Most people I have met have a deep-seated desire to live a life of significance. It is a need to matter. We want to have a lasting impact that we are proud of. However, our busy lives have obscured our ability to keep our visions in focus.
To lead with authenticity, we must develop the ability to think about or plan the future with imagination and wisdom. In other words, you must have a vision. Michael Hyatt says this of vision: “If you have a vision, you will eventually attract the right strategy. If you don’t have a clear vision, no strategy will save you.”
Vision is the most identifiable quality of a leader according to Brian Tracy’s ‘7 Qualities of Visionary Leadership’. Having a solid vision is so powerful and is the key ingredient of your success. A vision is like a lighthouse. It guides you home to your true potential.
This morning, I wasn’t particularly in the ‘mood’ to write. I found excused to perform activities other than write. Activities that wouldn’t necessarily add value to my day. They were just time wasters and gap fillers. So what got me back on track? It was my vision to consistently add value to my community.
You too have the permission to visualize. Without a vision, a people perish. However, many of us still wait for external validation to inspire our vision. You don’t need to ask permission from anyone to build and grow your vision. Here are five reasons to get you on your vision quest.
- Vision slays inertia – We tend to second-guess our ability to lead or overcome obstacles. How many times do you doubt your ability or gifts? What holds you back? It could be something said about you in the past or a nasty experience you went through. Developing a picture of your desired future provides you with an opportunity to kick-start your life, dream or career. “The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.” ~Michelangelo
- Vision is a promissory note to self – Your vision is a stepping stone to accountability with self and others. It gives you the reason to work had at your purpose. Just like a promissory note details a payment promise by a specific date, your vision becomes your promise to fulfill your dream. “Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so shall you become. Your Vision is the promise of what you shall one day be. Your Ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil.” ~James Allen
- Vision keeps you motivated – A vision keeps you going when faced by threats and challenges. It is a light on your dashboard that flashes when you go off-course. Without motivation, we easily lose our momentum or passion to our desired goals. “Dissatisfaction and discouragement are not caused by the absence of things but the absence of vision.” ~Anonymous
- Vision spotlights your possibilities – During a theatrical play or music concert, the director will shine the spotlight on a specific scene. The reason they do this is to make people pay a lot of attention to someone or something. This is exactly what occurs when you have a vision. It places the spotlight on opportunities that help you to achieve your life’s purpose. “The future belongs to those who see possibilities before they become obvious.” ~John Scully
- Mediocrity wafts away in a vision – As I mentioned earlier, it does not take much for us to slide back into our lowest form. A place where laziness wafts in like the cold fingers of a cold night. Where we just exists. This is what will become of you when your life isn’t guided by a clear vision. You just exist and do what is enough to survive. “If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise.” ~Robert Fritz
You don’t need permission from anyone to decide what your vision is. The key is in your hands. And it is okay to let go of your fears. Give yourself permission to dream, to visualize…
It is absurd that a man should rule others, who cannot rule himself.” ~Latin Proverb
Do you have a vision? If not, what is stopping you? Click here and share your vision and thoughts in the comments below.
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