The Foundation

"Having a vision for your life allows you to live out of hope, rather than out of your fears."

Stedman Graham

"Visualize this thing that you want, see it, feel it, believe in it. Make your mental blue print, and begin to build."

Robert Collier

"The courage to imagine the otherwise is our greatest resource adding color and suspense to all our life."

Daniel J. Boorstin

 

It would be nice if conditions were perfect.  Recently I wrote about how I had set up an atmosphere with the right sounds, rain, classical music, and thunder, so that I could write comfortably.  I was in my place and I had time and I felt good.  Now I don’t have any of those advantages.  Due to lack of foresight and planning on my part, I’m not in my place, I don’t have my computer, and my phone battery is low and I left the charger at home.  I’m not even wearing comfortable shoes.  So this is the time, one of many times I have to ask, “How important is this to me?”

The fact that I’m sitting here writing, though I’m not as comfortable as I’d like to be, hopefully speaks to my commitment. 

In addition to my less-than-ideal surroundings, my mind is also in an uncomfortable place.  The future looks uncertain.  Technically, the future is uncertain.  Right now I’m just more aware of it.  I’m waiting for an important phone call that should have come four days ago.  I’m wondering how I’m going to reach my goals.  Sometimes life seems hopeful, and then it seems to shift. 

But here’s the thing:

I am not giving up.

I still plan to get my house on the beach. 

I still plan to reach my goals. 

I still plan to create the life I want. 

I am not giving up.

Several years ago, I had this picture in my head.  It was a nice picture, a peaceful one.  Today I am living that out.  My life isn’t perfect, but the picture in my head materialized one day, even though it seemed impossible. 

Now I have a new picture in my head and I’m not letting it go.  William Blake said, “What is now proved was once only imagined.”

Dorothea Brande said, "Envisioning the end is enough to put the means in motion."

Steven Covey says in Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, “Begin with the end in mind.”

So I have my vision.  Harvey McKay warns us not to stick with visions or dreams, but to have concrete, written, and measurable goals.  But before we do that, we need that picture in our heads, that image, that dream.  From there we can build plans, timelines, and objectives.  But sometimes we need to dream for just a little while.  We need to see ourselves in that special place, doing that special thing.  The dream is the foundation.  A house won’t stand without a foundation and a foundation is pointless without a house.

So I’m writing.  I have not forgotten to Get Started and Keep Going, no matter how things look, no matter how I feel.  I’m moving towards my stated goals, expecting that this movement, this action, will get me one step closer to my dream.  I’m moving forward until my dream is no longer a dream, but a reality and the foundation of my next dream.