I am a big fan of these two questions...
- What's in your heart?
- What's in your hands?
To me, these two questions are critical tools in which allow us to consider our hopes and our dreams, and contrast them with our reality. To say it in another way, these questions allow me to figure out if my hands and are fulfilling the dreams and visions which I hold so dear inside of me.
Generally, there are two types of people when it comes to dreams, visions and ideas. First, we have the WEAR MY DREAM ON MY SLEEVE person. This person is bursting at the seams with dreams, visions and ideas, and if you spend even 3 minutes with them, you will hear as many of them as they can jam into your conversation. Often you leave this conversation overwhelmed, but can't help feeling a little guilty for not being as passionate about anything as they are.
The second type of person is the SECRET DREAMER. If this was a nature documentary we would be whispering right now, and watching this person from a safe distance. This person has a whole lot going on in their heart and in their head, but they only put it into their hands when no one else is around, for fear of being found out, and because this person is also usually a perfectionist, who doesn't want to let anything out into the real world until they've first wrapped their minds around it, and then executed flawlessly.
This of course are caricatures and avatar's of people who exist, and most of us live on a creative spectrum between the two. DREAM ON SLEEVE is incredibly passionate, but also has a difficult time staying the course. They tend to be serial starters, who obsessively start new creative endeavors, but very rarely see them through to completion.
The SECRET DREAMER has a different problem. This person is often so protective of their craft and their dream that it rarely ever makes it out of it's cage. Their dreams and visions are held captive by the desire for perfection, and a hesitancy for their art or craft to be exposed for fear of perceived failure. The strength of this person though is that they often have a long term vision, and are great stewards of their gift, if it can ever make its way out of their creator's creative prison.
So which are you? Do you have any of these tendencies? You know what both of these people need? Each other. They need somebody else to help them recognize their creative challenge, and to speak some encouragement, life and wisdom into their creative lives. The major problem that all of us have is that we very rarely ever get started and most of us leaves our dreams, visions, and ideas dying on the vine.
Here's a challenge for you. Go find the other person. Find somebody who is the creative opposite of you, and start speaking life into whatever they are doing. Bring your skills to the table, and then invite them into your project. Let your skills and talents and creativity balance each other, and maybe, just maybe, you will create something incredible together!
Brett Esslinger is a Husband, Dad, Son, Brother, Pastor, Speaker, Leader, Writer whose life goal is to help people unlock their potential and fulfill their life's purpose.
Follow Brett on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook: @brettesslinger and of course over on Snapchat at: brett.esslinger