Greetings to all my friends. I hope your week has been a pleasant one. Mine has been great, although I am currently battling what many may call, the truth. Yesterday, I had the distinct pleasure of playing in a league basketball game that some of my colleagues invited me to. As some of you may know, I played basketball in college. Therefore, the sheer excitement of the opportunity to relive my bball glory days compelled me to accept their invitation. Don’t get me wrong; I still have skills, as I graciously showed yesterday. But the soreness that persists to run through my body, even after a night of soaking in Epsom salts, has caused me to face a harsh reality that I have so fervently denied. And that truth is…I am not 18 anymore. With that difficult confession out of the way, let’s get down to business.
Years ago, while expressing his appreciation for me, my younger brother said, “Chris, I look up to you not only because you are my older brother. But you seem to be successful at everything and you make it look so easy.” While I am thankful for his compliment, I must disagree with the basis of his statement.
I admit, at that time in my life, I had achieved several successes. However, now that I am aware of various success principles, I honestly feel that I had it wrong. My successes were often fueled by the wrong things and while I had experienced many triumphs, I still struggled to find that feeling of happiness that I was sure would be at the top of each struggle.
I was recently asked, “If you could relive your years again, what would you do differently?”
My simple reply was, “That’s easy. I would have vision.” It’s a depressing world when the majority of people can see, but lack vision.
When I use the word vision, in this context, I am referring to the disclosure of the unforeseen. Or, in other words, revelation. There are several characteristics of this kind of vision that you should be aware of:
1) It’s often tied to your purpose, which means that it must also be revealed to you from God.
2) It’s bigger than what you are capable of handling by yourself. If you were able to achieve the vision alone, you would not need to rely on God, which would violate one of the principles of your creation.
3) It blesses others, and not just your immediate family. If your vision is designed to only bless you, it is not of God.
4) Everyone may not be able to understand it. As a matter of fact, many people may think you’re crazy. But that’s okay, the vision was not given to them.
5) It is not focused on money. That’s provision.
As you establish, or obtain vision, you are then able to place parameters around your life that aid in the decisions that you make. For example, there were opportunities, both business and personal, that I was faced with during my life. While these opportunities looked very promising from the surface, they did not align with my purpose and therefore, were unable to assist me in the achievement of the vision that God had given me. Therefore, I neglected to pursue some of those opportunities.
This process of establishing vision and parameters then allows me to go through the envisioning process. This process encompasses what I call the S.E.A. principle. Envisioning your vision is a daily and constant process in which you must:
1) See the vision and write it down.
2) Expect the vision to come to past. Have faith in the vision and be committed to it.
3) Anticipate that which will come to past. You do this by preparation.
Earlier, when referring to my various successes, I mentioned that I felt that I had it wrong. As I moved through the daily rituals of my life, every decision that I made was governed by the possibility and my ability to make money. My vision was strictly to be rich and be able to materially live life to the fullest. “Ball ’til I fall,” was my motto. I was only concerned with having the ability to obtain, as my hip hopsters often put it, the bling bling and fancy things. And while this thought process offered me a sizeable dose of street credibilty, it still left me unfulfilled and unable to experience true success, as my provision was the source of my vision.
Oftentimes, in life, our vision is tied to, or in some cases, substituted by the idea of provision. Well from experience, I can truly say that in order to achieve true success, you must obtain vision. And as you move through the process of achieving and envisioning your vision, then you will recognize true provision. And in this case, provision can not be limited to the discussion of money. However, it must include the overall benefit that you receive from the spiritual, emotional, and physical satisfaction that you receive from operating within your God-given vision.
I encourage you all; let not your provision be the source of your vision. Let me know your thoughts. Thank you.
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