• Wake up! Dreaming is wonderful, but it can also be a means to avoid facing the frightening real world out there. Seasons of dreaming are essential, but in order to make those dreams real, you have to wake up and embrace a new season of “making it real.” It doesn’t mean you don’t dream anymore – just that your primary focus is on taking action in the real world.
  
  
• Accept that you are afraid, and don’t let it stop you from acting. Fear is not a sign that you should stop. Rather, it’s a perfectly normal and expected reaction to venturing out beyond your known experience. You are forging a new path for yourself in the world; that’s supposed to be scary. But don’t let it stop you from going.
  
  
• Instead of surrendering to your fear, consciously surrender yourself to God and His Big Dream for you, which He planted in your heart. His call on your life is bigger than you are – and as you surrender to it you’ll find that the calling has an inertia of its own (called Grace) that is able to carry your forward.
  
  
• Expect a lot of resistance. This may come from family, from circumstances, from your past, from the enemy, from just about anywhere. But it will come – regularly and often. So rather than get in a huff about the injustice of it all (which will inevitably stop you from moving forward), just accept that experiencing resistance is a part of the process of making dreams real, and focus your energy on finding ways to circumvent or overcome it.
  
  
• Finally, create “real world” goals for yourself that set you up for success. I recommend using this variation of the S.M.A.R.T. method of setting goals – which is to make all your goals:
  
  
  1. Specific – Write out exactly what you want to achieve in detail.
  2. Measurable – Write out specific criteria for how you will know when you have achieved the goal.
  3. Accountable – Announce your goal to one or more people and enlist them to help you reach it.
  4. Realistic – Do the research necessary to know whether your goal is realistic.
  5. Time-Specific – Set a definitive deadline for the achievement of your goal.

Making your dreams a reality is hard work. It takes commitment, tenacity, lots of faith, and an ever-increasing capacity to surrender yourself to God and His will. But even though it is hard, it isn’t too much for you. In fact, it is the very work that God created you to accomplish. So wake up, my friend! The season of dreaming is over. It’s time to make it real.

Michael D. Warden is a Professional Co-Active Coach, nationally certified through the Coaches Training Institute, and a member of the International Coach Federation. Michael’s clients’ one common trait is their passion to live a bigger life – to discover what they're here for, and boldly go after that vision with confidence and authenticity. Find more on his life and work at www.michaelwarden.com.