Like the buffalo of old, your goal may be at risk of dying out. Ask yourself, does it still run free with the promise of a prolific future? Or, is it dwindling away in some dark canyon of your mind? If the latter, you must seek the potential and find a way to save your buffalo.

The last "Imagine Nation Today!" article (May '10) focused on feeding the dream and taking small action steps to keep from feeling overwhelmed (elephants, remember?). However, some readers expressed concern of the impracticality of pursuing a dream during such difficult economic times. A more pragmatic approach would ensure financial recovery. Now wasn't a time for dreaming, but for surviving.

Consider this: while some ignored their dreams and struggled to survive, others explored and grew through the pursuit of the new opportunities the economic downturn presented. They protected their buffalo, nourished it; ensured it thrived until it became strong enough to achieve its place in the world. Those that followed their dreams by setting and acting on goals, those that were willing to compromise but not concede their chosen path are the ones turning things right side up again.

That is the gift of change, whether that change is by choice or force. It's the natural order that new opportunities present themselves; new possibilities are born. You choose to accept that gift and explore a path filled with potential or you choose to remain in the same and continue a path that leads to what has been. That is what many of us do: we choose to go with what we've done while others choose to venture on a new path and create a more abundant future.

This isn't the time for dreaming, it's the time for creating, for seeing the potential and giving birth to an action plan to realize that potential. It is a time to revitalize and preserve a new future; one created by you. It's time to save your buffalo and allow it to take its place in your life.