FROM MIGHT TO FLIGHT

A BOOK REVIEW BY JO RAE JOHNSON

“For all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, ‘It might have been.'” If poet John Greenleaf Whittier’s famous words remind you of a lost dream, take heart. John Maxwell’s Put your Dream to the Test can give you wings to move from “might” to “flight.”

The first leg of your trip is the test. Maxwell’s Dream Test covers ten areas, Ownership, Clarity, Reality, Passion, Pathway, People, Cost, Tenacity and Fulfillment. If you answer any statement false, you’ve unveiled an obstacle to your dream.

The Pathway statements ‘I have a written plan for how I intend to accomplish my dream” and “I have made significant changes to my priorities and work habits to put my plan into action” left this reader with no excuses. I need to pack my bags if I want to take the trip. Put Your Dream to the Test is a book to peruse; it demands active participation. Each chapter covers a question from the Dream Test and includes a call to action. I recommend a journal or notebook to record your answers and chart your progress.

Inspirational quotes and stories of individuals who saw their dreams become reality are sprinkled liberally throughout the book. From the much known likes of Beethoven, to the lesser known Bob Taylor of Taylor Guitars, you’ll find a similar flight plan – passion plus perseverance equals a dream destination.

The chapter on Cost dealt with one of my excuses – being sensible. John Maxwell states, “In the name of being sensible, people ignore their desires”. Somewhere in my transition from reckless youth to sensible mother, I forgot that risk can be both positive and necessary. As Maxwell explains, “Because dreams confessed create conflict; dreams begun create crisis”.

This empty nester has become more adventuresome of late, and I’m ready to make the changes necessary to see my dream become reality. The only fear I face is the knowledge that my dream is in my hands and there is no one to blame but me should it not come to pass. I plan on acing this test because as George Eliot stated,”It’s never too late to be what you might have been.”