and delay us, but God is the source of every good gift.
Thanks for the encouragement! The BEST is yet to come!
March 11, 2008 at 4:54 pm
You have inspired me to search & renew those dreams in me I’m 48 & want to share the songs in my heart & glorify my lord so he will say well done thou good & faithful servant .
Thanks,
Shaun
March 24, 2008 at 3:34 pm
grace orlando:
this topic resignates with so many of us. I can hear the pain and frustration in many of the comments. I can also hear the spiritual journey that many the posters are on as well. i am speechless at the pain so many of us are going through. all i can do is offer what i have to help someone get a little closer to their dreams and begin to heal some of the pain of the “unsung song.”
Grace Orlando, what type of music are you doing? what do you need help with?
April 16, 2008 at 1:33 am
[…] couple months ago I wrote a blog on “Is Your Music Still In You?” The response to that was so overwhelming we now have produced business card-sized magnets with those […]
April 16, 2008 at 3:51 am
I am 31 years old with an office job, making in the high five figures. No, I haven’t cracked the six-figure mark yet, but I want to and much more. I have read 48 Days and No More Mondays, but I still struggle with what my true passion is. I feel like I am just floundering in my day job and that I have so much more to offer. I want to start my own company, but I am really not sure what it should be. I enjoy being outside and I like talking with people. I have tried to stir my creative juices by reading Small Business magazines and Entrepreneur, but I still haven’t found that winning idea. Does anyone have any suggestions? What should my next step be?
April 16, 2008 at 12:24 pm
I’m a 49-year old former commercial diver (that’s diver, not driver), and diving was once my passion. Now I’m a copier repairman (huh?) and disgusted by the way this major foreign company for which I work mismanages it’s personnel & other assets. It really frosts me! More importantly, I’m a Messianic Jewish believer in Y’shua (Jesus–and yes, I’m a Torah observant Jew–not necessarily traditional) and the cantor of the Messianic synagogue I attend. The problem is, my passions have evaporated. I used to LOVE diving, submarines, shipwrecks, all scary underwater things, and I feel like G-d has removed that passion, but as yet He has not given me another one. Is anyone out there who has been down a similar path? G-d bless and prosper you all as you seek what He has given you. G-d LOVES you more than you can begin to imagine, and wants you to have joy in Him, but most of all, for you to have a relationship with Him through His only begotten Son, Y’shua (Jesus)! Ray
April 16, 2008 at 1:47 pm
My husband is going to work today to do battle with his boss’s boss about being treated very poorly by him yesterday. He probably will not win even with HR present because these guys have been there for 15+ years and think they can treat their workers like dogs. They are untouchable. My husband did nothing wrong and is one of the best workers in the department. He has a college education and is a problem solver and creative thinker. They are threatened by him and want him gone. He is required to turn off his brain at work and become a drone to be kicked around at will by his superiors. I hope they fire him so we can move on with our lives and all the entrepreneurial dreams we have!
April 16, 2008 at 3:54 pm
This is a quote from a newsletter that I use to receive from Mark Victor Hansen, that I believe is ever so true. It fits right in with your blog and it makes me constantly think about my passions and what I am doing to achieve them.
I carry this quote around in my wallet so I can share it with others:
“The saddest places on earth are graveyards. Not because people are buried there, but because dreams, talents and purposes that never came to fruition are buried there. Graveyards are filled with books that were never written, songs that were never sung, words that were never spoken, things that were never done.”
April 16, 2008 at 7:10 pm
I went to broadcasting school after I graduated high school. I, too, was affected by those who told me I couldn’t make it in that field and every once in awhile I get the “what if’s” but I always get back to doing something that has me communicating. I worked at Wal~Mart part time over 10 years ago and found myself making announcements because the store management liked the enthusiasm I showed behind the mic. After I left Wal~Mart, I started announcing marching band shows for my local high school. I thought it would be at the most two years and out, but this August I start my 9th year.
I also write two blogs and communicate with people from all over. after my brother passed away last month, I wrote s aeries of posts that touched my readers’ hearts. It has been suggested I take the posts and write a book. I am now seeing that there are many ways to use the music that is in you.
April 18, 2008 at 3:41 am
I thought that little kid was adorable. He was so focused on singing. I think my favorite part of his performance was at the very end when he sang, “In the land of the free (very high note here) and the home of the brave.” Cute.
April 22, 2008 at 10:54 pm
Opportunities just come ones, and I have missed many of my dreams for not listen on time. I am 53 years old now, I did accomplished many of my dreams, but now I wish I can open a business, I worked in accounting many years, until I was a mom again and home school my child for 5 years. He is in school now and would like to open a resturant, but don’t know how to put the puzzel together. Great articles God bless.
June 17, 2008 at 2:56 pm
I’m a 51 year old disabled man who has played music for 46 years. I was injured in a job related incident which partially paralyzed me. I find that because of reached deep inside of me that I can teach music as a way of coping with this setback in my life. I find I can make little money to supplement my income of $900 month living in California and raising a 12 year old daughter. Music is a tool for me to reach young and old who are seeking a way to enter into a peace that only GOD can give us. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of POWER, LOVE & SOUND MIND!!! Seek Him first and all things will be added unto you. Blessings!!!
June 18, 2008 at 4:01 am
Dreams! Wisdom is the choice of the greatest goal, and the best way to achieve it! It is he that has made us and not we oursleves! Especially if you are a new creature in Christ, whatever is good in you is of God, especially if it is for the promotion of his Kingdom. I dream of millions of Christians finding ther dreams from knowing the dreams of our Fathers. Without a history, there is no macro future for us, only our own future. Dreams come from a multitude of considerations. When we consider what our Fathers did for us, and that all the way back to the Mayflower, their dream was to be a stepping stone for us, to fulfill the Dreams of God in our lives…I think that…..it is time for the old men to dream dreams, and the young men to get a vision for a perishing world! Oh what a savior we have! We need Cristians in the Government, the Media, the Mechanic shop! Occupy till he comes! That comes from a Roman word to wait, and build while your waiting! Hope makes us bold, and people flock to a man with a Dream! A Purpose….and the best purposes come from knowing the past, and building on the dreams of great men…of the Apostles, and Prophets…of our Lord….Seek not what your Lord can do for you, but ask with the shepherds, “What can I give him?” For it is he that made us, he made the new you…..Behold, I and the children he has given, are for signs…the gospel must be preached as a testimony. Whats Yours? He that wins souls is wise. Get wisdom, and in so doing, dream, dream wisely.
June 18, 2008 at 3:25 pm
This is an awesome Post. First i have to share it with alot of people I know that are going thru the same thing. But as for me.. Im 20 my passions are with 1. Music 2. Worship Leading 3. Dancing 4. Helping People. I am a Medical Assistant and I work as an EKG Tech the job pays but it sucks horribly..(i monitor hearts) i guess my issue here is finding the motivation. As a MA i HElp people i know but i feel that my other 3 passions are slowly fading…
June 30, 2008 at 7:46 pm
I am 50 plus yrs old, working for a good company for almost 1/4 century. I am thankful for the job and th benefits/pay it affords me but I know there is more for me to do. I feel I am called to write but don’t know where to start. I feel like my nest is being stirred and the thought of stepping out of the boat scares the heck out of me. Plus, I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. How do I find what my passion is. Friends tell me I’m an encourager, a very good writer, and that I have a gift to pray for people. My dream is to write a book of prayers that will help others who struggle to find the words to pray. A sort of ‘springboard’ to help jump start their prayer lives. Pray for me that I will know the way and that when I’m ready (and pray it be soon),the Teacher will appear. Thanks!
June 30, 2008 at 9:22 pm
I am 56 years young, unemployed for the past 3 years and became a Born Again Christian only 5 months ago. I am very anxious to live out my passion in God’s will for the rest of my life. But, like many of you, I’m not sure of what that “dream” is anymore. I’ve always loved music and dancing but just can’t see myself glorifying the Lord by way of dancing. I’ve read that we should “pay attention” to the things around us and when we see or hear something that makes our spirit shout out, then, that’s it! Perhaps I’m too anxious for this next season to materialize and I just need to wait on the Lord. I’ve done it my way all my life and now that He’s in control, I’m going to leave the driving to Him. Thank you for this timely article.
June 30, 2008 at 10:34 pm
It’s funny that music was the analogy you went with because I’m 22 and was in college for 2 years before being kicked out and coming home. I was an animal science major. Now I’m feeling led into music ministry and have begun looking into colleges just for that. I’ve never felt better about anything I’ve done in my life! 😀 God seemed to just look right at me and say, “Duh! I’ve been trying to tell you that!” 🙂 It’s great! He’s so good and gives such provision for us. I’m just glad that I listened now instead of running from God and waiting until I was in grad school or later to change my mind. Thanks!
July 1, 2008 at 9:54 am
My greatest fear is getting to heaven and being told that i didnt fulfill the purpose that God for me and i believe this lies in the passion that God has placed in my heart.Unfortunately we are so dictated by the things that surround us and we have our paths in life determined so much by our environment.I live in the developing world and our mindsets were trained that to be acceptable in society and to live a comfortable life one needs to have an “office job” and certain type of profession.I always wanted to be a writer from the age of 9,when i wrote my first mini book.I would write poetry, short stories, dramas.But somehow i got into Accounting and there is so much work in this field and so much studying that at 24 i just had no more time to write so i stopped writing and i just stopped for the last 4years i havent written anything, dont know if i still can and im scared to try.
July 1, 2008 at 11:55 am
This is great! I worked with horses for over 20 years, hit burnout, got divorced, and pursued other interests (singing) for 15 years, and got married again, became unhappy in that marriage, and am working in a cubicle, but now I am working back to who I am, and have been praying to God to lead me to the right people, and places, and to help my marriage. I am finding that I still do love my husband, although more changes are needed there, and that I want to teach riding again, and be with horses, to be the “me” I am suppose to be. I have been selling off my model horse collection, so as to be able to buy a real horse sometime next year. My dreams are still alive in me, and God has helped to awaken that spirit once more. I have been on an incredible journey these past five years of rediscovering my relationship with God, which my husband has helped to birth. I have told God of my dream for having a horse business again, and giving free riding lessons to underprivileged children who have a love of horses, but no money to have one or even take lessons, and to help to rescue unwanted horses, and people as well, and well I could go on and on, because I am just bursting with ideas. I know God is going to help fulfill these dreams, and I will continue to pray, believe and have faith that he will! God is sooooooo AWESOME! Thanks!
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January 12, 2010 at 7:29 pm
Growing up the only thing I ever dreamed of doing was taking care of babies & children. I played ‘house’ constantly and still have most of my dolls some ..hmmm 40 years later. I still have the desire to be a ‘stay-at-home’ Mom even though my kids are grown and all but one now married. I started working in middle school, and for a period of time in my junior & senior years of high school, held 2 jobs & went to school. When I graduated from high school I started at the local university and worked part-time until I graduated. I started full-time the Monday after I graduated on Saturday and have been working full-time since.
When I have an extended vacation (or even a long weekend), it is so difficult for me to go back to work. I just want to stay home & COMPLETE something. … the laundry, the cleaning, sweeping … just COMPLETE it! My job has provided our family with a stable income and benefits we could not have gotten had I not worked. As I near the age I can take early retirement, my husband and I have started to discuss fostering hard-to-place children. I don’t feel I can do that working full-time, but I get excited about that possibility in the future. Maybe that is my ‘dream job’ — I’m not sure yet, but I’m seeking God’s will.
January 13, 2010 at 2:52 am
I love to help people, and encourage people. As I get older I feel like some people cannot be helped. Still I have a desire to help people. Maybe help and adult learn to read. Or just sit and visit with a lonely widow. I love being out doors, and taking long walks. Right now I take care of my grandchildren. As I get older it is a struggle, but I know they need me, just as much as anyone else. Sometimes I need time alone with God. I feel like God can still use me, even after my Grandchildren leave the nest. I hope and pray, I will always have the desire to help and encourage others. Just a city girl with a desire to be in the country.
January 15, 2010 at 5:00 am
DAN,
I serve OUR LORD in the military.
I am in Logistics. We are required to deploy every year to help support the war. I have been in 11 years now. God saved through the military. I accepted as Lord over my life in Okinawa Japan. Before joining the military I was in the world rapping, singing, d.j.’ng and more. Once I gave my life it took a few years until HE used me. This is where HE has gifted me in. The goals I have been trying to accomplish to bless others while providing for my family (wife and son) is Christian DJ service, Online Bookstore, Worship CD. I have not received any support from my wife because she sees it as a hobby. I lifted this up to God and am seeking HIS guidance because. I am in the military and serving in a job that I dislike. I pray that HE helps me focus on the now. I brought up the business plans to my wife, but I have yet to receive support. I don’t want to do anything behind her back. She does not understand the vision that God has given me along time ago since I was I 7 years old. I believe I am wasting what HE has giving me. Lastly, I pray for salvation in Christ Jesus because she has left her first love 2 years now and is living for the world. I am 35 years now. I have meet others who are in business or have been in one and they educate on starting one, but when I bring the seriousness to my wife, I am not taken seriously. Please pray for us. I have a desire to serve God in the gifts HE has given me.
V/R,
Pinoy4Christ
January 21, 2010 at 3:59 am
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January 27, 2010 at 11:10 pm
Pinoy4Christ: Let your soul cry out to God every day, every time you think of your calling, that HE will grant to your helpmeet (wife) understanding and the will to support you. Just remember, He will do so in His time, not your time.
DBason: Keep in mind Sarah, wife of Abraham, who had her son at age ninety (and lived to see him grown!); also Elizabeth, wife of Zachariah, who gave birth in her sixties. If God wants you to have a baby, neither age nor anything else can stop that from happening! Take it step by step: the baby will need a providant father–a good one–as well as a good mother; some form of extended family for your (plural) morale support and so the child will have relatives (with or without quotes); the wherewithall to provide books, toys, shelter, spiritual and secular education, and medical maintenance (vaccinations, etc.)-and the latter for you too; and a good, safe neighborhood with a number of other children to play with. If you have done YOUR footwork, and prepared a place for the child (“Prepare ye a way for the Lord, make straight the path”–He CAN work in a vaccum, but the scriptures show He prefers considerable cooperation), and continued to pray for a good husband, a good father for the child, and a healthy child, in God’s time you will be answered. Remember also Samuel’s mother: you may need to dedicate the child to the Lord. Meanwhile, keep those mothering skills sharp by being a child-friendly, responsible and caring “aunt” to your relatives’ and friends’ children, to show God you are serious.
January 31, 2010 at 4:35 am
I knew I came to this page for a reason. I had been working a LOT so I took a leap of faith and left my full-time job in banking [never was passionate about that field, loved the customers]. I still work with customers at my part-time job at Macy’s until I figure out what I’m doing. I am a newer Christian and problem is none of the non-Christians in my life understand why I left my full-time job, why I stopped going to bars and wanting to hang out with the “cliques”, and it’s kind of a big uncertain mess. While having the freedom to rethink things at a younger age is good, it’s scary and draining. I grew up wanting to work with animals and play music. Right before I came back to Christ I wanted to work with people’s images inside and out as I love visuals and fashion. But now as I have come into a deeper relationship with God, I want to help homeless women and children and/or those suffering from addictions. Yeah if I couldn’t get any more confusing! I know passions can be lived out on the side but I am certainly all over the place in my decision making for sure. Need much prayer for that!
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