vision (n.)

c. 1300, “something seen in the imagination or the supernatural,” from Anglo-French visioun, Old French vision “presence, sight; view, look, appearance; dream, supernatural sight” (12c.), from Latin visionem (nominative visio) “act of seeing, sight, thing seen,” noun of action from past participle stem of videre “to see,” from PIE root *weid- “to see.” ¹

 American author and disability rights advocate Hellen Keller was once asked what was worse than being blind, and she replied: “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision”. Keller lost her sight and hearing after a series of illnesses when she was 19 months old. She did not let those physical challenges hinder her purpose in life, and by the end of her life, she was named among Time magazine’s 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century due to her accomplishments.

Crafting a vision for your life is one of the most important things you can do for yourself. As the boxing analogy goes, “You cannot hit a target you cannot see.” You cannot take people farther than you have gone; success is an inside job. If you cannot see it, it will be hard to conceive it or even achieve it. As author Napoleon Hill noted in his classic book, As a Man Thinketh, “Whatever Your Mind Can Conceive and Believe, It Can Achieve.” You need a clear vision of where you are going, as it will be your guiding light during the inevitable dark days ahead. On your path to achieving your goals and aspirations, whatever would go wrong would eventually go wrong but with a strong why and a definite purpose, you would overcome all obstacles.

In The E-Myth Revisited Rev Ed: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It ², American author and founder of E-Myth Worldwide, Michael E. Gerber, writes about a story he read about the founder of IBM, Tom Watson, demonstrates the power of having and developing a vision for your life or career. When Watson was asked what he would attribute to the phenomenal success of IBM, he is said to have answered:

 IBM is what it is today for three special reasons. The first reason is that, at the very beginning, I had a very clear picture of what the company would look like when it was finally done. You might say I had a model in my mind of what it would look like when the dream—my vision—was in place. The second reason was that once I had that picture, I then asked myself how a company which looked like that would have to act. I then created a picture of how IBM would act when it was finally done.

 The third reason IBM has been so successful was that once I had a picture of how IBM would look when the dream was in place and how such a company would have to act, I then realized that, unless we began to act that way from the very beginning, we would never get there. In other words, I realized that for IBM to become a great company it would have to act like a great company long before it ever became one.

From the very outset, IBM was fashioned after the template of my vision. And each and every day we attempted to model the company after that template. At the end of each day, we asked ourselves how well we did, discovered the disparity between where we were and where we had committed ourselves to be, and, at the start of the following day, set out to make up for the difference. Every day at IBM was a day devoted to business development, not doing business. We didn’t do business at IBM, we built one.

Based on a six-year research project at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, conducted by James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras. The book Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies ³ explores what leads to enduringly great companies and examines eighteen truly exceptional and long-lasting companies and studies each in direct comparison to one of its top competitors.  One of the habits of the built-to-last companies is the ability of the leader to craft a vision for the company. Collins asserts:

Visionary companies are premier institutions—the crown jewels—in their industries, widely admired by their peers and having a long track record of making a significant impact on the world around them. All individual leaders, no matter how charismatic or visionary, eventually die; and all visionary products and services—all “great ideas”—eventually become obsolete. Indeed, entire markets can become obsolete and disappear. Yet visionary companies prosper over long periods of time, through multiple product life cycles and multiple generations of active leaders.

Former world heavyweight champion boxer Muhammad Alli once said, “Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them—a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.”

Everything that is created is actually created twice. First it is created mentally; then it is created physically. Where does that mental creation come from? The answer is vision.

Another thing that can distract you from results is interaction with difficult people. You will come in contact with a lot of people who can impact your efforts as you work on achieving your dreams—some in a negative way. Here are five types of people you are likely to encounter:

• Refreshers—they inspire your dreams and energize your talents.
• Refiners—they sharpen your ideas and clarify your vision.
• Reflectors—they mirror your energy, neither adding nor subtracting from it.
• Reducers—they try to reduce your vision and efforts to their comfort level.
• Rejecters—they deny your talent, hinder your efforts, and impede your vision.

Meditations

• Daily Calm with Tamara Levitt – The Time is Now
• Jumping into the unknown is scary, and it can be tempting to wait until the conditions in our lives are fail-safe before we take that leap. Of course, it is important to weigh our options to make rational decisions, but things rarely fall precisely in place, and if we wait for the stars to perfectly align; we will wait endlessly. When we face big decisions, mindfulness can help us tune into our fear and question our reluctance before we withdraw from the potential opportunity.
• We can examine our emotions and recognize what is holding us back, what we fear and what new challenges would bring the growth that we desire. Once you’ve explored your choices, take a deep breath and take action. The time is now. If it feels overwhelming, start with the smaller steps, write the smallest chapter of that book, enrol in that first night course, or launch the first simple version of that website.

• Daily Jay with Jay Shetty – Smile

• Scientists say that when we exchange smiles it signals a social connection which puts everyone at ease. Our grin also releases dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins; feel-good chemicals that lift our mood, fight stress and aid our immune system. Smiling literally makes us feel better. Studies confirm that our joyful expressions are contagious.

Podcast

• “Why 99% of Relationships FAIL” (Do THIS Today to Find Lasting Love!) | Michael Todd – Lewis Howes Podcast