From the Vision to Reality
My sole opinion is that people with a vision tend or can become considered some of the most successful, thought-provoking, and inspirational people of all time. A vision demonstrates a purpose and gives a person a “why.” The “why” is used often today in messages intending to uncover the reasons we do things and the motivation behind our actions. Altogether, the “why” is the purpose in which we do something. I will mention more of this topic in the chapter to come in talking about self-purpose. For now, I will focus on a person’s vision and how to make it a reality. Visions can be interpreted in different ways and can be close if not used in the exact same way as using or describing a goal. In the previous chapter when I discussed the “GREAT 10” that could be a vision if used in a certain context. However, I see the vision as the overall desired outcome of a situation. So, in my definition, the “Great 10” are goals that lead up to a person’s vision. My vision is to live a life that promotes education, influences generations to become great, and purposeful living. These core things are broad. I believe if I can accomplish my “Great 10” goals, I will have lived out my vision. In this same manner, others should create their own Great 10 list and pursue it every day.
Many people experienced things that shape their vision. Regardless, once the vision has been thought of next is to bring it to life. If a person has not come up with their vision here are a couple of helpful tips to find your own but should not be limited to only these tips. Imagine the first subjects you care deeply about then connect that subject to your talents and abilities and produce a way you can become helpful. For example, a young man whose interests are within building housing materials and his talent is his creative mind. His vision could be to use inexpensive housing materials or develop affordable substitutes for housing materials so the less fortunate people can own homes easier. This in my opinion if accomplished is greatness at a glance. If you find what you care deeply about but do not have the talent or ability to enforce your interest, then develop the skills needed to complete it. Another tip on finding a vision is to contemplate on your passions of life and research what has not been done or ways to improve or impact the area of your passions. There is a saying that states “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” You will be challenged at thinking but that is a good thing. Please refrain from being frustrated if your vision does not come clear in a short period of time. Seek and keep seeking if you have not found or created your vision. I believe when we search for something hard enough with a relentless pursuit whether or not you succeed, the experience and issues conquered in seeking produces a great individual.
My suggestion would include once your vision is made clear write it out on paper. This helps your brain remember and if this written statement is hung up or put somewhere where it can be seen constantly this puts positive pressure on you to carry out your vision. Also, hanging up your vision is a reminder of where you set your objectives and how your hope is in this vision. Once your vision is clear, making an outline with a timeline is good as well. The outline would consist of an approach to achieving your vision. A step by step guide that makes it simple and breaks down the actions that go toward the vision. In addition, the outline also has notes and things to remember and even who to contact. Along with who to contact other things include but are not limited to: where to go to get the information needed, how to acquire useful resources, what to do when there is an obstacle in the way. The time line comes into play so there is a measure of when things should be done, so you can hold yourself accountable for the steps getting done in a timely manner. Having a timeline is good but is also going to shape the way you handle or juggle objectives that need to become complete. After your vision is clear and the outline and timeline are completed then the transitional part begins and moves the vision into reality and is brought to life. When this occurs, this is what I mean by taking a vision and making it real. There are other ways to succeed but the approach I mentioned in general, and other methods, may be combined including or not including this to help those in their own race to fulfill their vision.
When shaping a vision or in the process of developing your own vision I set super high standards but depending on each person, others may want their vision to reflect different standards. A person simply could want their vision to be a good father or to reestablish a broken relationship or coming out of poverty to even landing a job. However, I challenge my readers to think bigger than what you are a custom to and then create and implement your own vision. What scares many people is the possibility of complete failure in the attempt to carry out their vision. No one wants to fail or be looked upon as a failure but what you do not often hear from the great successors is that they have failed miserably numerous times before their big break to success. Then I would like to also add the truth is that depending on what your vision is and the capacity of it and your environment there is a possible chance you could not accomplish it. There are measures around this I believe if a person is not able to meet their vision. I hope that as long as a person’s intent is positive in their vision that it will come to reality but if not it is possible to pass on the information to those people who will come after us so they may run with the ideas or philosophy you mentioned in your writings. This keeps your vision alive even after a person’s death and allows your vision to come forth through others. This, in my opinion, is an honor and something worth doing if your vision is not fully accomplished in your life time. Therefore, you are a winner even in death. Many have said life is short but I can only pray people will maximize their purpose and gifts to add to the lives of those who need it.
A person’s biggest fear in some cases is that they will die and have accomplished little to nothing or that they left this earth with no vision or a purpose partially fulfilled or nothing meaningful completed. It is hurtful and almost impossible to recover from the pain in watching a living soul born and then die with no substance or impact on others in such a way that it produces amazing things. We can sometimes judge others in their vision or it is not in line with our beliefs or standards or even if they have no vision for life, we can sometimes look down upon them or consider them worthless or nobodies. It took me awhile but I cannot look at a person wrongfully or in a negative way if they have no vision or if their vision is not big enough on my scale. Logically, I see nothing wrong with someone who wants to just be there for their family and friends, get married, and vacation, then work until they retire. For me, I do not judge that standard way of living. However, I desire to do things differently. Please do not be fooled because in terms of supporting children a poor mother or father who support their children have lived a more meaningful life than a rich mother or father who does nothing for their children. Money is a force and great way to help others but money can also run out or be devalued. A person’s words can stick to someone’s heart and never fade. What I am basically saying is that regardless of who you are and whether you have a vision or not become what you so desire in its greatest form and do not judge those who live differently because your expectations and life are oriented in a different manner.
Developing a vision then translating it to reality or bringing it to fruition is challenging and if not careful will easily fade if people procrastinate or linger on blowing off time, which could otherwise become useful in planning toward the vision. Another way people are hindered is their lack of confidence as well as motivation. Whether a person’s idea is innovative or basic, it can easily become stressful and hard if you are not focusing on the vision. What happens is that if you have an idea to become a business owner and never make a business outline or any plan, then it brings up the question how serious and how hard did you really want to start a business. A serious person about business not only makes a business outline but are raising money for startup cost and trying to contact the right people to fulfill business goals. Also, people get far then freeze up or fold meaning not following fully through on goals for any reason whether if it is a legitimate excuse or not. To fight struggles that may hold you back from your vision consider the real reason you are doing something. Is the reason selfish or is it going to benefit others or even is it worth pursuing? If things are in line with a strong foundation or purpose in seeking out vision, then your motivation should never fade but possible only waiver but never pushes you off course. You will find that simple, easy steps or tactics play a huge role in empowering or keeping you focused on the vision. If a person has a vision and even if it is written down but no time-specific accounts of when events take place it is difficult moving forward. Imagine a daily list that you wake up and see every day even if you did not do them your brain is constantly seeing what must take place for your vision to happen in a step by step process. The average person sees something so much it then becomes a priority or rather you get tired of seeing it and knowing the fact that you have not carried it out so by this you begin actually carrying out the steps will contribute to your vision. This is all relevant to the drive to become a millionaire because millionaires have a vision then they execute it.
When it comes to failure, this is often a scary thing and very emotional in regard to if you set a vision and it is not met. You have more to lose by giving up than pressing onward even if you fail again. What value would greatness be if it was so easy to become great? A person is made great while he is in the process of becoming great. Failure is not something we want to deal with but in a crazy way sometimes through failure, you become great because of what was learned through your failed attempts. Depending on your socio-economic background and race this could mean you may be challenged more often than if you were of another race or nationality. The best things to do in approaching your vision is to become consistent and in my view relentless until your desires are met. Develop a steel thick wall to protect yourself from failure and disappointments that could negatively impact your motivation or confidence in making your vision real. I was once told by someone that if you ever get to a place of the hopelessness of feeling you are defeated to remind yourself of the good and concentrate on self- perseverance. The person who wins is the one who endures until the very end.
When it comes to the topic of purposefulness or vison-making ideas, many run from it or do not put that much effort into it. The reason is that it is much easier living with no purpose because nothing is expected of you. When you make a vision clear, whether to yourself or others a vision now you have expectations and people watching to see what you will do and if you will succeed or fail. As I stated before it is much easier to wake up and do nothing and just live and breathe with no strong pursuit of a real desire. In my opinion, everyone has something to contribute in a good manner but whether they do it is solely up to them. Also, the topic of walking in your purpose or even if it is just accomplishing a vision people are sometimes intimidated because they never were challenged to think on that subject. Additionally, a person may feel inferior if they think your ideas are much larger than theirs is. You have some who really do not care about thinking at a higher level but simply want to do regular things like just make good money, have a family, and enjoy life then die. There is nothing wrong with that but imagine if every human or even a large percentage maximized their gifts and talents to bring about positive change. This would dynamically improve the world in amazing ways. I always have believed in helping build societies and improving lives because it is something worth living for.
For a long time, I thought it is best to keep your vision to yourself and tell no one about your aspirations. There are pros and cons to whether you tell others of your vision or keep it to yourself. My experience leads me to have you think about who you are telling your vision to and if they have the character to help support you in your vision. Not everyone can handle another person’s vision because they may feel inadequate in hearing your vision so be cautious of who you mention your vision to. You must be certain and share with those who are like-minded in your thinking and have similar aspirations or of the same caliber thinking. Everyone is different but if your instinct is telling you not to say anything then following it and in the same way if it’s telling you to share then share your vision. Personally, I share only a portion of my goals but not everything it is up to you to make the judgments on that yourself. I often hear people say allow yourself to converse and hang around successful people who in some cases are visionaries and leaders. It is hard because sometimes you do not know where these people are and may need to look them up or send them mail. More so it is what you do on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis that brings you closer to your vision. If not, please reevaluate what needs work so that your vision is always at work and in progress.
Visions grow and maybe even change but always remember to hard and remain strong through obstacles of hardship. Holding yourself accountable and or having another person hold you to your vision may produce good results. This allows people or a person to continually check on you for updates to see what progress you have made. On the negative side, it can become embarrassing if no progress is made or if the person holding you accountable does not follow through with checkups. The choice is yours. I prefer holding my own self-accountable whatever you think is best for you is what you should do. In extreme terms imagine staying or waking up few extra hours later or earlier this is also helpful. As long as your vision is realistic and appropriate, I would all are faithful to the cause of their vision and remain strong in all that they do and help make this planet a greater place for us all. I feel a personal responsibility to attain greatness then once doing so to share how to become great and inspire as well as influence generations of greatness. Words and the ability to transfer knowledge to another that moves someone in such a way is one of the reasons I believe everyone should adopt. I remember hearing it’s not where you start but how you finish. Along with that statement in social terms, it is possible and has happened that a person is born at a disadvantage but may finish his or her life at an advantage or at a point in their life that is well respected and highly regarded.
It is my entire hope that I inspire those to make clear and straight their vision because with this it becomes a driving force so strong if you believe that it guides your life and purpose. The vision if big enough can become your life’s work and legacy if influence is huge enough. I urge anyone to observe how many others have sought after their own visions and notice the behaviors and what allowed them to stand out from the crowd. Some of these visionaries were regarded as geniuses or a prodigy but I also believe that someone who is below average can achieve greatness. The key is to trigger the greatness from within and the first step starts with the vision. Revisiting what I have mentioned before and even if you do not have a vision I challenge you to take time to think and meditate what do you want out of life? I speak from experience because I never expected much of myself until I progressed in life and had the curiosity to know more about every subject always asking questions and looking up things to find out more information. I discovered things and sometimes did not believe something was in my range of skill to acquire as it may have been a certain job, intern, or social status that is respected by many. A light bulb went off, I came across and vital point in my life. I can achieve whatever I desire but only if I put my heart, mind, and soul into it. What this means is that a person gives up or sacrifices things which before held me back from what I wanted to succeed in. Many of my mind-blowing revealing ideas had occurred when I was alone. People are afraid to be alone but sometimes you cannot think clearly enough to pursue an idea until you have been alone to have created in your mind first then before deciding to go after it or not.
Visionaries often take on a lot of pressure if people know what they are trying to achieve and well many will not believe in you however they do not decide your fate. The road to greatness is simple what is complex is the execution of the vision to become great. I will discuss the execution of aspiring to become great in the next chapter, but for now, this is the sole part of a person’s dream that possibly makes or breaks you. The bridge to when a person’s vision becomes a reality is not always at the very end of their success but is made real through the pain and obstacles they overcome to reach the highest point in your life. I doubted myself often and never could find confidence in performing a job or duty whether it is professional or nonprofessional. Doubt stems from many things one including fear of failing. We must get over this fear of failing and looking bad among others. You would not believe how many do not achieve greatness because they believe it is not possible or it is simply that they never act on it or even if acted upon after a few attempts if failed ones a person gives up. We must become warriors and refuse to lose in this journey toward greatness.
I have come across so many resources and have been empowered and equipped to excel exceedingly that if it does not happen before my death it is no one’s fault but my own and so the same for you. Many are dreamers and visionaries but do not engage in the relentless pursuit to reach greatness so this, in turn, will hurt your final outcome. To live and get an education then make money then raise a family then die in my point is average. I believe our human existence is much more than just being average but is something much more. We all are here to uplift, captivate, inspire, influence, and excel to such a level that it is not only remarkable but groundbreaking to even world-changing. Once the vision is clear and as you work to accomplish it to make it real you are becoming or rather in the process of being great. Moving forward another critical step taking it a step further the just the vision is the execution of the vision.