Today commemorates the birthday of Martin Luther King, the civil rights leader.  If he had lived, he would have been celebrating 80 years on this earth.  I took a few minutes this morning to listen and watch—again—Dr. King’s most famous speech, I Have A Dream.  It never fails to inspire me.  If it has been awhile since you’ve read this speech, take a look at it now.

Last year, I developed and delivered a short business presentation on how to develop goals using the SMART formula.  In that presentation, I began by talking about Dr. King’s dream and the dreams of a few other inspirational people.  I knew it was a bit unconventional to talk about dreams in a formal business presentation, but I didn’t let that faze me.  I wanted to make the point that the really important goals, the ones you are bound and determined to achieve, are firmly rooted in your dreams.  If they weren’t, it would be too easy to give up on them.

“All successful people, men and women, are big dreamers.  They imagine what their future could be, ideal in every respect, and then they work every day toward that distant vision, that goal or purpose.”  – Brian Tracy

What is your dream?  Is the work you are doing moving your closer to the dream?