Believe You Can Build Your Ship

I was persuaded to believe in myself and my big fat dreams today. I believe everyone has some kind of greatness waiting to be unleashed. Others might call your dreams stupid, may think you are unwise, and some may even try to hurt you because you follow your dreams. But I don’t think we should ever let others steal that spark of excitement that comes from our biggest dreams – even if those dreams may scare us.

I was driving to work today and purposely turned off the radio so I could mull over some ideas and hopes for the future. These are the big ideas that scare me. They scare me because not only would failure have an impact on me, it would affect the family I love so dearly. However, I feel strongly that these ideas could have amazing results and they would allow me to help a wider range of people if I followed them.

I feel like I’ve come to know myself better these past few months. I’ve spent time identifying my strengths, skills, passions, and talents. Knowing myself better has helped me want to change my current circumstances because I am confident that right now I am not using my greatest strengths and talents – I am not giving the best of me (yes, that is a Foo Fighters reference).

So yea, I’m scared. I’m scared of change, I’m scared of failure, and I’m scared of success too. But my fear was turned to hope and excitement because I remembered a story I was taught as a child. I got all choked up, felt like a little kid again, and thought I could change the world.

The Man Who Believed He Could Build a Ship

At a very young age I was told the story of an ancient man who lived in a land far far away who built a ship. He didn’t know how to build a ship, he didn’t have the tools for it, and his older brothers mocked him for it and even tried to hurt him for believing he could do such a big thing.

This man had such conviction, so he ignored the obstacles even when his brothers tried to hurt him. When he realized he had to build a ship (that his big fat scary dream was to build a ship) he didn’t just sit and complain that he didn’t know how or that he didn’t have time or that he didn’t have the resources. He simply asked himself, “Okay, this is going to be super hard. How do I figure this out so I can get to work?”

This man learned how to build a ship. He made the tools, learned how to work wood, and built a ship. All of this in the face of disbelief from others as well as some anger and hatred. I imagine the man must have been scared too; scared he would fail his family, scared he didn’t know how to accomplish his big dream. I imagine he had the same fears you and I have.

But his willingness to believe in himself and in the things that made his heart swell are what strengthened him against those fears and obstacles. Believing in yourself and being anchored by a conviction to your dreams, like I mentioned in a previous post, is the armor that gets us through the battles that try to destroy our dreams. This man had conviction in his dreams and in himself. And the simple story of this man building his ship against all his obstacles inspired me today.

I Can Build a Ship

While my dreams scare me, they are not like having to build a ship for my family. This story armed me against my own self-doubt and helped me stay buoyant. I felt fortified as I was reminded of the greatness that we all possess even though we doubt ourselves because others may call us stupid or in over our heads. I’m grateful for stories that remind me that we can achieve unimaginable things if we would only allow ourselves to do so.

If you know this story, share it. If you don’t, I encourage you to read it. Book of Mormon 1 Nephi 17-18.