TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION
“For the vision is yet for an appointed time...”. Habakkuk 2: 3
The story below is about
two students who were classmates some years back.
Alex woke up one morning with the plan to go
to Depot to pick up an Amazon gift card which he had won during a contest.
Since he did not have a car/ vehicle to make the 20-mile journey, he planned to
take a cab. As he got to the driveway, he saw Brian, who while driving out,
slowed down to say hi. Alex, having his bag handy and ready to sort himself
out, saw this as an opportunity and asked Brian, "Please can you drop me
off at Depot if it's not too far from your way?" Brian answered,
"Well, come in, I just came back to fill up my tank, and I’m just trying
to drive around. I am bored?" Alex jumped in and quickly turned on the GPS
on the phone, and off they drove to Depot at about 8:30 am. Unfortunately, it
took them 3 hours to locate Depot and get the Amazon gift card. They returned
to campus and Alex headed to his 1 o’clock class, but Brian had missed his 9.30am
class.
It was a good evening for
both of them because Alex came back with packed dinner for the two of them with
a bowl of ice cream, all worth $25, to celebrate the $100 gift card. Alex had
also paid $65 on the Amazon marketplace for an optical wireless mouse and a new
hard drive for his laptop. He got the Amazon gift card for being runner up in
an all-college essay competition which, he said, he could have won if his
laptop processor had been fast enough.
Can you please give this
story a title?
Can we analyze this story
in response to these questions and share experiences and lessons we can learn
in life as we wake and sleep every day?
WHAT IS VISION?
WHY DO WE NEED VISION?
HOW DO WE SET VISION?
WHAT CONSTRAINS OUR
VISION?
Title: DRIVEN
ReplyDeleteA1. Vision is a "pictorial view" of what you aspire for.
The picture can be either in your mind or written, but it is best written. Just that the vision must start from your mind. Your vision is inside out
A2. Vision is required for direction. A visionless life is a directionless life.
A3. Your vision is set in alignment with your Purpose.
A4. Vision is impaired by obstacles of life. Every set vision will always be faced with challenges, but with determination your vision will be achieved.
In the story of Alex and Brian, the former woke up with a vision while the latter woke up without direction.
Brian ended up driving Alex while Alex achieved his goals.
In life those who don't know/ have where they're going end up going along with those that have defined vision.
Bang! True sir, Even though we set vision, we need to add the ingriedent of determination to achieve it or else we can be pushed out of it. It takes hard work to keep vision alive. Thanks MM.
DeleteWhat Drives Success?
ReplyDelete1. Vision captures the totality of your goals in life. Life itself is about a vision. It is a statement of direction and a mirror of destination brought so close to the mind. It is a living statement available at every crossroads of life.
2. Are you visionless? Then you are aimless and drifting.
3. Where there is no vision...... the people perish....is a bible statement that is comprehensive and shows a powerful metaphor of an extreme end. Visionary people are movers and shakers... they make things happen, they are the doers, optimistic; they seek for opportunity and find it. They master their destiny, grab life with both hands. You find such people at mega level, at macro level and not at micro-level.... People like Alex.
4. People like Brian remain moaners and groaners....the onlookers. They weil, they are passive and complain about anything and everything. They find fault with everybody, even blame their circumstances.
Alex set for real while Brian was on illusion. The end results for both are different.
Above is from Stainless.
DeleteVery true. People perish without vision.. Persih mentally, economically, careerwise, maritally, health, spiritaully, and in many ways... Perish could be in many context/means.. suffer loss, destruction, ruins, etc... We do not want any part of ourlives to suffer or ruin, so Biblical injuction for us is to have a visison to avoid being in that situation. Thank you sir very rich exposition.
DeleteWonderful story showing how important having a vision is.
ReplyDeleteNow to me vision is having an end result, doing every steps planned to achieve that end result (Your Vision).
Alex he had a vision to get his Laptop upgrade to be of better use. He had steps to achieve that vision. Same as us with out a vision we are just doing whatever and that leaves us with no sense of direction, no target, meaning we can easily be derailed from any plans we have because we are not expecting an end result just like Brian.
The steps are, have a Vision, set plans and steps to meet that Vision, most importantly follow through all the plans and steps.
Yes, not only having a clear vision but also defined steps to achieve it and follow through. Thank you Manny.
DeleteI am unable to think of preferred title for this story, but I gained a lot from this.
ReplyDeleteVision can be referred to as goals, plans, or projection that an individual has to complete a task or achieve a desired result.
As we read through this story we see how one friend's vision was achieved, while the other friend's wasn't. We need vision to help us have a plan for the future, this in turn helps us plan our present, which means that there are certain criterias we must meet to accomplish that vision.
The first major step we must take towards setting a vision is having an end goal. If we do not have an end goal or a set outcome, then it will not be considered a vision, because there is nothing we are looking foward to. The next big step is setting a structured plan to accomplish our vision. When our plans are structured, we will be able to follow through with our vision.
There are a lot of things that constrains our vision, such as lack of plan (unstructured plan), friends, negativitity, laziness, etc.
Brian did not have a vision, he was driving around because he was bored, which means he did not have any set out plan or end goal in mind. I'm pretty sure he forgot about his class also. Alex on the other hand had a vision and a plan. He saw Brian as an opportunity and used that opportunity well and accomplished his plan.
We do not want to be like Brian who was distracted by another person's vision. He wasn't even able to attend his class on time which was a double loss on his part.
Do we have a set our vision or plan? Are we having distractions around us that might hinder us? Let us have not just a vision, but also a set out plan to go along with it, and with God's help we will accomplish.
But that doesn't mean we shouldn't give a friend a ride when they are stranded. Well if it is not in line with your vision, you can decide to zoom off.
Wow! Funny we should learn to render help but as you said , it should not distort our set out vision or else we would be pursuing other people's vision. Thank you Tolu.
DeleteTitle: Purpose Driven
ReplyDeleteHow I see this story is that Alex had a vision and pursued it. He saved money from having to get an Uber, he was able to get the Amazon gift card, and at the end of the day still make his class and purchase the things he'll need in the future. Brian, on the other hand, didn't have a vision and was just wondering around, therefore, he missed his class, didn't really gain anything apart from the fact that he got to share a paid meal with Alex.
When we have a vision, we won't be following other people on their own path to success. It is very important to have a vision in this life. We have an aim, an end goal, and we don't want to be slacking and falling back. Having a goal gives us personal motivation and pushes us to work hard to achieve it.
Things that can constrain our vision can be friends, social media, and obstacles that come up. We shouldn't give up easily when a problem arises, Alex could have said he won't go get the Amazon gift card because he doesn't have a car or maybe he wouldn't have won the Amazon gift card if he never entered the competition because he'll make excuses about his problematic laptop.
May God help us to have a be "Purpose Driven"
Yes, keeping our vision in focus keep us going...True.. thank you.
ReplyDeleteVision means insight. Ability or Power to picture, imagine, the future of what an average person cannot see.
ReplyDeleteVision give / drives purpose, it gives Hope.
Through the Word of God and reading it: understand what is important in Life.
Seek Godly and goodly knowledge, via books, people'experiences ( this channel/platform is a good example). Be a good listener.
WRITE OUT YOUR DREAM/VISION and work them through -intentionally.
Avoid Visionless friends or people like Brian.
In Life , if you are not purpose driven, you will be driven by idleness and emptiness.
If you are not focus and have a proper plan, distraction that can drive one from his/her goal can come which indirectly makes one visionless. e.g Brian helped another fulfil his goals and plan while neglecting his own plan resulting to a ''negative effect''.
ReplyDeleteHi, I want to share this quote from Brian Tracy:
ReplyDelete" All successful people men and women are big dreamers. They imagine what their future could be, ideal in every respect, and then they work every day toward their distant vision, that goal or purpose." --Brian Tracy.
My thoughts about this quote is that, we need to be proactive and be engaged in walking/working towards our goals/vision everyday. I also think it takes self discipline to do. If we do not include these two ingredients into our vision when created or into our dreams, we will be fooling ourselves around and be far from success. WE NEED TO BE DETERMINED TO HIT THE SKY soon and soon. It is only through a functional vision that we can do this and fulful our purpose in life. There are millions of young and old people there under the same sky, striving to hit it, so you need to do something very unique and constantly to get ahead. WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.
Title: Who Are You?
ReplyDeleteAnalysis: Smart individuals plan their days ahead, Proactive individuals seize opportunities that come their way, Benevolent individuals seek how they can be of help prior to questions—a wise individual carries all three.
Vision: The ability to venture beyond the present moment, calculating the precepts of the future, while using the past as a teacher of wisdom.
Why: In order to understand how to be set a constructive path flexible enough to brace the “surprises” of humanity, but firm enough to stand it ground, seeing ahead of what is, to what is to come.
How: Consecrating what was, is, and is to come through the perfect will of God’s answer to prayer.
Constraints: Predominantly Sin—lust for temporal treasures, search for vain glories, lack of purpose and determination, void of a small and big goals, inability to contextualize reality and proposed achievements, and all sorts.
Thank you David . This is so insightful.
ReplyDelete" You will never reach your destination, if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks" Winston Churchill.
ReplyDelete👉 Don't allow distraction takes you off track of your dreams, aspirations and goals. Because distracters will always be on the way. It is you that will say ' I won't get distracted, because my mind is made up. You must consistently focus on pursuing your dreams to reality.
✓May God grant us more understanding
Great day
Title: Be Focused
ReplyDeleteIn this story, there were two distinct individuals. Alex woke up with a focused mind. He had things he wanted to achieve and he had plans sorted out to achieve them. Brian, on the other hand, had a boring morning because he had not set plans for himself. As circumstance would have it, Brian ended up helping Alex in achieving his plans, missing his class on the way. This lets us know that we can have some things in our lives that are daily drivers: for students, it is going to class and for the working class, it is going to work. If we don't have a set out schedule or plan, we can easily be distracted from our goals. Although it was a good evening in general for them, it was a better evening for Alex because he ended up doing all what he sorted out to do. Brian, to me, didn't have a good day because he did not accomplish the most important task of his day; going to class.
This story should help us in placing our priorities and setting plans to reach the vision we have for ourselves. As students, we want to graduate with distinction. Nothing should distract us from reaching the goals we have for ourselves. We should be focused on our vision!
Title: An Unplanned Tango with Time
ReplyDeleteVISION?
It is a sneak peep into the unrealized future via the window of the mind but by the miracle of time and diligence we are able to bring forth what was once only existent in dreamland.
Alex just might have stayed on course and followed through with his plan to go with a cab to pick up his gift card. Just maybe he might have saved himself and Brian an unplanned tango with time.
WHY DO WE NEED VISION?
To serve as a compass through this maze called 'Life'. I would propose that living otherwise would be a time bomb and in a matter of time 'Life would happen'. 'Life happened' to Brain, at least Alex got his gift card in the end.
HOW DO WE SET VISION?
A fair balance between being realistic and shooting for the stars would make for a good vision. This would mean recognizing our innate competencies and also pushing our limits. Brain wasn't realistic in his decision to offer a ride an hour before his class. Having his head in the clouds robbed him of achieving a default vision- To attend his 9:30am class.
S-M-A-R-T (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timebound) vision setting is a great way to begin. There is also a need to plan for potential detours as flexibility is a great buoy on the road to actualizing our vision.
WHAT CONSTRAINS OUR VISION?
We stand as the biggest obstacles to our visions. This takes the form of fear-of-failure, low self-esteem, perfectionism and sometimes just downright over-confidence.
In light of this, discipline and accountability would be a great help to anyone hoping to achieve a set vision. To buttress the importance of accountability and a healthy support system, this saying captures the essence 'like-minded-others' play in our quest to realize our vision;
If you want to go FAST go alone, if you want to go FAR go with others!
This is very constructive. The SMART goal formula should be handy for everyone who may want to really go far with and in any life project, even in the race to bliss in eternity. Thank you very much Josaih for sharing this. We look forward to more.
ReplyDeleteFollowing and learning from great minds.
ReplyDeleteWith that one will be sure of success. great minds speaks about ideas, Average minds speaks about Events and small minds talk about people. So who do you follow and what do you talk about?
Delete