How's your vision?
Moreover, how’s your focus?
Clarity of vision is critical
to accomplishment of goals.
Seeing the work completed is
very difficult but absolutely critical for leaders.
The power of vision is often
underestimated. We too often lose focus
of the vision personally and professionally.
The following is powerful illustration
for me about the importance of keeping focused.
I trust you will find this as
helpful as I have -
"little El
Capitan"
by Stu Weber
"I recall climbing energetically toward the summit of a
magnificent pass in the Eagle Cap Wilderness.
The late Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas called this area in
the northeast corner of Oregon "the most beautiful piece of real estate on
the planet." Others, standing in
awe of the pristine mountain glory, have dubbed it "little Switzerland."
Making our goal that day as we hiked was a nameless granite
spire we called "little El Capitan."
The pace was healthy. Spirits
were high. Our towering granite landmark
was a long way off from the bottom of the Minam river canyon, but the distance
was irrelevant. The clear day was
glorious, and we made excellent time just anticipating the beautiful scene
awaiting us at Big Minam Meadows. On a
clear day, as the song goes, you can see forever - and feel as if you could
climb there, too. Everyone was caught up
in the spirit of it.
And then...the weather closed in around us. The clouds dropped down into the tree
tops. It began to drizzle. Our granite landmark disappeared, along with
the horizon. Inevitably, our eyes
dropped from the distant peaks to the top of our own boots. And we slowed down. Boy did we slow down. The spring in our steps became pains in our
legs. When we lose sight of our goal,
you lose a lot more than that. Little
things began to get to us. Someone has
said, "We are slowed more by the
grain of sand in our shoe than the mountain we climb." So true.
The grain may have been there all along, but suddenly it takes on
boulder proportions. Nothing was right
anymore. Whose idea was it to hike back
into this forsaken wilderness, anyway?
The day seemed colder. Our pains
seemed magnified. And the complaining
set in. Irritability became the order of
the moment.
What happened? How did
glory turn into misery? The answer is
simple enough: We lost our vision. We lost perspective. We were no longer drawing energy and gladness
from that shining goal on the fat horizon.
When you've lost your vision for who you are and where you are
and why you are where you are, you find yourself powerless to take necessary
action.”
