This weekend some good friends of ours when to visit their daughter who’s in college. She attends a university out of state. It really made me miss the days when I got to do the same thing. Fall reminds me of college visits as our kids contemplated where they would go to school. In the end, both of our children went to college out of state, each nine hours away, in two different directions. We missed them greatly when they left. But it was so very much fun to help them decide on schools, and then to visit them when they were in the midst of their studies. Part of the fun was to think about all the possibilities that lay ahead.

The potential of possibilities has always excited me. It should come as no surprise. Strengthsfinder 2.0 tells me that one of my strengths is that I am Futuristic. It says, “People who are especially talented in the Futuristic theme are inspired by the future and what could be. They inspire others with their visions of the future.”

That’s why I loved encouraging our children to dream. It’s why when we visited colleges we wouldn’t let them think about the money…just the possibilities. It’s why when they were in school we encouraged them to dream big as they thought about future careers. “Only an ant says I can’t,” I would say.

Those college “possibilities” have now turned into careers for our kids. But they still live under the idea that most anything is possible if you set your mind to it and work hard. I try to instill that same mentality in everyone I coach or lead. People ought to live life knowing that roadblocks may come and go, but possibilities always present themselves if you will only keep your eyes open.

Yes, I miss those cherished years when our kids were in college. But now the whole idea of possibilities has gone to a whole new level in our family. Our daughter, Ashlyn, and her husband, Josh, are expecting their first child in early January.

Talk about possibilities. Here’s a whole new life to encourage, lead, guide, meld, and mold. I know Ashlyn and Josh will do it in amazing and refreshing ways. That’s just who they are as people.

I want to encourage you today to dream of the possibilities that lie before you:

• Don’t give up.
• Work hard.
• Dream a little.
• Dare to think of the future.
• Keep going.
• Invite others to come along.
• Write down your vision.
• Doodle.
• Have a plan.
• Brainstorm.

Possibilities are one of the great gifts of life. Don’t be afraid of them. Embrace them. Then do what it takes to make them happen.

You just might be surprised.

What possibilities are running around in your mind right now?