I have two blessings that can also be a curse: I see the brilliance and light in people and I tend to think expansively.

More often than not, these are good things. But they have also lead to not so good things, such as staying with an abusive husband because I could see his brilliant potential so clearly. And, being frustrated when my big ideas turn into small results.

But I keep seeing people’s light and thinking big anyway because the benefits are so much more than the challenges.

One of the biggest take aways I had from the Four Dames’ workshop last weekend aboard the Queen Mary here in Long Beach was the test they provided for your dreams. If your dream doesn’t pass this test, you aren’t thinking big enough.

As I suspected, my dream passed the test with flying colors. So that you can see if your dream is big enough, I’ll share the highlights of the test here:

• Does your dream rev your engine? Are you excited by your vision?
• Are you in alignment with your dream? Does it work with or against your values?
• Will your dream challenge you into growing? Will you have to stretch to achieve it?
• Will you need help from the divine? Is this dream bigger than you are now?
• Will your dream benefit someone other than you?

That last point I’d never heard before and I believe it is the truest test of a big dream. We are all here to give our gifts to the world, to make the world a better place in the way that only we can. If your dreams only benefit yourself, you are selfishly keeping your gifts to yourself.

Now its your turn:
What’s your big dream? Did it pass the test? How can you modify it, expand it, grow it so that it does pass the test? Please share your dreams, your vision, and your sage advice in a comment below.