1 week Ago By BRYAN GOLDEN Guest Columnist
“Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so you shall become. Your vision is the promise of what you shall one day be; your ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil.” - James Allen “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 “You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement.
You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.” - Woodrow Wilson Drivers, sailors, pilots, and athletes all use their vision to ensure they reach their destination. You constantly rely on your vision to make sure you get where you are going.
Whenever you have bumped into a wall or tripped, you most likely scolded yourself for not watching where you were going. Even more important than your physical vision is your mental vision. It is the mental vision that directs the path your life takes.
Can you see the kind of person you want to be, what you want to do, and where you want to go? You are not alone if you don’t know the answers. Many people never even consider these questions. They become so caught up in the daily grind that they never look at the bigger picture.
This strategy is analogous to driving and only looking at the road one foot ahead of the car. Although you will stay on the road, you won’t be able to see other traffic or look ahead to curves, turns, and intersections. Radar was developed to help aircraft and ships improve their navigation by seeing much farther than the naked eye.
Consider mental vision as the radar to help you navigate your life. Developing your mental vision isn’t hard. It does take some time and effort.
If you are too busy to think about the future, your mental vision will suffer. Then, when the future arrives, you will lament that you didn’t take more time to plan ahead. You are free to envision the future any way you want.
Since there are no limitations except the ones you impose on yourself, why not create a vision that is exactly what you want? This approach is not just “pie in the sky”; it will become lodged in your thinking as a guiding beacon. Have fun creating your vision. For example, what would your vision be if you had all the money you needed? Or suppose you could devote all of your time to something; what would it be? Mental vision typically focuses on something that doesn’t yet exist.
Remember that behind every discovery, advance, and invention was a person who envisioned that which could be. When you have a vision for yourself entrenched in your mind, your brain will go to work on it 24 hours a day. Even when you are not consciously thinking about your vision, your subconscious mind is still working on how to bring it to reality.
This is why it’s so important to only think about what you want and never on that which you don’t want. Go back and reread the quotations at the beginning of this column. They encapsulate the essence of vision.
If you don’t currently have a vision, today is a good time to start developing it. Save this column and use it for inspiration. NOW AVAILABLE: “Dare to Live Without Limits,” the book.
Visit www.BryanGolden.com or your bookstore.
Bryan is a management consultant, motivational speaker, author, and adjunct professor. E-mail Bryan at [email protected] or write him c/o this paper.
© 2025 Bryan Golden.
