Customer Reviews

Put Your Dream to the Test: 10 Questions that Will Help You See It and Seize It

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I met John Maxwell on March 28th, 2009 and he was speaking about this book, at a Success Magazine Symposium where I bought an advanced copy with a DVD/CD training course (my first time doing such a thing.) Dreams, within Maslow's hierarchy of needs, are at the top and tend to cause people to attain "self actualization." Dreams are BIG, important and rarely attained. They are the kinds of concepts that great men realize and so very few of us actually attain.

In this book Maxwell states that a dream is an inspiring picture of the future that energizes your mind, will and emotions, empowering you to do everything you can to achieve it. He evaluates the process of setting a dream and will that dream be enough to propel you to success. Does your dream pass certain tests? In his opinion, the more questions below you can answer yes to the greater your probability of success

The questions, which comprise the ten chapters of this book. Here they are:
1. The Ownership Question: Is my dream really my Dream?
2. The Clarity Question: Do I clearly see my dream?
3. The Reality Question: Am I depending on factors within
my control to achieve my dream?
4. The Passion Question: Does my dream compel me to
follow it?
5. The Pathway Question: Do I have a strategy to reach my
dream?
6. The People Question: Have I included the people I need to
realize my dream?
7. The Cost Question: Am I willing to pay the price for my
dream?
8. The Tenacity Question: Am I moving closer to my dream?
9. The Fulfillment Question: Does working toward my dream
bring satisfaction?
10. The Significance Question: Does my dream benefit others?

As Maxwell states "Leading your life requires making the right decisions and managing those decisions daily. Find the right dream for you then manage it daily."

Without going into more detail I would say that this course (book and CDs) really has helped me shape my goals and dreams. I've listened to the CD set 3 times and read the book once. I've been doing a deep immersion into this topic as I see it being critical to my long-term success in life.

"It's one thing to have a dream. It's another to do the things needed to achieve it" - that's the premise behind John Maxwell's latest book "Put Your Dream to the Test: 10 Questions That Will Help You See It and Seize It" (which I just read as part of Thomas Nelson's blogger review program) Maxwell doesn't try to tell you the right answers, but instead delivers ten great questions that really should be considered by anyone with a dream. The book is full of stories and inspiration that affirm the message - the passion of Bob Taylor for guitars, the tenacity of Elizabeth Keckly rising up from slave to friend of the White House, and the fulfillment of Wilbur Wilberforce's amazing dream.

The ten questions involve: ownership, clarity, reality, passion, pathway, people, cost, tenacity, fulfillment, and significance. In each case Maxwell covers vital issues a leader needs to work through if the dream is going to become realized. For example, in discussing the fulfillment question, he asks "Does Working toward My Dream Bring Satisfaction?" Maxwell references Seth Godin's book, 'The Dip', that chasm between embarking on a dream and the first sign of significant results. Realizing how tough the obstacles, learning curve, and hard work will be, it's critical to have a strong sense of fulfillment or satisfaction along the way. Each chapter ends with the challenge: "Can you answer 'Yes' to this question?" Fortunately, he also walks through several important follow-up questions if that answer is currently a 'No'.

I didn't know what to expect in this book, as I'm not an entrepreneur or CEO, or someone with a single 'lightning-bolt from the sky' dream. And yet the more I read, the more I saw how the questions discussed are relevant for any leader. And on that subject, John has a lot of great things to say. The chapters on clarity and vision, passion, people, and significance were particularly good. Maxwell concludes it's not good enough to do well in just one or two of these areas. Being able to answer 'Yes' to as many questions as possible will improve the chance of success greatly.

For anyone with a big dream, and wondering if or how it can be done, this is an excellent book. It will change the way you look at your dreams, in a good way.

Put Your Dream to the Test is one of the most practical books I have read on this subject. In a life of busyness, where many distractions take you off course of what is really important in your life, Maxwell gives you a concrete process to reach your dreams. I highly recommend this book for anyone that want to accomplish their dreams in life.

It's been a while since I read a book by John Maxwell, and now I remember why that is.

Maxwell's most recent publication, Put Your Dream to the Test should be a must-read for anyone wanting to see their hopes and ambitions become reality. But it isn't.

For starters, I'm not really sure who actually wrote the book - John Maxwell, his staff of quote researchers, or the hundred+ people whose quotes and anecdotes he strings together to try to make a cohesive statement.

Don't get me wrong. At times, PYDTTT soars and is inspiring. At other times, it plods. Maxwell's uncritical use of quotes and their context is like reading a Chicken Soup for the Soul book (He tells the story of the chicken soup books in this book).

He does help you evaluate your dream/goal with diagnostic questions which form the basis for each chapter's content. The 10 questions are:

1. The Ownership Question: Is my dream really my dream? (I would love for him to ask, "Is my book really my book?")
2. The Clarity Question: Do I clearly see my dream?
3. The Reality Question: Am I depending on factors within my control to achieve my dream?
4. The Passion Question: Does my dream compel me to follow it?
5. The Pathway Question: Do I have a strategy to reach my dream?
6. The People Question: Have I included the people I need to realize my dream?
7. The Cost Question: Am I willing to pay the price for my dream?
8. The Tenacity Question: Am I moving closer to my dream?
9. The Fulfillment Question: Does working toward my dream bring satisfaction?
10. The Significance Question: Does my dream benefit others?

The chapter on the cost of your dream was, for me, the best one in the book. I found myself underlining more there, at least.

Each chapter begins with an inspirational story of someone who has achieved a great dream. These stories alone make the book better. It's when Maxwell attempts to derive steps and propositional bullet points from their experiences that the book becomes stale and linear.

Andy Stanley's Visioneering: God's Blueprint for Developing and Maintaining Vision remains one of the best books out on the subject of vision/dream pursuit. Maxwell's book, Put Your Dream to the Test is inspiring, but its content seems to be more cut and paste than cohesive.

There are two kinds of good books: some that are so good you just can't put down, and some that you read slowly and soak in every word.

"Put Your Dream to the Test" is the latter. In fact, I'm reading it so slowly that I haven't even finished it. If I waited until I did, this review may not be written for quite some time!

I have this tendency to always need something to look forward to, whether it be a simple project, a trip, a new book about finding your purpose, or a huge new assignment. That being said, though, I can honestly say that I am not much of a dreamer. I don't have a burning passion that drives me every day. So I wasn't sure this book was for me.

We were created for a specific purpose in this life and whether we know it or not, we all have a dream deep down inside that will help us fulfill that purpose. John Maxwell has compiled a list of ten questions in this book that you ask yourself, which will either help you identify your dream, or move forward on the path to achieving the one you already have. These questions cover everything from clarity, reality and passion to strategy, cost and fulfillment.

His questions are thought provoking and really make you examine yourself and your dream. He encourages you all along the way with stories from people who achieved their dreams, and tips to help you become one of them.

If you have a dream that you'd love to see become reality, then pick up this book. If you don't have a dream, read this book and you're likely to find one!

This book draws you in immediately right from the introduction with questions like "will you acheive your dreams in your lifetime?" and statement like "Failure is a price we must pay to achieve success".

Maxwell asks the reader "is good enough, good enough?". People who don't possess compelling dreams are in danger of having their lives slip away and this book comes at a great time for this country to have a dream audit to see if thier lives is on track.

The book is not as good as his other title "Talent is never enough" but this is IMHO. It seems like alot of Maxwell's books have been starting to sound the same, but if he can continue writing as well a this book reads he may have re-invented himself as well.

Once again John Maxwell has hit a home run with this book. Written in his characteristic easy going style with lots of anecdotes and quotes to stimulate thought and engage attention. However, I must point out that this book is meant for people who already have or had a dream. I have found out that most people dream about making it through the day - and that's about it. This book will not do you much good. After the introduction , there is a dream test which John encourages the reader to take before continuing with the rest of the book. If you do not have a dream you will answer most if not all the questions in the negative the remaining part of the book does you little good. This book does not teach you how to dream or to get a dream. It helps those who have a dream or have lost sight of their dream recover it and get back on track. So before buying this book ask yourself the question: Do I have a dream? Or Did I have a dream? If you cannot answer "yes" to either of these questions , then this book is not for you. But if you can, this book will help you get on track and run toward the mark of fulfilling your dreams. I give the book 4 stars simply because it does not help those who have no dream. I think John should have added a chapter or two on discovering your dream so that everyone can be carried along.

I'll admit I like to read books that inspire me to be the best person I can be. This book does not preach pie in the sky. It is not part of the name it and claim it gospel.

What I found different about this book was making sure the dream I am following is really mine. Making sure I have the necessary abilities to make this dream a possibility. Making sure I want the dream enough to make the necessary sacrifices that it is going to require. Making sure the dream will benefit others.

It is easy to dream. Not so easy to work toward the dream.

In his latest book, "Put Your Dream to the Test", 10 Questions To Help You See It and Seize It, John C. Maxwell delivers yet another fantastic and wisdom filled book that will benefit people from all walks of life. Dreams - we all have them. But how many of us are actively pursuing them, or can even clearly define them. Maxwell shows us the difference between a dream and a fantasy and more than that, he guides us with tips, insights and principles to show us how to actually get there.


Each chapter addresses the 10 questions Maxwell puts forth, to help us identify, clarify, pursue and achieve our dream. They are questions of: Ownership, Clarity, Reality, Passion, Pathway, People, Cost, Tenacity, Fulfillment and Significance. He includes profiles, stories and strategies of many people who achieved their own dream, as well as some of the obstacles and setbacks they encountered along the way. It is a book that is as inspiring as it is informational. It is both challenging and compelling. Once again, leadership guru, John Maxwell, has delivered a fantastic book that helps us to grow and develop personally and professionally. This is a great book for those actively pursuing their dreams or for those who need to awaken their dreams.

I am a huge fan of John Maxwell's however, what disappointed me about the book was the excessive reliance on quotes and excerpts from other authors and leaders. Maxwell has been a leader long enough to accumulate enough thought provoking material so he shouldn't have to oversaturate his book with these types of fillers. I appreciate the concept, but I expect more from a seasoned leader such as Maxwell.