Dreaming Big: Energizing Yourself and Your Team with a Crystal Clear Life Dream

Co-written by executive consultant Bobb Biehl and pastor/counselor/business owner Paul Swets, Dreaming Big: Energizing Yourself and Your Team with a Crystal Clear Life Dream is a guide to tapping into one's core passions and dreams to reap increased productivity, powered by natural energy. Even those with a dream too grand to be contained within a single person's lifetime can draw upon the methodologies for building a team that shares one's dream and make it manifest. Chapters discuss the importance of choosing one's dream wisely, how to embody and demonstrate leadership, create competitive advantage, and much more. Dreaming Big is a consumable self-help book; end-of-chapter questions and quizzes encourage the reader to look into himself or herself and write down answers. Though primarily a self-help book, not a religious book, Dreaming Big also touches upon the larger questions of life from a Christian perspective at times. "Developing an income stream beyond your job requires learning delayed gratification. It requires stamina, focus, and mental toughness. You can't be bullied by the discouraging words of well-meaning souls who may think they have your best interest at heart. They likely do not know your interior core - the dreams and passions and courage that drive and pull you into the future." A wonderfully motivational, life-changing read.

Reviewed by Vicki Landes for Reader Views (3/08) Looking to make big changes in your life but overwhelmed with the number of self-help books promising to do so? Need a push into the unknown while maintaining your Biblical morals and standards? Bobb Biehl and Paul Swets promise just that in their book, "Dreaming BIG: Energizing Yourself and Your Team with a Crystal Clear Life Dream." With their help, you are just a month away from a more meaningful existence. In "Dreaming BIG," Biehl and Swets break down their methods in 31 separate lessons - not only meant to give you time to deeply contemplate each concept, but to guide you step-by-step through questions and situations that will help you discover what matters most. By creating a foundation of these answers - unique to each person - you begin to build on that with activity and energy you never knew you had. Further, these life dreams aren't meant to be `islands' in the world; instead, they interconnect you with your fellowman. In a world where selfishness and personal gain reign supreme, it's refreshing to read a self-help book that isn't just about `self.' Biehl and Swets inspire you to reach beyond yourself and learn to empower others while sparking their interest in their own life dreams. "Dreaming BIG" is a highly motivational book, written with the gentle tone of experience and authority. Biehl and Swets feel like two old friends guiding you through a transitional period with encouragement, energy, and spirituality. Their 31-day process allows you to `see the light at the end of the tunnel' yet they don't restrict the reader if more time is needed. Their entire system is comfortable and enlightening. "Dreaming BIG" is the perfect read for mature readers looking to preserve their Christian values while changing their lives for the better. The book would also be of interest to those looking for change and do not currently practice a form of spirituality but would like to and don't know where to start. Anyone sick of their current state of affairs will find plenty of helpful ways to change their situation in the pages of "Dreaming BIG." Anyone who has tried to break a bad habit or learn a good one knows that change is never easy. Bobb Biehl and Paul Swets acknowledge this but challenge you to reach past your comfort zone and grab your aspirations by the horns. In "Dreaming BIG: Energizing Yourself and Your Team with a Crystal Clear Life Dream," they show you how little steps each day can make all the difference. Pretty soon, the difficult changes become easier and even exciting, giving you the motivation to attain what's uniquely your own life's goal.

Whether we consciously realize it or not, we all have one really big dream inside of us. Sometimes this desire has been quashed by the reality or our current circumstances or by friends who thought that they were helping. Sometimes, the prospect of achieving this goal is simply just too terrifying. What is your big dream? Dreaming Big encourages us to dig until we find a big dream. Then, do everything in our power until we live it. Sound a little intimidating? Not at all, the authors have provided step by step details on how to gradually get to that place where your fantasies begin to look more realistic. Complete a step a day (or a week if you need to) and slowly work through all those excuses about why you can't follow your aspirations. Then, gain momentum as you collect the skills and regain the confidence you'll need to make your dream a reality.

Since I'm in my late 50's, with 2 kids in college and a recent move, I'm at a transition point in my life. This book, Dreaming Big, is highly useful for clarifying my strengths, goals and dreams - as well as formulating a plan of action. I enjoyed doing the daily 'homework' suggested in each chapter and answering the excellent, probing questions. They enabled me to get on the right track that fits my vocational and avocational passions and dreams. I even gave the book to my son (a JR in college) for a Christmas gift -- to help him focus on his future and life/work planning. This book is terrifically energizing!

I am in the middle of a change in life phase, and this book has helped me so much to focus in on what it is that my skills and desires lead me to do, and what gives me that profound sense of confidence that I am in my niche. I already feel a measure of peace with my decisions, and I am happier than I have been in a long time. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is going through a change in his/her life!