VISION IS SPECIFIC

                  
               VISION IS SPECIFIC

                  
   I still remember vividly that fateful morning I was travelling from Bayelsa to Lagos. Barely two hours into the journey, my inner eyes were opened and I saw it!
Seated on a vast land were several buildings in simple rectangular shapes with huge windows. The entire surrounding was covered with well-maintained lawn and beautiful gardens. There was motorway leading from the main entrance. Each building housed a specific level of education beginning from early childhood to young adulthood. It was more than a school; it was a centre designed to help build the youths who will build nations.
Surely, there is more to what I saw than the vague description painted above. But let me not bother you with the nitty-gritty of the mental image of my desired future.
You see, everything in life is created twice. There is the mental creation which precedes the physical creation.
For instance, to build a house, you need a blueprint. The blueprint serves as a guide for the contractor when erecting the structure.
Now, the question is: where does the ideas for the blueprint surface? Your imagination of course! Every grandiose building was first a mental image in the mind of the owner. That mental picture of a finished house that is yet to be built is VISION.
In the same vain, for you to fulfill destiny, you need a vision for your life. Vision is the mental image of a desired future. It defines who you want to be and what you want to be known for. Vision enable you to apply that spark to make the world a better place.
I am a teacher. My purpose is to help the youths make better informed choices regarding their academic and social life. How do I intend to achieve this? By engaging them in academic seminars and leadership trainings that will help create a better understanding of self and life. My vision is to own an academy that will be responsible for raising creative, self-independent  and Godly global citizens. By Godliness, I mean spirituality not religiosity. There is gap between the two.
I ve got penned down goals that will lead me in the direction of fulfilling my dream. So, anything that doesn't revolve around or relate to the aforementioned is a total waste of time and destiny to me. And because I can't afford to lose focus, I guide myself against every seemingly good thing that is absolutely wrong for me.
"Did you know you were going to be a teacher?" Not at all! Teaching was the last thing on my life's agenda. But then, I was posted to a school during my NYSC year and boom, the teaching prowess surfaced. More details on this in subsequent posts.
"You mean it was automatic?" Nay! No potential is automatic even though it is innate. Every potential is a sleeping giant waiting to be awaken. You stir it up by putting it to use. So, the gift of teaching has always been there, just that I didn't pay attention to it.
My focus was landing that ideal job whose salary was lucrative enough to wipe off every traces of poverty I had ever experienced. But vision says "Ronke, what's in you is much bigger than any salary could afford".
Permit me to inspire you with the famous story of a master among the masters of vision - Walt Disney.
As a kid, Walt was always drawing. He specifically loved to sketch animals. Amazingly, all the inanimate objects he drew were given human qualities. Walt eventually became an artist. Thereafter, he began to make cartoon animation, an art which was not popular during his time. Not too long, he began to make cartoon films.
One day, Walt took his kids to an amusement park. While they were having fun, Walt inner eyes opened. He began to imagine a more grandeur family park where parents and their kids could have fun together. Walt mental image became a reality in the form of Disneyland, an amusement park seated on 27,500 acre of land near Orlando, Florida. Now, think about that for a moment.

Even as an artist, Walt could picture a world in plants, animals, playground, and technology that some of his contemporary could not even begin to imagine. My friend, there is no vision you can't build a business around.
The question is: WHAT DO YOU SEE? I'm not referring to seeing an angel or apparition. Most religious folks are waiting for God to show up and tell them exactly what to do. My friend, the Creator has endowed you with the ability to form in your mind a mental picture of whatever you desire to be in life, use it.
Haaa...I love the power of imagination! It stimulates progress, giving birth to new ideas. In that realm, there is no limitations; anything is just possible. However, you need to come down to reality - the physical world, and begin to set plans in motion towards the actualization of your dream. It's so pathetic that lots of people get stuck in the imagination realm. Don't just imagine it, do it and start now.
Why do you need a Vision? It helps you to have clarity about life. Without vision life becomes an experiment; every road looks appealing. It will be a disaster to follow a road only to discover at the end that it was nothing but a mirage. Vision keeps you focused.
Note that vision is not MANY THINGS but just ONE THING with several goals to attain it. Let me remind you that you were created to stand out, not to blend in. Stop trying to keep up with the Joneses. Discover your purpose, build a vision around it and begin to run with it.
So, "How do I discover my purpose and build a vision around it?" That's a post for another day. Until then, keep dreaming!!!

 Source: Ronke Amos
| Teacher | writer | editor | motivational speaker | educational consultant