The power in supporting your friend’s dreams and visions

Michelle Obama, in her book Becoming, shares her thoughts on her husband’s rise to power. She openly admits how she agreed to support him to the Presidency for two reasons; One, she loves Obama deeply, and secondly, she believed in his dreams.

“I didn’t believe he was going to win. I also didn’t relish the thought of my husband becoming a politician.” A jovial Michelle told Oprah during an interview for O Magazine. What’s interesting is that she later aggressively rallied support for him, all over the country in meetings, on social media, radio, and any other possible means.

Types of friends: Supporters vs. Non-supporters

Everyone has two types of friends. One is referred to as an extractor and the other one, an investor. Just as the titles suggest, the extractor is in your life to primarily benefit from you. They hardly give, but they borrow a lot like is the “calling” or you own them. Their presences around you so demoralizing and toxic, no words of motivation nor encouragement in conversation anytime they are around you. They are always expecting things from you. They also criticize what you give them if it doesn't meet their expectations. They are always taking away from you. Allow me not to expound more on them and talk about investors; the ideal friends.

Investors – the friends who lead in supporting our dreams and visions

Do you have a Michelle in your life? She is a good example of an investor. They may not be your spouse or anyone close, but they support your dreams. Better still, do you support your friends’ dreams and visions? There is power in supporting your friends. Michelle’s friend- Obama, won the Presidency. What about your friend? There is always a saying “We rise by lifting others” – Robert Ingersoll.

Some of these friends may not be that close to you but they have you at heart. They always look out for you by checking on you. They motivate you and put more light on your ideas. They stand with you in all season, from planning to implementation.

Here is how to support your friends’ dreams and visions and the power in it

1. Listen - this empowers the dream.

‘‘I thought about giving up, going back to where I was before and doing the same things I used to do, but I never gave up. I found the strength in myself by motivating myself with positive words to myself like “it shall be well, Things will get better, I will make it”, my family and some few friends who were around me and believed in me even helped in building my faith in my dream.

Sometimes dreamers get so consumed with their aspirations that all they do is talk about it. This can be overwhelming at times but if you are a real friend, an investor, you will actively listen. Listening empowers belief. It helps us have faith in the dream.

2. Fan the dream – empowers the growth of the dream and vision.

In the beginning, when everything seems dull and the vision is just a seed, help to fan it to growth. Most of this type of support is seen in the lives of great Men of God (MoG). Their wives have stood with them in times and seasons of their life for them to do the work of God. Just to mention a few, Bishop Charles Agyinasare of Perez Chapel international, Rev. Eastwood Anaba of Eastwood Anaba Ministries, Apostle General Sam Korankye Ankrah of Royal House, Pastor Mensa Otabil of International Central Gospel Church (I.C.G.C) and Prophet Nana Osei Sarkodie of Potter’s City. God will give you a vision but you need one person or people to empower that dream and vision.

3. Affirm the dreamer – it's a powerful shield to any vision.

In times of despair and second-guessing (which happens to all of us), all we need is someone to remind us that our dreams are worth the fight. Vision without the action is just a dream, whiles action without vision just passes the time, and vision with action can change the world. Most of the time it’s easy to become distracted doing things that are related to, but not core to our vision. The whirlwind of being busy can deceptively lead us to believe we are achieving something. Like many entrepreneurs, I have experienced the feeling of being super busy but going nowhere. So will say everybody needs that friend, mentor, or that third eye over seeing your shoulders and reminding you of your dream.

4. Pursue the dream – this is the power to run, jump, roll – to do anything for the dream's sake.

There will be a price to pay - pain, sweat, and a lot of sacrifices. Stand and be counted among those who push for the pursuit of the dream. This, in turn, spurs the passion for pursuing your dream. There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living. Think big! Give yourself permission to excel in everything that you do. Inspire others with your lofty goals and bold visions to trail-blaze in your sector or dimension of choice, even if it’s a simple business innovation. How could you stretch your business vision and get people to believe in something that's far bigger than yourself?

5. Social Media

Social media has become one of the biggest tool and a voice influencing businesses across the global. When it comes to social media, here are some ways you can be a supportive friend.

On Instagram, follow them and engage their posts by liking, sharing, commenting and tagging them to target audience.

On Facebook, like their business page and also invite others to like their page. Send them a DM to tell them how you heard about the business, it’s another way to motivate them.

Connect with them on LinkedIn, write or share articles with them. Generate activity and action on their webpages causing their SEO (search engine optimization) to increase. This allows their sites to gain attention on the Internet, read those blog posts, click around on their sites, and get to know their websites a little more. The more you visit your friend’s site, the more Google realizes it’s a popular web page which will allow your friend’s website to gain more traffic.

6. Celebrate achievements

There is no fun in winning if you have no one to celebrate with. This celebration ignites the passion for pursuing much bigger dreams. The joy and excitement know no bounds.

An entrepreneur’s work is never done. We can always do better. Reach higher, Go farther. Sometimes it feels like we haven’t accomplished anything at all.

It’s important to stop and celebrate those small successes and milestones and take in the “glorious vista” along the uphill climb. Remind yourself how far you have come as you look at the road ahead.

In conclusion

The most outstanding character I would love to inherit from this power woman is listening. To effectively support someone, you need to know their thoughts, their plans, their values, and their rallying call. If you can't listen, then you can't adequately support your friend.