Hey Moguls, Steve Cook here…
Vision is the most powerful thing in the world.
Nobody has ever done anything without first having a vision. Nothing great has ever happened without someone envisioning it first. The tricky part is harnessing that vision and turning it into something great.
My Personal Story
Let me share a personal story that I hope will motivate and encourage you.
My dad was an entrepreneur at heart. He was always striving to make money and provide for his family. Consequently, he wasn’t around much, and his absence took a toll on our family. His poor choices created a lot of pain in my home, and our relationship was always strained.
My parents divorced when I was 4 years old, and I vowed at a very young age that I would never be like my father when I had my own children.
When I was 17, I was surprised to find out that I was going to be a father. My father was willing to pay for an abortion, but thankfully, for some reason and in spite of my lack of convictions at the time, I insisted “no.”
The promise I had made to myself when I was young held firm; I was determined to be there for my child. My daughter was born when I was just 18 and, shortly after her birth, I put my nose to the proverbial grindstone and worked hard to get ahead.
My daughter was not going to grow up the way my brothers and I had.
Nine years after my daughter was born, my father passed away unexpectedly. I attended his funeral, and while I was sad to have lost my father, I didn’t really miss him. We hadn’t shared a good relationship, and so it seemed that nothing was really going to change.
Then, as I thought back over the years, intent on renewing my personal vow not to be like my dad, something dawned on me...
Suddenly, I wondered, “What if I was the one who had just died? What would my daughter think about me? Would she miss me?”
And at that moment, I realized that my daughter would feel the same way about me as I felt about my own father. Even though I had been intent on NOT being like my dad, I had been living EXACTLY like him.
I was so focused on earning a buck, sure that would make me different than my father, that I had sacrificed my relationship with my own daughter, just as my dad had done with me and my brothers.
My Father My Vision
In the midst of my misguided determination I had made my father my vision.
Although I said I didn’t want to be like him, I had focused all my energies on him. It was time to refocus my vision on the father that I wanted to be instead of on the father I didn’t want to become.
It works this way for everyone. It’s like the old saying: “What you see is what you get.”
What you choose to focus on (your vision) is where your time and energy will be spent.
For example, most people who are overweight focus solely on not being fat. They are disgusted with how they look and that is all they think about. Consequently, because that’s the vision they have, it’s the vision they get…
Instead of focusing on being overweight, they need to focus on healthy eating and exercise. Once the focus changes, the weight will change too.
We can’t focus on what we don’t want to be; we MUST focus on what we want to become.
Why not take a minute now to reevaluate (or compose) your vision? Where are you focusing? Have you identified what it is you want, rather than just knowing what you want to avoid? Remember, what you “see” is what you’ll get.
Blessings,
Steve
I’m Listening
Do you have a vision? Have you had to adjust it along the way? I wanna hear from you in the comments section below.
Identify what you want rather than what you want to avoid.
Create a vision for yourself.
Reevaluate or refocus your current vision to adjust with changes in life and business.
Steve Cook
was a nationally recognized real estate investing educator, author and real estate investor, prior to teaching Lifeonaire life coaching system. Today he is regarded as "The Coaches' Coach." Many of the people who have been coached by Steve have become coaches themselves, eager to share what they have learned with others.