Vision to Reality

January 2013 – I have the extraordinary privilege to come alongside Kingdom leaders—both in ministry and in the marketplace—to challenge them not to lead with their impressive resumes or their academic achievements or their enviable spot on the org chart, but with their LIVES.

In that pursuit, I often find myself giving voice to this statement: Great accomplishments start with a compelling vision but become reality through daily choices.

In other words, if you want to do something significant, start with an idea, a dream, a vision—a big vision. A vision is a mental movie that lives within the theater of your heart. You can see it. You can taste it. You can feel it.

But I wonder how many brilliantly-conceived visions never see the light of day?

So I’ve got a question. It’s a tad personal, but I’ll venture the risk: What are you doing with YOUR compelling vision?

Which backs us up into another question: How do you get from VISION to REALITY? How does a great idea bust out of the brainstorm session and find its way onto the showroom floor?

Glad you asked. Got some thoughts.

Ultimately, when you drill down to the core, compelling visions become reality through DAILY CHOICES. It’s waking up everyday and making calls consistent with your desired destination.

Let me offer an example by lifting a few pages out of the biblical record. Nehemiah—cup-bearer to a king and devout follower of Jehovah—had a compelling vision: rebuild the decimated walls of Jerusalem. But that vision was not accomplished by hopeful thinking, it was accomplished through a long lineup of DAILY CHOICES. The daily choice to pray for the welfare of his fellow countrymen. The daily choice to seek concurrence from the king for a leave of absence. The daily choice to secure safe passage through potentially hazardous territory. The daily choice to obtain a letter of referral to access building materials. The daily choice—under the cover of darkness—to inventory the state of the ravished wall.

Are you connecting the dots? Do you see the pattern?

It’s simply how life works. Great accomplishments start with a compelling vision but become reality through daily choices. It’s about daily execution. It’s about doing things—usually small things—consistent with your vision. It’s about one more step in the right direction. While not flashy, it’s the little things that ultimately tally to post a “W” on the scoreboard of life.

So I leave you with two questions:

What is your compelling vision?

And what daily choices will you make today to move it one more step toward reality?