“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”

—Teddy Roosevelt

S

o let us start where it matters: Vision. Do you have one? A personal one? This week, it was the National Budget day in the 5 East African countries on Thursday 8th June 2017. I am told that in the local dailies, one columnist commented by saying:

“The family budget is not yet there; the individual budget is not yet read”

In 1998 when I had a spiritual awakening, my Pastor Don Matheny would almost always each Sunday ask this question during his sermons: “What is your vision?” You see, I had just graduated from High School and was looking forward to furthering my studies. Nevertheless, that question used to sting me each time he would pose it.

It wasn’t until a whooping 12 Years LATER that I crafted my vision in simple words. It took that long simply because I lacked guidance on this, and maybe that is one of the reasons I am a Life Coach now, guiding many people to reconnect with their own purpose and vision in life. I discovered mine after I had gone through some coaching, fasting and seriously seeking. I had been and always will be a massive seeker and pursuer of purpose. To me, there has got to be a reason why I am alive today and have survived so many things. It cannot just be to put food on the table, have children, build a house, retire and die. I reject that kind of drudgery…but I digress.

I wrote the following ‘words’ to describe my vision:

To inspire hope and enrich lives world wide….that is my Vision,

To speak a word in season to those who are weary…that is my Purpose

To treasure the SIGNIFICANCE of every single person, unleashing Each Individual’s UNIQUE PURPOSE by  providing trainings, Coaching, writings, Motivational talks, teaching, preaching, masterminding, giving of self and inspiration to guide people in living LEGACIES…that is my Mission

From then on my life had some kind of direction.

I had some sort of passion and pursuit.

My life got a focus that helped me to say “No” to very many things in order to stay the course.

No, I did not become a “Millionaire” neither did my struggles with finances disappear overnight. (There are principles and laws of finance that if not applied, it matters less that you have a mighty vision…but I digress again)

I remember in 2013, I had an opportunity to travel to Ghana with my family for a 2 year Consultancy assignment. Due to my clear vision and purpose, within 2 months of staying in that country, I was sharing a platform with Ghana’s Leading Trainer, Coach, Speaker and Author, Comfort Ocran. That would never have happened if I lacked vision…but then I digress again.

What we are talking about today is this: What do you do when you finally have it all crystalized that it is your vision? What happens next?

Realize some things:

• Your Vision will not work if you do not work it
• Your Vision will not guarantee you bliss…just like being Born Again does not give you immunity from trouble
• Your Vision will not immediately guarantee you hoards of cash
• Your Vision will not immediately come to fruition
• Your Vision will create in you some serious doubts of whether you are doing the right thing.
• Your Vision will make you question the rationale of pursuing it and miss on a quick dollar here and there especially when you are direly pressed and in immediate need
• Your Vision will give you an opportunity to trade off, yet just two paths: Pursue it or postpone it. (I have realized that every time I postponed it, I lost time and whatever I gained as a trade off. Anything you pursue requires time and effort.)
• Your Vision will alienate quite a number of people from your life who do not support it
• Your Vision will attract new people in your life, men and women of “like Passions”
• You will find that there is someone who might be doing exactly what you are starting. Do not be discouraged and give up. Do not feel you are copying. Keep at it.

What To Do

Now that you have a vision, I am going to suggest to you 4 or 5 things that you need to focus on in order to bring that vision to fruition.

“In matters of style, swim with the current. In matters of principle, stand like a rock”

–Thomas Jefferson

 1. Craft A Daily Routine

So you know that the vision will not work itself…you must work it. This is where Goals come in. From your vision, create a mission like I did above. A mission statement has some action points of “How” the vision will be realized. If you look at my mission, you see things such as “writing, speaking, coaching…” etc. My activation of the vision is to make sure that on a daily basis, I am doing something towards the vision. “What if I am employed?” We shall deal with that on point 5, read on.

2. Create Some Non-Negotiables

For me, Spiritual Growth, Mental Growth and writing are an absolute must each day. Another non-negotiable for me is staying organized and having each of my waking minutes clearly documented of how it will be spent. I live my life through these non-negotiable activities daily. IN fact, I have gone ahead to create a daily tracker that helps me to check off these activities as and when they are achieved. I have a personal graph of improvement. It is a non-negotiable. These will help you activate your vision especially if these actions are derived directly from the vision itself.

3. Create A Mastermind Group

I can’t thing of a better way of putting your vision in motion that collaborating with men and women of like minds. I have already written quite a bit on this subject so I will not repeat myself here.

4. Create Some Brooding Space:

IN short, be patient. I started calling myself “Life Coach” years ago before I even had a client or a Coaching Certificate. Just the fact that you do not have all in place for your vision it does not mean that your vision is not valid! It is, but it needs time to crystalize and take shape. That is why you need to be doing the 3 steps above. Allow it to simmer. [ictt-tweet-inline]Great  visions are never microwaved. They must be let to simmer.[/ictt-tweet-inline] Contrary to popular belief, abortion is caused by impatience, not fear, not ignorance or selfishness. So give it time. Do not dig up seeds you planted.

5. Be Flexible With Your Detours

Granted, you might not get a vocation that morphs directly into your vision. What happens to the vision? Do you go ahead and take the job? My mentor, Dr. Myles Munroe believed that the best and most fruitful time for a visionary who is employed is after 5 O’clock. This is the time that you need to work on your vision. For me, I have  found a sweet spot to be between 4:00 a.m and 8:00 a.m. In other words, yes, take on the job but do not dump your vision. My friend and author Kary Oberbrummer wrote a book titled “Day Job to Dream Job”. You ought to read it.

6. Stay With It

‘Grit’, ‘stubborn’, unmoved should be some of the descriptive words used for you and your vision. For me, close friends have described me as “Consistent”. Why is that? It is because I chose to stay with the vision no matter what. There are times I never had rent money or even food for my kids and their school fees…yet I never stopped writing my articles. I decided to stay with the vision no matter what. Soon enough, there will be a tipping point.

There is this quote:

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win”

–Mahatma Gandhi.

Enough said here!