Last week we encouraged you to get started on a 52 week journal that we'll help you fill in throughout the course of 2019. If you missed the first post, there's still time to jump in. We are after-all, building a vision.
“Where there is no vision, there is no hope.”
George Washington Carver
Why Vision is a Necessity
"If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. If you can dream it, you can become it." That phrase was written on a mouse pad that I received from my parents just before I left for my first year in college. It would prove itself to be one of the best gifts I ever received. Yep, a mouse pad. Do we still even use those?
It wasn't the function of the pad itself that made it so great. Although it did have a penchant for keeping fuzzy lint away from the trackball...see how old I am now? I had a mouse with a trackball on it - in college. Okay, let's get back on track. The mouse pad. What made it so great was the quote. When I left for college, I had a faint idea of what and who I wanted to become, but there were so many options rolling around in this head of mine that I had trouble narrowing down a major. This spiraled into some other challenges that eventually led to me leaving school after 3 semesters and moving back in with my parents. But ultimately, what happened is that I had no focus.
So now you're thinking, "well great job that mousepad did there!" You're right. It was great. As I packed it away in my box of "desk things," I knew that I couldn't see myself anywhere. And that, is what my trip home became - a journey to change my reality, to find something to believe in, to hone my vision. I unpacked only a few boxes, a reminder to myself that I wasn't staying for long. The "desk things" were a necessity and thus my mousepad regained its status as the lint free, motivational wonderforce that it was. I read that quote everyday. It pushed me to dream wild and free, and see myself outside of college graduation. Once I found that vision, it created a clean slate of planning and I was off to the races.
Let's Do This
Without a clear vision, I struggled. Imagine if I started a business without a vision of what I wanted it to do or accomplish. Yikes! How about writing a book? Let's just free-write and see where it takes us! I guarantee nobody would want to read the first, or even the tenth draft of that book. But let me craft a vision. Let me imagine something so I can achieve it. Let me dream something so I can become it. That book, that business, that whatever, has a far better chance of succeeding because I have a clear vision driving my actions, which brings with it - hope. That all compounds upon itself and becomes the anthem that I dance to as I'm chasing a dream down the riverbend.
Your vision, is your why. Without it, we'll accept and allow anything else to become an obstacle or deterrent for reaching our greatest dreams.
That mousepad was dope, right? Best gift ever and yes, I still have it - complete with the same photos it held over 20 years ago when I started this journey into adulthood.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn to join each weekly post. Use the hashtags #Go52sday & #LaunchCrate as you share your entries or thoughts within your circle. Here's the prompt for Week 2...
Dream wild and free. Build a vision. You are entirely up to you. #Go52sday
C. L. Fails