Item #18: The Magic of Vision

I can’t write much today because it’s soooooo beautiful outside; I need to be out there for every minute I can get!

But a Quick Stop on Vision.

I consider myself to be a person with Vision. Vision powers my life and my work. Vision for me isn’t weird and spiritual and other-worldly. Vision for me is very real. I recognize the makings of Vision because three things cue me to it a) a thought, idea or pressing belief inside me appears and makes itself known, b) this thought, idea or belief doesn’t go away, doesn’t lessen in intensity and c) often this thought, idea or belief grows stronger, more entrenched, more textured with time.

For example, the first time I really remember being in touch with this sense of vision was when I was 30 years old. A small ten-room hotel had come up for sale in my hometown, on the main street of the downtown heritage district. I went to go look at it on a whim. The minute I walked in and saw the dilapidated ‘business’, I had a vision. I could see it plain and clear: a bright, airy, modern, boutique-style full service Inn located in the sophisticated shopping and dining centre of my home town. I was so certain immediately that I could turn around that neglected space and make it something magical. I bought it and poured everything I could into it; my vision never weakened or faltered during the entire time of its operation. It was nominated for Best Hotel in that town three years after I bought it.

I’ve been in touch with this sense of vision many other times since then, mostly in my work, through projects where I could see opportunity and just knew where it could go. I’ve found if I believe in a vision and then believe equally in my ability to achieve it, magic happens, and the vision gets realized.

My latest vision is loftier and more long-term but it is equally powerful and equally enduring, and I am quite certain that it will come true. And I am clearer about where I most want to be doing it, and who I want around me while I do it. The pieces aren’t in place and may not be in place for awhile, and frankly the vision may shift along the way. But I have the vision; the thought, idea, belief has been planted.

The magic of vision.

Having this vision, as with any vision, is a source of inspiration and purpose. This vision is satisfying and energizing. Placing my focus on it, believing in it, and visualizing my path towards it is happy-making, every day.

A vision doesn’t have to be big. You can have a vision for how you want your home to feel. For the kind of co-worker you want to be. For the kind of creations you’d most like to put out into the world. For the kind of family you want to build. For yourself as a social being. For the kind of partner you want to be. For the kind of fashion that is your style. For the type of music that is your own.

A vision can be small. In fact, some of the strongest are. But the important thing is to find these uniquely personal visions, to trust them, to believe in them and to follow them, every day.