Dream of Something Only God Could Pull Off
July 23, 2009

Several years ago I got an email from a man who told me he had found the purpose for the rest of his life after reading my book, Awaken the Leader Within. In fact, he was making a big-time career change in pursuit of his new-found BLOW YOUR SOCKS OFF VISION. As encouraging as his words were to me, they raised a bit of concern. After all, a guy was changing job careers because of something I'd written. If he'd said he was going to buy a different kind of bread, or eat more vegetable, or stop drinking Coke, I'd have felt a little better. But he said he was pursuing a dream ... one that kept him up at night.

His name was and is George Del Canto. His vision: To reach 1,000,000 men for Jesus Christ with an Indy racing team. And guess what--he and his team are doing it. They've got an Indy racing team and they've been in the big race. You can check them out at www.kingdomracing.net .

Anyway, I got to thinking about George and his vision and thought I'd share the idea of a Blow Your Socks Off Vision with you. I hope this encourages you to go for a vision that is so big only God working through you could pull it off.

The fact is effective leaders have a compelling BLOW YOUR SOCKS OFF VISION. Throughout his career as governor of California and through his two terms as president, Ronald Reagan spoke of America as the "shining city on a hill." Leaving the White House in 1980 he said, "I've spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don't know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a tall proud city, built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace, a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity, and if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get in."

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave one of the most passionate descriptions of a BLOW YOUR SOCKS OFF VISION when speaking to a huge crowd from the base of the Lincoln Memorial. He said he dreamed of an America where his "four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

Howard Schultz, the founder of Starbucks, had a BLOW YOUR SOCKS OFF VISION of coffee shops where quality coffee would be served in a comfortable atmosphere.

Jesus had a BLOW YOUR SOCKS OFF VISION of a kingdom where citizens live like their heavenly Father. What about you?

What is your BLOW YOUR SOCKS OFF VISION? Maybe in tough economic times like these such thinking may seem unrealistic. But it's never unrealistic to cultivate such a vision. If you can't describe yours, then read on.

The ability to dream big comes from a creative element God instilled in every man, woman and child. Moses recorded that God made man in his image. In fact, within the space of two verses we're told four times that God made man in his image (Genesis 1:26-27). I'm convinced our ability to create reveals one way we carry the image of God. He is the master builder, the great visionary who sees the end from the beginning. Creating us in his image is the cause and our desire to create and build is the effect.

Your BLOW YOUR SOCKS OFF VISION will flow from your imagination and be fueled by your past experiences. Turning your imagination loose may take some practice. You may be so afraid of failure you dream within very specific and restrictive boundaries. You may be reluctant to set the bar too high for fear you couldn't possibly jump over it. A BLOW YOUR SOCKS OFF VISION knows no boundaries. It utilizes massive resources. It's a dream that's ten, twenty, thirty, or more, years in the future.

Ask yourself this question, "If money and other resources were not an issue, what would my future, or that of my organization, look like?" Challenge your leadership team or even your family members to develop a BLOW YOUR SOCKS OFF VISION for their area of responsibility and for their lives. Encourage them to describe their BLOW YOUR SOCKS OFF VISION as vividly and descriptively as possible.

Visionary men are like the child who feverishly worked on a drawing during his kindergarten class. Curious as to what had so captured the child's attention the teacher approached his desk, leaned over and gazed at the image on the paper.

"What are you drawing?" the teacher asked.

"A picture of God," the boy said without looking up.

The teacher smiled. "But, sweetheart, nobody knows what God looks like."

"I know," he said. "But they will when I'm done."

Visionary men see the invisible so clearly when they're finished drawing it or describing it, those they lead can see it too. As Jonathan Swift said, they've mastered "The art of seeing the invisible."

Jesus repeatedly drew a verbal picture of the future God was preparing for his disciples. He described a day when they would live in his presence and have a room in the home of heaven's King (John 14:1-3). He promised there would be a renewal of all creation and they would rule with him in his kingdom (Matthew 19:28). Jesus spoke in great detail about the attitudes of those who would live in his future Kingdom. He said the first would be last; the humble would be lifted up, and the hungry would be satisfied. Talk about vision!

The future Jesus described was so compelling that it has captured the imagination of men and women for 2,000 years. Ultimately, our drive to be visionary leaders should flow from a desire to emulate Jesus--the greatest leader of all time.