THE POWER OF VISION
Approximately ten years ago, I was at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena,
California having an in-depth discussion with a speaking mentor of mine.
During our two hour discussion, he looked me in the eyes at said, "What
are the three keys to success?" My response was, "I am not
sure. I believe there are several key things that lead a person to
success in life". Then, he said, "That is true to a certain
extent. But, several years ago, the most successful people had a meeting
about success, and by the end of the discussion, they all agreed that vision,
passion, and execution are the three most important keys to
success". At the time I heard these words spoken, I was shocked to
find out that these three attributes were considered the most important keys to
personal success. That conversation was a significant moment in my life
and was something I thought about for several years.
Subsequently, after years of studying the keys to personal,
career, and leadership success, I finally was able to gain a greater
understanding into why my mentor believed that vision, passion, and execution
are three key attributes every individual must possess and apply if they desire
to obtain success at any level. Ironically, during this powerful moment,
I saw how much of an impact vision, passion, and execution can have on
individual's life. After more reflection, I realized that vision is the
key that unlocks passion and execution in a person's life. In essence,
it's the vision (the ultimate goal discovered from within to make a positive
impact) that ignites the passion and execution in an individual life. So
if you're going find your passion, develop a plan for success, and obtain
personal, career, or leadership success, you must have a VISION!
Steve Jobs, George Carver, Bill Gates, Clara Barton, and Walt
Disney are several examples of passionate men and women who have obtained great
personal, career, and leadership success because of vision. The reason I
believe each of these leaders are great examples of this concept; they all had
the courage and ability to create and pursue a vision which impacted the world
and enabled them to experience great success. Steve Jobs, one of the
greatest innovators of our time, was able to impact the world through his
vision to create the best and most original products the world has ever
seen. George Carver, an amazing inventor, transformed the world through
his innovative ideas turning peanuts, soybeans, and other plants into plastics,
paint, fuel, and other useful products. Bill Gates, one of the wealthiest
men in the world, has impacted the lives of people everywhere through his
vision to put a computer in every household and workplace in America.
Walt Disney, the creator of the Disneyland, has impacted families worldwide
because he had a vision to create an amusement park of cartoon characters where
parents and children could have fun together. And lastly, Clara Barton,
the creator of the American Red Cross, has impacted millions of people who have
found themselves in disastrous situations. She had a vision to help those
in desperate need through voluntary actions of individual people.
The powerful thing about each of these passionate and amazing
leaders is they exemplify the power of vision and reveal to us key attributes
of an effective vision. For example, when you look at each of the visions
created, you will find that every vision was big, clear, concise, and
captivating to those who shared the same interest as these different
leaders. In addition to these four specific attributes, you will also
discover that that each of the visions has the same ultimate goal - make an
impact in the world. Essentially, when we create our visions for career,
personal, and leadership success, our vision should be a big, clear, concise
and as we learned have the ultimate goal to make an impact in our community,
nation, or world.
Even
though it can be challenging at times to really discover and develop your
personal, career, or leadership vision, I challenge you to join me and many
others leaders across the country in positioning ourselves for personal,
career, and leadership in 2013 by developing an effective vision that will
inspire us to reach out fullest potential and empower us to make our community,
nation, and world a better place!
