Dreamcrafting: The Art of Dreaming Big, the Science of Making It Happen [Paperback]

Paul Levesque (Author), Art McNeil (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 9, 2003

Many people set out to achieve a big dream, such as starting a business or writing a book, but when they don't succeed right away, the dream fades. Often, these people have plenty of talent and expertise related to their particular dream, but those skills, which authors Paul Levesque and Art McNeil call "microskills, " are usually not enough. Dreamcrafting identifies and teaches the five "macroskills" -- aspiration, motivation, projection, inclusion, and application -- people need to make any dream a reality.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Canadian business consultants Levesque (Breakaway Planning) and McNeil (The I of the Hurricane) offer a detailed how-to guide to realizing deeply desired personal dreams. According to the authors, many people are prevented from achieving their dreams because they do not have adequate motivation, time, or support from others, and have not understood that small improvements can lead to big successes. In order to surmount these road blocks, the authors suggest mastering five macroskills that will foster a precise sense of mission, sustain motivation, assist with achieving a balance between short and long-term goals, and sweep away the resistance of others by inspiring their help. The fifth macroskill is to practice the other skills on a regular basis. Within each chapter, the authors offer short bios of high-profile dreamcrafters-such as Dwight Eisenhower, Rudy Giuliani, Jane Goodall and Charles Lindbergh-who had to overcome obstacles before realizing their dreams. The instructions and exercises for mastering these macroskills, though, are somewhat confusing, because the authors often pad their advice with impassioned prose ("the skillful dreamcrafter...kick starts the motivational engine by planting the flag, burning the bridges, setting fire to the boats"). Were this volume a little less concerned with rhetoric and a little more concerned with clarity and brevity, more readers might find the advice herein valuable.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The authors head up the Achieve Group, a successful training franchise that helps guide international corporate clients through planning and implementing change and improvement. They use a nut-and-bolts approach to teach others to develop what they call the "macroskills" necessary to make dreams come true. They tell us that it's not always the most talented people who achieve their highest aspirations but the most driven, and most of us have resigned ourselves to never realizing our dreams because the necessities of life get in the way. The basic skills required can be learned, and the authors give many examples of those who realized their dreams despite great odds, such as Walt Disney, Jane Goodall, and Charles Lindbergh. Although the five dream-crafting disciplines that they outline, such as aspiration and motivation, are more inherent in some people than in others, this guide should be an asset for those who dare to dream big but haven't got a clue how to move from dream to reality. David Siegfried
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers (February 9, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576752291
• ISBN-13: 978-1576752296
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,764,709 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

My name is Paul Levesque. I am an author, speaker, and a recognized authority on customer service and organizational change management.

Over the past two decades I have helped over 350 corporate clients plan and implement their customer focus and corporate change initiatives. Now I continue to work with clients around the world through my association with Boston-based Novations, Inc. (a human capital training and consulting firm providing solutions to increase the capacity of individuals and organizations worldwide). I deliver keynote presentations at conferences and seminars around the world. (I have spoken to business leaders from Morocco to the Baltic Sea, across Europe and Australia, and in most major American and Canadian cities.)

My published books include: The Wow Factory: Creating a Customer Focus Revolution In Your Business (Irwin, 1995), Breakaway Planning: 8 Big Questions To Guide Organizational Change (Amacom, 1998), Dreamcrafting: The Art of Dreaming Big, The Science of Making It Happen (Berrett-Koehler, 2003 [with Art McNeil]) and, Customer Service From The Inside Out Made Easy, (Entrepreneur Press, 2006). Articles I have written have appeared in such publications as Quality Digest, Biz, Canada's national newspaper The Globe and Mail, and England's Personnel Today Management Resources Guidebook. A series of commercially distributed video tapes in which Paul appears as on-camera host includes Spectacular Service: A Question of Attitude (International Tele-Film, 1992) and The Power of Customer Focus (International Tele-Film, 1995). I have been interviewed on radio and TV stations across North America.

I was born and raised in North Bay, Ontario. I lived in the Toronto and New York areas before settling in Rhode Island with my wife Sandra.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best, if not THE best, February 19, 2006

By 

Baz (Manchester, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dreamcrafting: The Art of Dreaming Big, the Science of Making It Happen (Paperback)

I seldom write reviews, but in the case of 'Dreamcrafting' I'm compelled to make an exception. Over the past few years, I've read them all, the classics and the also rans. Without doubt this is a contender for first place in the success-self/help literature stakes. Why? Because the process is demystified, clarified and amplified with NO HYPE AND NO BULL!

At the heart of the book is an explanation of how attitudes towards making dreams come true are conditioned by a severely pessimistic society/culture - how expectations really do influence outcomes. There's also a discussion on how to maintain motivation over the long haul and gaining support from others.

If you're serious about living with passion, this book is not just a must read, it's an essential toolkit. It will show you that whatever your dream, the realisation of the dream is down to developing skillpower, not willpower. An intelligent and perceptive take on the subject and destined to become a classic.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dream Crafting, March 21, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Dreamcrafting: The Art of Dreaming Big, the Science of Making It Happen (Paperback)

Dream Crafting gave me EXACTLY what it said it would on the cover of the book! Not only does it help in defining a precise dream, but gives you the basic 5 skills to achieve it. Like most everyone else, I have read several books on dreams, goals, and how to achieve them, but I really ENJOYED this book. It was not a chore to "get through", nor does it confuse the issue either, making the reader struggle to get anything out of it. Dream Crafting not only covers all the basics, but goes SEVERAL important steps further! It imcompasses total issues that I didn't realize were missing until I read it! Has your life drastically changed since the last book you've read on dreaming big, the how, what and why?? Are you any closer to YOUR dream since reading it???? I sincerely urge you to read one more book on the subject! DREAM CRAFTING! It covers it all..and goes further than that by drawing YOU into the equation.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical Advice for Realizing Your Big Dream, March 9, 2003

By 

Stephen M. Stohs (Richmond, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dreamcrafting: The Art of Dreaming Big, the Science of Making It Happen (Paperback)

Dreamcrafting is a book I can recommend without reservation to anyone who seeks guidance in aligning their behavior with their aspirations. The authors offer testimonials of their personal experiences and those of others who had the vision to define goals which expressed their personal values, the courage to pursue them, and the persistence to see them through to their realization.

The book begins with an analysis of the key reasons that people fall short of reaching their Big Dream. The authors then identify five macroskills which are crucial for overcoming the obstacles to success. The book goes on to explore these macroskills in depth, offering the reader practical suggestions for overcoming internal and external resistance, maintaining motivation, garnering support, and seeing a big project through to its successful completion.

I truly believe the breadth of perspective and inspirational advice offered in this book has the power to change lives for the better. My only regret after finishing the book is that I did not have the chance to do so twenty years sooner.