How to Know

If Your Dreams
Are God s
Dreams

Finding His Will in Your

Deepest Desires
Some of Your Dreams Don t Have Power Because
They re not connected to Your Spirit;
Here Are 4 Signs to Discover Your Soul Dreams
By Bo Sanchez
By: Bo Sanchez

Introduction
The Three Powerful Secrets
Behind
All Successes in Life
In 1997, I wrote hundreds of dreams on 15 pages of paper.
Today, most of these have already been fulfilled.
I ve written bestselling books.
I ve founded fantastic organizations.
I ve enjoyed financial freedom.
I ve been blessed with a great family.
And after almost 30 years of helping people fulfil their
dreams, I ve realized that there are really only three essential things
you need to make your dreams come true.
Not 47 things.
Not 86 things.
Just three!
Sorry, I don t like complicating stuff, so let s cut the chase
right here in the introduction of the book. Here are the three most
important things you need to become a great success in life: Desire,
Belief, and Action.
Desire
You need to want your dream from the depths of your
soul. How intensely do you desire your dream? How
deeply do you want it to happen? Many people don t
achieve their dreams because they don t want it bad enough.
Belief
Belief is nothing else but a feeling of certainty. The more
certain you feel that you can accomplish your dream, the
faster you can make them a reality. Many people don t
achieve their dreams because in their heart of hearts, they
doubt they can really do it.

Action
Albert Einstein said, Nothing happens unless something
moves. Successful people aren t the most knowledgeable
people on earth. But you can be totally sure that all of
them have a bias for action. Many people don t achieve
their dreams because they know but they don t act.
Look at the champions of the world today
from Michael
Jordan and Tiger Woods to Bill Gates to the late Mother Teresa
and you ll discover these three simple secrets operating in their lives.
This little book you re about to read is about the first
ingredient: Desire. Because unless you have enough desire for your
dream, the other two won t matter.
Friend, you can make your dreams come true.
But first, choose the dreams that you feel intensely about.
Many people get bogged down on the How without
understanding that if the Why is big enough, the right How will
come to you.
Why do you want this dream?
Where is it coming from?
In this book, I ll propose that you choose the dreams that
spring from your soul
or what I call Soul Dreams.
What are your deepest desires?
This is the power that can fuel you to success.
Ask yourself: What do I really, really, really want in life?
Tell me what you really, really, really want in life, and believe
me, there s no force more powerful than that in human nature.
Here s a problem: Many of us are not successful because we
don t know our deepest desires.
Power Quote:
Many people get bogged down on the How without
understanding that if the Why is big enough, the right
How will come to you.

Chapter One
The Dreamer Grows Up
When I was a kid, I dreamt of owning a Voltes V robot.
If you re my age and lived somewhere in Asia, you know what
I m talking about.
You must have seen it: a 6-inch metal figure with a tiny head,
a sword handle on its chest, and rectangular arms and legs. During
my time, if you walked in a toy store, half of the floor space would be
occupied by Voltes V robots. And every seven seconds, you d hear a
little boy scream, Let s volt in!
Oh, I prayed for it, craved for it, and salivated whenever I saw
it in the store.
It was The Christmas gift. No other toy could compare.
On Christmas Eve, I d rip open my gifts, and if I saw that it
was a silly shirt, or a toy car, or a rubber ball, or a grand piano (just
kidding) I d toss it and rip open the next gift
hoping that
someone gave me The gift that mattered.
But no one did.
Because those robots sold for a steep P700 and during my
time, that was worth a lot of mullah.
My parents just couldn t afford it.
So for a year, I dreamt of owning the robot.

But I never did own one.

I remember just staring at them whenever a classmate would
bring it to school. Once, my friend said, Do you want to touch it,
Bo? Just one second. I reached for it, my finger touching the cold
metal of the six-inch robot. Okay, that s enough, my classmate said,
pulling it away.

Many years have passed since then.

In the meantime, the Voltes V craze died a natural death
and my dream to own a toy robot died with it too.
Some of Your Dreams Are Meant to Die
to Tell You That You Need to Grow Up
Some 30 years later, I walked into a toy store.
And lo and behold
in one corner shelf, I saw once again
the Voltes V robot like the dead rising from its grave. Though the
cartoon series has long been cancelled, a toy company is betting that
big kids like me may wish to own them for nostalgia s sake.
How much does it cost today? P17,000.
Hey, I could now afford it. I could, at that very moment,
display a few of them around my room, and fulfil my long-time
dream.
But the problem was that Voltes V was no longer my dream.
The sight of Voltes V reminded me that not ALL of our
dreams have to be fulfilled.
It may simply mean that the Dreamer has grown up.
It simply means that there are Superficial Dreams and there
are Soul Dreams.

Chapter Two
A Soul Dream Was Born
I had my spiritual conversion at age 12.
And as a 13-year-old boy, I read the life story of St. Francis of
Assisi.

That was when I felt something stir deep in my soul.

I dreamt of becoming like Jesus and Francis, loving the poor
the way they did.
So I brought home street kids and elderly poor people
wandering about in the streets, which didn t exactly make my mother
jump up and down with glee.
When she told me it was impossible to do what I wanted to
do, I nurtured a dream in my young heart. It was not anymore for a
toy robot. I dreamt of building a huge home where I could welcome
the poorest of the poor.
By age 14, I would do outreach work in the slums, sometimes
sleeping there. I would live in a shanty, sharing a tiny room with nine
people. I breathed their air, ate their food, and laughed at their jokes.
The experience changed my life.
Unlike the robot, the dream to serve the poor never died.
Sixteen years later, we built a huge home for the poorest of
the poor.
With the help of my friends, we bought a huge land (today,
it consists of five hectares), built a number of houses on it, and called
it Anawim a Hebrew word that means the poor of the Lord. Since
1995, we have been picking up abandoned elderly from the streets
and giving them a loving home.
What dreams do you have in your heart that has never died?

Chapter Three
The 4 Signs of a Soul Dream
Why do some dreams die while others never do?
In my life, I ve noticed that when dreams are connected to the
deepest part of my life
my soul
they get fulfilled.
I call these Soul Dreams.
Soul Dreams are fuelled by almost super human passion. A
touch of the Divine wakes up from within, and we re transformed
with heroic perseverance.
Before you read these 4 Signs, I urge you to write down your
dreams on paper.
Believe that what you can write down on paper, you can write
them down on reality.
So don t edit your thoughts. Just write and don t stop.
But once you re through, read the next four chapters where
I discuss the 4 Signs. And based on these 4 Signs, read again your
dreams and check the dreams that have at least one of the 4 Signs
that I ll be explaining to you.
But don t cross out the dreams that you didn t check. It s
possible that you just don t see the soul connections yet. So keep
them.
But do celebrate your Soul Dreams that have a powerful
Why behind them.
Here are the 4 Signs of a Soul Dream

Chapter Four
Sign #1
The Dream Is Connected
to Your Most Important Values
When I was 16, I dreamt of owning a 4x4 Toyota Pick-Up
with monster wheels. I saw it in the movie of Michael J. Fox Back to
the Future and fell in love with it. I imagined myself driving the minitruck
and feeling powerful and handsome.
My problem was that unlike the movie producers of Michael
J. Fox, my father said he could only spare P40,000 for my first car.
So years later, even when I already added my own little
savings, instead of a 4x4 monster vehicle, I ended up with a tiny,
peepsqueaky, mouse-like owner-type jeep assembled in some
backyard with scrawny second-hand re-treaded tires. I installed a
used air-conditioning unit, closed it up, and painted it all white. So
my friends called my jeep a rolling refrigerator.
Being home-made, the thing conked out on me every two
weeks.
Now fast forward some 20 years later and I now can afford to
buy a 4x4 Pick-up, the top-of-the-line version if I wanted to.
But like the Voltes V robot, it would be the last thing I will
buy today.
It s bumpy. It s a waste of power. It s a waste of 4x4
technology. (The roughest thing I ll ever drive on will be the potholes
on Manila s roads. Hmm. On second thought )
More importantly, it can t fit my wife, my kids, and a crowd of
friends who usually like to hitch with us. I can t tell them, Just hop at
the back and stand under the heat of the sun.
I now drive a simple basic minivan. Cheap. Friendly. Smooth.
Happy.
Because today, my life revolves around my family. Next to
God, they are my most important value. A 4x4 monster? The dream
wasn t connected to a deep enough value. I just liked it, but I wasn t
passionate for it.
It wasn t a Soul Dream.

Chapter Five
Sign #2
The Dream Must Bring You
Closer to God
From a poor missionary, I wanted to become a millionaire
missionary.
It was mad. It was audacious. It was totally heretical. And no
one in my circle of friends ever tried it. But the thought of becoming
a millionaire entrepreneur and a servant of God at the same time
fascinated me no end.
Why? Two reasons.
First, instead of always begging money from people for my
own personal needs, I wanted to have enough for my needs and more
than enough to give to God s work.
Second, I was constantly faced by the needs of the people
I was trying to help not just their spiritual needs but also their
financial needs. I preached about prayer, faith, salvation, healing,
and heaven. But I never talked about money, even if that was what

they wanted me to do. How could I even dare teach them to grow
financially if I was totally ignorant about money? (I m embarrassed to
say this, but at that time, the best skill I possessed concerning money
was begging for it.)
Third, I wanted to help people financially.
But I couldn t because I didn t have any.
No, I didn t love money. But I began to develop a passion for
two things about money: how to grow it and how to give it away.
I find this very difficult to explain to religious people. But
today, when I create wealth, I feel God s Presence in a very palpable
way. Because it isn t just for me. I create wealth to fulfil my Life
Purpose
which is to love as much as I can.

Chapter Six
Sign #3
The Dream Must Be Connected
To Your Life Purpose and Core
Gifts
It was my dream to have multiple income streams.
At the start of my brave journey towards holy wealth, I got
into almost every business under the sun. I sold ice cream, motor oil,
herbal juices, memorial plans and even squid balls. In the past 10
years, I ve failed in eight businesses and lost three million pesos. But
I learned lessons that I will hold precious forever. (Will you forget
what you learned from a 3-million-peso, 10-year-long seminar?)
One of the most important lessons is this: If I wanted to
succeed, my business should be either connected to or at least not
distract me from my Life Purpose and Core Gifts.
My core gift is to communicate. I m a preacher and a writer.
This is what I believe God wants me to do. If I want to succeed in
business, that business has to use my Core Gifts and fulfil my Life
Purpose too.
Here s a crucial lesson many people don t know about: In
order to succeed in life, you should forget about developing your
weaknesses. Instead, concentrate on your strengths. Delegate your
weaknesses. Hire other people to do what you don t do well. But you
should focus on your strength.
Imagine if Tiger Woods stopped playing golf and decided to
develop a singing career or ramp modelling or theatre. Will he still be
successful?
I repeat: Focus on your Core Gifts.
Only then will you succeed.
That was why I had to give up all of the businesses I
mentioned above. Aside from the fact that I kept on losing money
anyway! But that s because they never used my Core Gifts.

Two of my 16 income streams today are my Corporate

Seminars and my Online Information Business. They fit me
like a glove because they use my Core Gifts to the hilt. And not
surprisingly, I earn handsomely.
I have a few other income streams not connected to my Core

Gifts: My real estate investments, an educational center, a prenatal

ultrasound clinic, to name a few. These aren t directly connected to
my Core Gifts. But I m not running them. I have fantastic partners in
all these ventures. All I do is cheer them.
And these businesses are great places for me to park my
income with profit.
Is your dream connected to your Life Purpose and Core
Gifts?
Or at the very least, not distract you from it?

Chapter Seven Sign #4

The Dream Must Make
You Happy
in the Deepest Way Possible
One day, I went up a mountain in search of eight orphaned
children. I heard the poor kids were left to fend for themselves as
both their parents died.
I found them in a broken-down home, eating only once a day.
So I took them home to Anawim.
And for one whole year, I became their House Father.
My favorite part of the day was in the evening, after dinner.
We d all squat on the floor. All the kids would gather around
me as I read them a Bible story. I d explain to them the original Greek
translation of the biblical text, complete with epistemological and
hermeneutic nuances.
Just kidding.
I d tell the Bible story in my own words, adding drama
and really hamming it up. And Samson ripped the lion apart
like cardboard. Riiiiiiip! The kids would be swept away by my
storytelling. But once in awhile, no matter how broadwayish I get, the
younger ones would doze off in my lap.
And so I d carry a sleeping little girl to her bed, put a blanket
on her, and bless her good night.
After one year, I passed the kids to another House Mother
as I had to do other things for Anawim and my other ministries.
Anawim was growing and I had to address more macro concerns.
But I cannot describe to you the incredible joy that that year

gave to me.
My dream has always been to serve the poor.

Years ago, this was how I expressed my dream.

Today, I express it in a different way.
I m now involved in seven huge ministries for the poor
housing the abandoned elderly, sending street kids to school, giving
scholarships to poor children, granting micro loans to poor women,
etc
My happiness comes from fulfilling my Soul Dreams.
When I get into business and earn money, it s indelibly linked
to my Soul Dream of becoming a Millionaire Entrepreneur and
Investor. That s why business for me is fun. It s bringing me closer to
my goal of sharing more of my life to others.
Friend, you will know if you re fulfilling your Soul Dreams by
simply asking yourself if you re happy. Not the flippant happiness of
a roller coaster ride or a 30-minute sitcom on TV. But the deep kind
of happiness that only happens when you know you re fulfilling your
destiny.

Chapter Eight
Some of Your Dreams Are Too
Small
Enlarge Them!
One day, I met a man whose youthful dream was to own a
shiny blue Jaguar and a fancy mansion with a swimming pool. As the
decades went by, he said he grew very rich. But recently, he also found
God. Suddenly, he told me that the Jaguar and the mansion have lost
their sizzle. They are no longer very exciting dreams for him.
He is now excited about other dreams. Like earning as much
money as he can so he can fund more projects for the poor.
My friend s source of joy has changed.
I ve realized that as we grow up, our dreams grow up as well.
I ve learned that small Dreamers dream small.
And big Dreamers dream big.
Here are two secrets I d like to share with you about Big

Dreams.
First, Big Dreams are more exciting. That s pretty obvious.
Second, Big Dreams attract more resources from God s
universe.
I believe that when we fulfil our Divine destiny, all of creation
conspires to bless us, assist us, equip us, and provide for us.
This has been my experience.
Focus on Soul Dreams and the bigger the better. Stretch!
Expand! And believe that this is the reason why you were born.
And everything you need will come rolling down at your feet in
submission.
Opportunities. Friends. Connections. Wisdom. Money.
They will come.
Why?
Because Soul Dreams are connected to your Life Purpose.
How will you know your Life Purpose?

Chapter Nine
Examine Your Roots
As an 8-year-old kid, I had two passions.
My first love was drawing.
As my teachers lectured on Math, Science, and English,
you d see me crouched on my desk, as though taking notes furiously.
But the truth was that I d be lost in the magical world of robots,
spaceships, superheroes, giants, aliens, and monsters. I d doodle on
every empty space within a two-meter radius around me. I d draw
everywhere: My books. My desk. My lunchbox. My schoolbag. And
my classmate s back when he wasn t looking. I d cover any horizontal
surface with Superman, Batman, Voltes V, Tarzan, and Bruce Lee.
But ultimately, I had to create my own superhero
and his
name was SuperKid.
Which of course was my secret identity.
I was a small, thin, shy, unpopular, and not-too-bright
student in school, but in reality, I was the great SuperKid in disguise.
I designed his bullet-proof costume, his jet-powered boots,
his red shield, and his stun gun (I couldn t kill anyone, so stunning
criminals was my only alternative). SuperKid was also a Kung Fu,
Judo, and Karate expert, and he defeated criminal syndicates, drug
cartels, and the entire underworld.
When I hit puberty, SuperKid began rescuing beautiful
girls in distress with regularity. And these women naturally fell
in love with me, their hero. In my comic books, I rescued Farrah
Fawcet-Majors (Charlie s Angels
original version), Linda Carter
(Wonderwoman), Lindsey Wagner (Bionic Woman), my Social
Studies teacher with the pretty smile, and of course, Cedz, my
seatmate in Grade 5 with the cute dimples.

My Second Passion
Here s my second passion: telling jokes.

I d even ask my parents to buy Joke Books.

I d also collect old issues of Readers Digest, rip the pages of
Laughter is the Best Medicine, and staple them together,
making them my joke book. Then I d memorize those jokes and
ask my friends or family, Do you want to hear a joke?
No, we don t! they d say, running away from me.
But I d run after them, telling my joke anyway.
Talk about a tough audience.
Sometimes, they d moan and groan and gnash their teeth.
Sometimes however, they d smile, or giggle, or laugh.
This trained me how to make a fool out of myself in public
something I use every time I preach today.
Clearly, my roots led to my fruits.
What kind of roots do you have?

Chapter Ten
Roots Lead to Fruits
Friends, now that you know my two passions as a child, you
can see why I became a writer and preacher. (Huh?)
Okay. I admit it s not very obvious.
Let me explain.
Some of you might say, But Bo, why didn t you become a
cartoonist? Or a stand-up comedian?
Because at age 12, I met God.
At age 13, I started preaching.
At the age of 20, I wrote my first book.
I realized that the creativity that I developed as a child
through drawing, even creating the world of SuperKid and all his
damsels in distress, proved useful.
I Still Doodle and Tell Jokes
If you listen to me preach or if you read my books, you ll
realize that I ve NOT stopped drawing and telling jokes.
Oh, yes, I no longer doodle with lines and circles and shapes.
This time, I doodle with my words.
With nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, I create pictures.
Usually, I create funny pictures.
This is one of the reasons why my books are bestsellers.
(Ahem.)
I also preach by telling stories, painting pictures in front of
people.

Believe me, it works.

Chapter Eleven
Your Core Gifts and Passions
Will Lead You to Your Life Purpose
Discovering your life purpose doesn t have to be rocket
science.
It s really very simple.
You don t need to read a hundred books to discover it.
You don t need 10 years of navel-gazing and meditation to
find it.
You don t need to fly around the world to get it.
Just ask yourself two simple questions: Passion and Potential
l Passion: What do you enjoy doing?
l Potential: And what do you do well?
That s it!
That s how God wants you to bless the world.
Don t Diversify
Diversify only when it comes to the stock market. (I ve
learned that it s always wise not to buy just one stock, but many.)
But when it comes to your Core Gifts, don t diversify!
Imagine if Michael Jordan decided to diversify. Hmm, I
know I m good at basketball. But perhaps I could take up baseball
and try that out (Okay, no need to imagine. He actually did try
baseball and failed miserably.)
Don t deviate. Don t diversify. Focus on your strengths.
This is important: Forget about developing your weakness.

Delegate that to others. Hire others. Don t waste your energy

developing what you re not made to do. Put all your energies to
developing your strengths.
So even now, hone your gifts. Expand!
Do what you were born to do in this world.
If it s drawing, then draw.
If it s cooking, then cook.
If it s singing, then sing.
If it s writing, then write.
If it s creating, then create.
If it s counselling, then counsel.
If it s teaching, then teach.
Because your destiny and happiness await.

Epilogue:
Start Writing Your
Soul Dreams Now
It s not enough that you dream.
It s important to dream the right dreams.
Are some of your dreams no longer exciting to you?
Perhaps a deep part of you has already realized that they
were superficial.
Replace them.
Search the deepest part of who you are.
What great things do you want to happen?
What are your Soul Dreams?
How will you fulfil your Life Purpose this year?
Don t limit yourself.
Don t say, It s impossible.
It becomes impossible only when you say it is.
Everything is possible to those who believe.
May your dreams come true,

Bo Sanchez