Be Your Own Visionary

"It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision." Helen Keller

When most of us think about visionaries we think of those who are the true leaders of our time. Ghandi, Einstein, Mozart, Michelangelo, Tolstoy, and the list can go on indefinitely. Yes, it's true that these people through their work on earth caused us to change the way we perceive life. The one thing that all of the great visionary had in common were that they were ordinary human beings who brought to life extraordinary visions. They brought about new ways of looking at the human potential, how our world works, music, art, the written word which captivated us as a collective but nonetheless were brought about by a vision.

You are the visionary of your life. What is it that you envision? Do you even have a vision of what you would like your life to be like? Some people do not, they say that they don't know what they want to do or even the impact that they have on their life. That is truly sad to hear. I once asked a woman who was contemplating a career change what her passion was, and she said she did not know. She had somehow not cultivated a passion for life or she had long since abandoned it. I asked her to spend some time just daydreaming, fantasizing about what she would love to see her life like if she could have it any way she wanted. At first she thought it was silly and a waste of time but I explained to her that her belief systems were dictating what she could have in her life and not her true being. She had come up with excuses not to have the life she wanted and had settled for having no goals.

There are many people who sadly live out their lives never aspiring to even their most basic of visions, so they banish the thought of even having dreams and desires. They allow themselves to have their true path dictated by someone else, "I'm going to go to school, get married, have children and then retire and grow old". It sounds like a pre-packaged menu item in the frozen food section. Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking these things if they are your true visions but for countless people they are not, they think they are, but they are not. You only have to look at divorce rates, addictions, and those who live their whole lives only to realize that they did not live life their way. This may be labelled as the "American Dream" but whose dream is it really? Is it yours, or was it handed to you from generations past?

Your vision starts with an idea that is based in your desire. As your think more about your desires new ideas arise, as you have new ideas you begin to feel passionate about them. At the point of feeling passionate about something you begin to share your desires and take action towards your passion.

When you begin to take action with your mind, this becomes your 'will'. You have a willingness to follow your desires, your passion. Without even knowing consciously at times, you will begin to invoke your will to bring about what you need to fulfill your vision.

As you begin to engage your will with your mind, you begin to see that which you envision, your desires, passions, become clear and with that clarity comes focus on action. And so as you begin to take action this will be your deed. These actions or deeds will determine what you need to do on your path to manifesting your vision. If you choose one deed and it does not produce the desired outcome to bring you closer to your vision then you need to correct your course and choose another deed or action to do. Those deeds which bring you closer to your vision will be utilized and those that move you away from your vision will be discarded but also learned from for the next vision.

As you begin to take focused action or do the 'deed', you will start to see the results of your focus and clearly see your vision come into fruition. This is called the 'destiny'. This is your destiny as you have brought about from your vision that started with an idea, a desire.

This is why we have no excuses when it comes to our path in life. We are the creators of our lives and if it looks bleak and negative, think about what your vision was, or if you even had a vision. So ask yourself, "Am I living my true path?" When you do, you will be living an extraordinary life.