MEN MONDAY

Brother Your Vision is in front of you

Gen 1:29 "SEE I HAVE GIVEN YOU EVERY HERB THAT YIELDS SEED WHICH IS ON THE FACE OF OF ALL THE EARTH, AND EVERY TREE WHOSE FRUIT YIELDS SEED; TO YOU IT SHALL BE FOR FOOD." 

Genesis 13:14 "AND THE LORD SAID TO ABRAM, AFTER LOT HAD SEPARATED FROM HIM; LIFT YOUR EYES NOW AND LOOK FROM THE PLACE WHERE YOU ARE..."

You were born to accomplish and achieve. You were born to soar and dream. You were born to live your dreams. You were born to rise above schemes. You were born to see the impossible.

One of the the greatest gift that God gave to a man is the ability to see the invisible. Not just see things around you but the inner ability to see things that are not yet but can be. That's what a vision is. It is the ability to see tomorrow today. A vision is the fruit of your imagination. It is the blueprint of your future.

When I was a little boy, although I didn't know it at the time, I had a vision. I had a picture of my future that was formed in my imagination. I saw myself writing books, telling stories that would be read all over this country. And you know what? My vision came to pass in December 2009 when my first novel was released. And the vision continues through my writing blogs that are being read in countries all over the world. It continues through the short story I wrote last year that was published in an anthology that has been nominated for an award. And the vision that I had as a little boy continues  through the two books I'm currently writing. 

My vision is no longer in front of me. I'm living in it and the vision is enlarging my possibilities to do more.

Today I want to help you focus on your vision by giving you some keys that will help you to discover the vision that you were born to achieve. The keys that I will show you are composed as the word V.I.S.I.O.N. Each letter represents a key. They are:

V is for Value.

I is for Insight.

S is for Search.

I is for Inventory.

O is for Observation.

N is for Need.     

I know that these keys will help you to look ahead and see what is before. That's what Abraham did. In Genesis 13 God told Abraham to look from the place where he was. And when Abraham did what God said he saw his future and the future of generations of his descendants. That's what I want you to do today look from the place where you are and see the exciting future that God wants you to live. Your future starts with a vision. So here are the six keys to open the door to your vision.

1. Value: Your vision is determined by your values. Your values are a set of beliefs that you live by. Because I am a Christian my values are determined by the Word of God, and God's Word governs what I do and what I will not do. These values that I have adopted in my life has a great impact on what kind of stories and subjects that I write about. There are certain scenes and certain words that I will not use in my writing because of the values that determine my behavior. When you are looking for your vision you must first determine what is important to you and what will not change no matter what. Your vision will be discovered by what you value.

2. Insight: Having a vision is having a solution to your problem. Insight is being able to look within the problem and finding the answer. Your vision is the solution to your problem. 

The Wright brothers wanted better transportation and so they produced a flying machine.

Henry Ford hated life on his father's farm. He envisioned a machine that would get men off the farm into living more productive lives and so he produced the automobile.   

Mary Bethune was an educator but had no where to teach so she started a school in Central Florida for young women. She was a revolutionary educator who combined education with vocational training. Her school opened the doors for many young African-American women. Mary Bethune became a woman of great importance because of her vision. She was the only African American woman to attend the founding conference  of the United Nations as a delegate from the United States. 

These persons found their vision because they had insight. They each had a problem and they each found the solution to their problems.

3. Search: Your vision is a search for what is missing in your life. Look around you, what is missing? What are doing without? Look for what doesn't exist but could exist in your life. That's what your vision is, it is the thing that you are searching for that will complete something in your life. It could be a business, a book, an investment plan, a relationship. Look around and look within yourself to find your vision. Examine your heart and your imagination and discover what is that missing thing in your life. Your vision is inside of you. Search for it and you will find it.

4. Inventory: You have to do an inventory of what you need to do to accomplish your vision. Do you have all that you need to succeed? Is there something that you have to acquire to fulfill the vision?

Later after I had completed writing my novel my inventory lead me to find a team of editors to help me  sharpen my book.

Pay attention to what and who you need to assist you in making your vision take place. Don't be haphazard or disorganized. Take inventory of what this vision is going to cost you and then proceed to make it happen.

5. Observe: This key may sound like the key Search but it serves a different function. Observe what you are doing as you bring the vision forward. What happen to a lot of visionaries is they lose the big picture because they are so focused on the process. And then a lot of visionaries start to focus on ancillary issues that causes them to lose focus on the main thing. Observation means that you are carefully watching what you are doing and making sure that you are following the necessary steps to bring the vision to pass.

You have to also observe yourself. Are you losing interest? Are you losing passion? Are you ignoring important people or other obligations?

It's important that you don't lose everything as you pursue a new thing.

6. Need: Your vision addresses a need in some one's life. It is the missing component in the lives of other people. Your vision is the answer to your success and achievement that will help someone to have a different kind of life. Your vision is the answer for someone else. What the needs in your community? When you find a need and meet it you have found your vision. 

Bill Gates had a vision to put a computer in every home in America. That was the singular vision of his company for 25 years. His vision answered a need and made him one of the most significant person in world history in the 20th century. And one of the wealthiest.    

Your vision is really right in front of you. Not outside but in your heart. And when you find it and start walking in it it will lead you further than you are right now. And your life will change because you saw it and you were inspired to make it happen. Let this blog empower you to go forward and make things happen. You can contact me anytime if you need my help. My address is BERNARDBOULTON@YAHOO.COM.