image credit: FeatheredTar
When was the last time you thought about your vision? And by vision I don’t mean the “Better in one? Or two?” kind either. But come to think of it, there is a lesson to be learned from staring at the blur chart across the room. Brian Reagan jokes about procrastinating for six years before having his annual eye exam, “Then you get new lenses and you’re like, Man, I coulda’ been seeing things!”
The vision I’m talking about has nothing to do with an optic nerve. I’m referring to a clarity that often clicks into view when we’re suddenly inspired by something bigger than us. We see it, as if for the first time, in razor-sharp detail — the potential of our life, where we fit in, and how we can make an impact during our 2.5 billion seconds (mileage may vary) on planet earth.
Suddenly we get a glimpse of purpose, destiny, and direction. That doesn’t mean we have it all laid out in detail on a map. Actually there are more unknowns than knowns, more questions than answers; but vision outweighs all that.
Study any champion and you’ll discover vision at work. Eye sight doesn’t matter. Just ask Stevie Wonder or study the life of Helen Keller and Ray Charles. Look closely and you’ll see the spark of belief that led them forward.
So What’s the BIG Deal About Vision?
- Vision is not a pep talk. It’s fire in your mind and resolve in your will.
- Vision is hope.
- It’s faith.
- It’s belief.
- Vision is personal.
- It’s dreaming wide awake while running fully in a forward direction, past the fog of fear and clouds of doubt.
- It brings about an unforced rhythm.
- True vision moves us from our comfort zone.
- Vision diminishes fear and hushes the what-ifs.
- Without vision we cannot focus.
- It’s never created by committee. Its course runs deeper than that.
It might be shared by a group but only after it has been birthed within someone that is willing to own, nurture, protect, and then share it with the world.
What’s Our Choice?
Earlier I mentioned Brian Reagan. He asks a great question after his optometrist visit that we should also ask ourselves, “How can instantly improved vision not be at the top of your to-do list?” A great question with a funny response, “Nah, I’ll see tomorrow. I got a sock drawer I need to sort out.”
Our choices are simple:
(1.) Get a bigger view of ourselves, the world around us, and our contribution to the world
or
(2.) Become champion sock sorters.
Me? I’m gonna start wearing flip-flops.
Hey Shawn.
Nice post – as are many of the others posted on this site. We have to stick together to drive people on (and Adam Carolla can only help, here, too!).
I think the problem with vision, Shawn, is that it sounds too distant, aloof, from day-to-day life. Instead of vision we need to break down what it is people are aiming for – their big ambition – into baby steps.
It’s like the idea of forming a to do list and then instead of looking down at it with crazy eyes, adding the first action required of each element. Suddenly the mists clear and you have a very definite focus for execution – a real chance to make a dent.
Keep doing this; it’s important.
Great points David.
I like the idea of aiming for our “BIG Ambitions”… by breaking them “into baby steps.”
You reminded me of a discussion led by Jen-Hsun Huang, co-founded of NVIDIA, to a group of Stanford students where he preferred to call it perspective rather than vision. Vision too often suggests elitism and exclusion rather than part of being human and reaching toward our potential. He also warns against labeling someone a “visionary” since it does not guarantee the right perspective (or vision) in any other areas.
Thank you for the comment, encouragement, and compliments.
Shawn