Mastering The Art Of Vision And Personal Reinvention

I own a personally autographed book, The Long Walk To Freedom, the autobiography of Nelson Mandela. It is the story of a man who dared to have a vision for a new South Africa.

andela was the foster son of a Tembu chief. He grew up struggling with two worlds: the traditional culture of his tribe and the hostile reality of his white-dominated nation. His passion and vision grew out of the horrors and atrocities that were happening to his countrymen. 

Armed with fierce determination, he set a course to break down apartheid, and this led to a life in prison. But more than twenty years behind bars didn't stop his vision, and the world looked on in awe as this man made the progression from prison to presidency.

One of the imperatives for success in life is vision and reinvention. People who use vision, to reinvent themselves – achieve success.

Ray Kroc sold paper cups to restaurants in the 1920s and worked his way up to become a top salesman. But his vision went way beyond paper cups. He had a vision of making a big impact on the restaurant business, so he quit sales to market a machine that could mix several milkshakes at a time. 

When you have a vision, opportunities come to you. Through promoting the milkshake machines he met the McDonald brothers, who ran a highly successful restaurant. They got talking and Ray Kroc ended up becoming their partner.

Driven by his vision he came up with the concept of duplicating the McDonalds' restaurant on the other side of town. The two brothers opposed this, so Kroc bought the restaurant from them. Back at a time when hamburgers and chips were not an accepted meal, the pioneer began developing his empire. For the first eight years he poured all he had into the concept and saw few profits in return. But today it is a worldwide billion-dollar empire.

Ray Kroc had a vision and he changed the world.

Walt Disney did the same. He had to approach 303 banks before he could find one willing to finance his wild, crazy scheme to put a fun park with a cartoon mouse in a swamp area.

Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, said that ever since he was a boy he'd had a vision of doing something important in aviation.

To be a successful person, regardless of your age, you must have a vision of where you want to be. Vision will cause you to be stretched far beyond the abilities you currently possess. It will launch you into abilities you don't have right now.

Will there be pain along the way? You bet. But betterment by its very nature is about vision, and being a better person is worth the pain it takes to get there.

An athlete has a vision for gold. A businessperson has a vision for success and profits. A mother has a vision for bringing up well-balanced children in a happy family. What is your vision for life?

In the book Vision, Values and Courage, Neil Snider, James Dowd and Diane Morse-Houghton say: “Vision must provide a clear image of a desirable future. One that represents an achievable, challenging and worthwhile long range target.”

Vision isn't a goal. It's a picture, a canvas on which you paint your future. It shows you what the future could and should look like. The businessperson's canvas shows them standing in front of a tall modern building with their company name on it – a sign of their success. 

The athlete's painting shows them standing on the dais holding up the gold medal, surrounded by cheering fans. And a young man wanting to win the heart of his sweetheart envisions himself at the altar with his beautiful bride.

Commitment to vision is an awesome power. If you decide to persistently move towards your vision over days, weeks, months or even years you will change your life, the lives of people around you, and your world. Regardless of setbacks.

Have you ever seen a successful athlete suffer injury and then come back to win the prize…a failed businessperson starts all over again from zero and becomes a huge success…a husband and wife come back from a failed marriage to build a solid, secure family unit? It is because the vision stayed alive despite their circumstances.

If you have a vision it eases the pain when you face problems. They lose some of their sting. The vision lifts you above the difficulties and gives you strength to persevere through them and out the other side.

Once you are clear about your vision, you can reinvent yourself if your old self is no longer serving you.

Until next time

Your in Prosperity

Pat Mesiti