How to Keep Your Dreams Alive

Have you ever watched Martin Luther King’s, “I Have a Dream” speech? Whether you have or not I’d encourage you to watch it on YouTube. Did you know that his speech is one of the most watched speeches in the world? While was delivered many years before I was born, his words inspire me to this day. I only wish I could’ve seen and heard him speak in person.

He was the hero of many, especially African Americans. A beacon and symbol of hope.

Dr. King delivered the “I Have a Dream” speech on August 28,1963 and is a demonstration of why he was one of the greatest orators of our time. I examine portions of his speech and how it aligns with my framework to help and coach others to live the life of their dreams. I also explain it in my latest podcast, Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Be sure to listen to catch it all and be inspired to live your dreams. I hope it inspires you to never give up on your dreams and to live life to the fullest.

Dr. King opened his speech with the statement, “I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.” His opening statement was bold, demonstrating a sense of passion and confidence. If you expect to achieve your dream(s), you must have a sense of boldness, passion and confidence and Dr. King had it. These are prerequisites, something that you must have before taking specific steps to live your dreams. My “DREAMS” framework is a model that I use with my clients to support them in achieving their dreams.

Define

The first step in my framework is Define, which is about writing clear statement about your dream or goal. This should reflect what you want to achieve and include a description of what success looks like. What are you doing in this vision of your life? Who are you interacting with? What are you wearing? Who are you influencing?

Dr. King was clear about defining his dream and some components were delivered in his speech including the following statements:

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.”
“I have a dream that one day out in the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.”
“I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.”
“I have a dream that my 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.”

When you read and hear these statements, his dream is crystal clear, and you can picture every word he is saying. I think this is one of the reasons why this is one of the greatest speeches of all time and that he is one of the greatest orators of all time.

Reflect

The next step in my framework is Reflect. Reflection is an important practice allowing you the opportunity to pause, observe past experiences creating a sense of clarity and meaning. Evaluating your strengths, development opportunities, successes and failures, determining what got you to where you are today. This helps you formulate what you need to do next.

Dr. King did some reflection when defining his dream and considering the path forward and was well articulated in his speech. His reflection was evident when he said: “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon of hope to millions of slaves…but one hundred years later” we are still not free. One hundred years later our lives are sadly crippled by the manacle of segregation and the chains of discrimination. There are just a few of the statements representing Dr. King’s reflection. When reflecting, it’s important to not rush the process. It helps you to gain clarity and will help you determine the path forward.

Explore

The next step is to explore, meaning explore options that will help you make progress toward your dream. What options should you consider? What options should you move forward with?

Dr. King shared some options to consider that would help accelerate his dream, but these options weren’t necessarily in his control. He presented options for those in power to consider, which was the purpose of the rally in the first place. Hundreds of thousands of people of all races were at Lincoln Memorial, (where King’s speech was delivered) rallying for “human rights” and justice for all. Here are some options King shared.

“Now is the time to make justice a reality to all of God’s children.”
“We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.”
“We are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Act

The next step is to act – taking action to achieve your dream. Consider the options evaluated in the previous step and act on the ones that will propel you forward to living your dream life. King proposed extremely specific action but again, these actions weren’t in his control. What I admire is that he focused on what he could control by protesting, demonstrating and rallying for justice and suggesting specific actions so his dream could come true.

Here are some actions King suggested in his speech.

“In a sense we have come to our Nation’s Capital to cash a check. When the architects of our great republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.”
“But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and security of justice.”
“Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy.”
“Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.”

Monitor and Soar

The last two steps in my framework are Monitor and Soar, which make up my “DREAMS” framework. While King didn’t live to see his dream come true, he monitored progress and kept fighting for justice until the day he was murdered.

live your dream life, be sure to monitor progress, adjust course as needed until you are living your dreams. As long as you are living and breathing, you have time to make it happen.

I appreciate that King remained hopeful in his dream regardless of circumstances. He expressed hope in several parts of his speech as follows:

“Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our modern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.”
“I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.”
“This is our hope. This is the faith that I will go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.”
“With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.”
“With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to climb up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.”
“This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning “My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father’s died, land of the Pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!”
“And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So, let freedom ring from the hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.”
“Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.”
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that, let freedom, ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi and every mountainside.
“When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every tenement and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old spiritual, “Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.”

I honor and celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. King. I thank him for not giving up on his dream, for the hope he inspired in others at that time and to this day, so later generations can live the dream he hoped to see. We have a long way to go for his dream to fully be a reality, but I thank him for the sacrifices he made so that many including myself can benefit. We thank you, Dr, King!

Angela Spears is a Certified Career & Executive Coach through Coachville and the International Coaching Federation (ICF). She is the owner of Dream Living with a mission to help you achieve phenomenal results in your Life, Career and Business. To explore how Angela can help you take charge of your life, career and business, schedule a free 30-minute initial consultation by clicking the button below.

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