The possession of “vision’ is a key factor that separates the people who accomplish great things from those who don’t.
If we define “greatness” as influence and accomplishments, then, regardless of age, everyone who aspires to be great must possess vision. The subject of vision has very little to do with eye sight, and everything to do with foresight. This has been proven by one too many blind people who have done amazing things – Stevie Wonder (musician), Andrea Bocelli (musician), Derek Rabelo (surfer), John Bramblitt (painter), and Christopher Downey (architect), to name a few.
Vision requires a vivid imagination of possibilities. It helps us to mentally design the reality we desire live in. It goes without saying that the best time to start this imagination process is when you’re young and have ample time to make adjustments and course corrections.
So how do you cultivate vision in your youth? Here are 3 quick steps:
1. Imagine possibilities. Allow your mind to roam free. You might find it helpful to consult the stories of other great people in history – i.e. read, listen, and watch the things they did. This will open up your mind and allow you to see beyond your present reality.
2. Write them all down. Once you’ve allowed your mind to roam free, capture everything you can – in great details. It’s best to do this in a book (journal).
3. Revisit it often. Read it again and again, and again…repeated exposure will help make the things you captured sink into your subconscious mind and become a “command”. Once your vision becomes a command to your subconscious mind, you will not relent until you find ways to accomplish it.
Taking these steps will cause you to raise your daily standards and activities to match your vision. Training yourself to “see” beyond the present is a skill to be treasured; it’s an ingredient of greatness.
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Ugo is an energetic and dynamic youth leader. He is the author of 2 books – Secrets of Academic Excellence and The NEU Era. He is the president of NEU Gen Leaders – a nonprofit youth leadership organization transforming the youth into excellence-driven leaders by helping them discover their life’s identity and mission. He can be reached at [email protected].