Chapter 2:
What Do You See?
“A vision is not just a picture of what could be; it is an appeal to our better selves, a call to become something more.” – Rosabeth Moss Kanter
Moving from purpose to vision is about moving from what you feel to what you see . Once you’ve found your purpose, your imagination and creativity are activated and you begin to form mental pictures—or visions—of how you can fulfill that purpose.
For example, let’s say you feel your purpose is to help children. When you begin to see pictures in your mind about how you can help them, how you can create change, you are moving into vision. Visions are extremely inspiring because they exude possibility, hope, and change. They are a preview of what one has yet to become. 
Dream or Vision?
To insure you grasp a clear understanding of what vision is, let us briefly discuss what vision is not. The words “vision” and “dream” are often used interchangeably, but in many ways they are diametrically opposed concepts. The following example will help you distinguish the two.
Imagine you have two friends. You ask them both the same question: “What would you love to do with your life?”
Your first friend enthusiastically responds, “I want to spend my life helping people!”
Your second friend equally enthusiastically responds, “I want to found a nonprofit organization committed to helping women under the age of 15 overcome self-esteem issues!”
Both statements are similar in context but the difference is obvious. Your first friend has a dream. Your second friend has a vision .
A dream is a vague, general statement of intent. A vision is a clear, specific, unique statement of intent. The lack of clarity and focus of a dream makes it impossible to create a logical plan for its attainment. A vision’s clarity, specificity, and defined boundaries enable you to create goals, formulate a plan for its attainment, and communicate it effectively.
The old saying, “Nothing comes to a dreamer but sleep,” is true. In order to act on your dreams with your eyes open, you need a clear, specific vision of the future .
Vision is Revealed in Phases
Vision is progressive. It is revealed in incremental stages over time. Do not allow the uncertainty of not knowing all the details hinder you from starting. Create your inspiring vision as far into the future as you can see, and then come back to the present and begin. As you become more aware of the specifics and uniqueness of what inspires you, your vision will grow and become more refined.
In a recent interview, international author and speaker Dr. John Demartini remarked that in the last 39 years he has updated and refined his vision statement 69 times. This practice has clearly served him well as he has accomplished great things in the world.
Fear of What You See
Fear is an ever-present enemy of progress. Left to its own devices, it will quickly choke the life from any noble pursuit. Fear strives to keep you small. To play it safe. To be average. To color inside the lines. To live within the confines of your comfort zone.
Vision is the complete opposite. It calls you to grow. To take risks. To be above average. To break rules. To move beyond the artificial boundaries of your comfort zone. This dichotomy cannot be avoided and must be sufficiently managed if you are to continue in pursuit of your vision .
You may be thinking, “How exactly do I overcome my fears? How do I stop fear from keeping me in my comfort zone?”
The antidote to fear is courage.
Courage is the ability to act in spite of fear, not in its absence. It is the ability to feel the fear and move forward anyway. You cultivate courage through practicing selflessness. Selflessness is putting the needs and wishes of others above your own. Fear has no place in an environment of selflessness.
For example, imagine you are extremely concerned about helping teenage kids stay away from drugs and deal with peer pressure. You’ve made many mistakes in your teenage years and want to help others avoid doing the same. You feel inspired to begin sharing a message of leadership, goal-setting and self-confidence at local high schools in your surrounding area. The problem is, you’ve always been terrified of public speaking. You violently shake and become ill at even the thought of speaking in a group setting. What do you do?
Fear says, “I can’t do it. The pain of possibly being laughed at and embarrassed is too much to bear.”
Selflessness says, “For the kids’ sake, I have to go through with this. They need the message I have to give them.”
Courage says, even as your knees shake and your stomach turns, “When do we begin? ”
Understanding and internalizing this idea is absolutely critical. The journey you’re on is much bigger than yourself. It goes back to the foundation of becoming a visionary—your purpose. Remembering what your purpose is, who it will affect, and its significance to society as a whole, will help you exemplify courage and selflessness whenever fear tries to show up.
Review the answers you wrote to the questions in chapter one. They will help re-enforce the significance of your purpose.
No Vision too Small
Being a visionary is about
How this is expressed will be different for everyone. Creating change in the world is not left only to the visionaries with a global vision. It begins with you and radiates outward. Your vision of change does not need to be global to make a difference; it just needs to be bigger than yourself.  Joseph Campbell put it perfectly when he said, “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than one’s self. ”
The magnitude of our society necessitates visionaries at different levels of influence. Let your vision dictate what level you play on. Is your primary focus your family? Your local community? Your state? Your country? The whole world? Each level of influence has its place and none is more significant than the other. Each piece of a puzzle is needed to make the complete puzzle possible.
The Power of Choice
The power to make a difference is the power of choice. What one person decides to do or not to do can effect an entire generation and beyond.
It takes one person with vision to be first. To see beyond what life presents as normal. To create a “new normal” for future generations. Your vision may not change global history, but it can change your personal history and there is nothing insignificant about that. Don’t follow the well-worn path. Go where there is no path and leave a trail .
The Six Components of Vision
There are six fundamental components of vision. Before you go through the process of writing your personal vision, it is vital that you understand each component.
  1. ​1.  ​ Clarity – A vision should be clearly stated and easily comprehendible.
  2. Specific – A vision should have a specific emphasis and clearly defined boundaries.
  3. Socially-oriented – Vision is not based on selfish ambition. Your vision should improve, help or enhance society in some way. We cannot erase from history the visionaries who lived lives beyond self-preservation. Depending on the scope of your vision, your focus may be geared toward people, animals or nature.
  4. Solution-oriented – Every vision is a solution to a problem. It seeks to be a future solution to a present problem.
  5. Unique – Like your fingerprint, your vision is totally unique. No matter where you look, you’ll never come across another quite like it. There may be many people who feel called to play the same instrument as you, write a book on the same topic, or solve the same world problem, but because of your individuality, no one will go about doing those things quite like you. In short, your vision is what distinguishes you from every other human being on earth.
For example, at my company, The Visionary Society, our purpose is to aid in the development and advancement of our world for future generations. Our vision is to build a multifaceted global platform designed to unite, encourage, inspire and equip visionaries with the tools and strategies they need to make a difference in the world. There are many different companies and individuals who are also called to this purpose. Our vision is what separates us from the pack and displays our individuality and uniqueness to the world. It will be the same for your organization, company, or personal vision.
  1. Compelling – A well-crafted vision will evoke emotion in you. It will be exciting, inspiring and sometimes even move you to tears of joy and gratitude. This “WOW” factor you get when you document your vision is a clue that this is the vision for you. Don’t be surprised if others show disinterest and apathy toward your vision, particularly the people that are closest to you. This can be extremely disheartening and serve as a major psychological blow. Understand that this is one of the perils of being a visionary; it is a part of the process. Move forward despite this discouragement and boldly pursue your vision .
Writing your Personal Vision
Writing your vision is a process of introspection, documentation, and revision.
The following steps will help you walk through this process:
​1.  ​ Get alone.      
Schedule a block of uninterrupted time dedicated to doing this exercise. Get away from all distractions. Relax. Prepare yourself to think and write.
​2.  ​ Write down all your desires and aspirations related to fulfilling your purpose.
How do you see yourself fulfilling your purpose? What are you doing? Where are you? Visualize exactly how you want to create your future. Be as detailed and specific as possible. These desires and aspirations become the vision you want to create.
​3.  ​ Summarize your desires and aspirations in one concise sentence .
It may be easier to begin by summarizing your vision into three sentences. Then merge it into two sentences. And finally, create one concise sentence. Your goal is to strip away all but the heart of your desires and aspirations. Capture the core of what you envision. This becomes your personal vision statement.
Here is an example of how your vision statement can be crafted using the six components of vision. This example also shows you how one purpose statement can have many different corresponding vision statements. As I previously wrote, many different people may have the same purpose or calling, but vision will always be unique to the individual.
My Purpose – To help people live happier and more fulfilled lives.                      
My Vision – To become a financial adviser so that I can assist people from (your city, state) in the low-to-middle-class income range to better manage and invest their finances.
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My Purpose – To help people live happier and more fulfilled lives.                      
My Vision – To found an organization that will print and freely distribute books and pamphlets dedicated to raising awareness in (your state) about the causes and cures of the top three deadliest diseases in North America.
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My Purpose – To help people live happier and more fulfilled lives.                      
My Vision – To become a nationally known motivational speaker and author so that I can encourage and inspire young adults from all walks of life to overcome obstacles and achieve their goals.
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Developing a clear, concise, and compelling vision is hard work. This process takes time. Remember, vision is revealed in phases. Your vision statement does not need to be perfect before you begin. Consistently schedule time to review, update and edit your vision. It will evolve over time.
You may want to create something similar to what I like to call “My Vision Book.” This is a document on your computer or a notebook where you keep everything pertaining to your vision. Review your purpose, vision, goals and plan at least every three months. This will be an invaluable tool for you.
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