These famous words are forever etched in history as a catalyst to the magnificent, life-redeeming movement toward standing up for social justice and equality. I am forever grateful for the work of Martin Luther King Jr., William Wilberforce, and so many strong men and women who stood up for the redemption of all people, stating in unison through their actions, that we are all beautifully made and created equal. With this, no person has the right to own another person and each person should have the right and ability to dream and believe in his/her dreams. Let’s pause for a moment and reflect on these great leaders, their dream that started this call to justice, and in joining their voices, express this simple, yet essential truth.

There are still countless men and women who are fighting for the freedom and justice for those trapped in modern day slavery. In fact, there are still over 30 million people trapped in slavery today! I know this is horrendous and hard to imagine that such injustices still persist in this world. I know it’s crazy to think that there are many millions out there who probably forgot about their dreams or have forgotten the ability to dream among so many other things. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream is still alive and well in my heart and in the hearts of men and women who are fighting for the freedom of these people who are trapped. I hope to, in some way, give these people a way to dream again. For a dream is what starts it all.

These four words, “I have a dream,” were probably said since the beginning of creation and are still being said countless times daily all over the world. In fact, I hope each one of you have said these four words at some point in your life. I hope those words have never left your spirit, but have spurred you on through the difficult times and through the doubt and fears. We must believe in our dreams and the power we possess to change the world.

If you have forgotten when you said these words or have ever thought that your dream wasn’t good enough or too crazy to come true, you need to think again. Like I said before, BELIEVE in your dreams, you are worth it, and you can accomplish so much more than you ever thought possible. And in my personal belief, I believe that especially with the help of Jesus, all things are possible for the good of all people. And just as important, encouragement from one another!

Once you believe in your dream, TAKE ACTION toward sprouting your dream into growing. Start small and write some steps or actions you can do to head in that direction. For Martin Luther King, Jr. lived out each day in light of his dream and took bold steps to making his dream come alive. Imagine the power you have within the choices you make. We all have circumstances that we might not be able to change, but the one thing that makes the biggest difference in birthing our dreams into reality and shaping our lives into the lives we dream of, are our choices each day.

Seeing The Authenticity Project start and grow has been a personal dream come true for me. It hasn’t been easy, but I definitely am so thankful for the journey and the opportunity to grow and learn together. The biggest thing that keeps me going and even excited for what is to come in the face of doubt or others’ hesitations, is the fact that I would rather give my all to see if this dream can come true rather than to never have tried at all and be wondering for the rest of my life, what if?

So, today let’s all recommit to our dreams and take real, tangible steps to making those dreams come true. Remember it’s far more noble and better to have tried than to never have tried at all.

Please comment below about what your dreams are! We would love to hear about them and encourage you forward!

Also, I could go on for many pages about what human trafficking is and the many different ways you can join the fight again human trafficking; however, this is not the intent of this article, but I hope to write more about this in the near future. If you would like to learn more, please visit the organization hard at work to stop human trafficking: Not For Sale.

Stephanie Zeller is the Community Director for The Authenticity Project, you can contact Steph at TheAuthenticityProject@gmail.com.