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When you dig deep into your soul you will identify the things that are most important to you. You can also find the things that you really want to do, the things that will make a difference in your life and in the world around you. What you identify might be a an important change that you need to make in your life, such as a change of occupation, or getting that university degree that was set aside so long ago, or developing a skill. Or, you might desire to change something in the world, like starting a new company, or doing something transforming in your family, helping someone down the street, starting a new humanitarian organization, or working on some needed change in your church or at a political level. It could be to help the environment. The things people carry as important are diverse, and if everyone followed that internal call (their 'vision-quest') the world would be a much better place.
So, let's say you have dug deep into your soul and found that important thing. Yet it sits there. It leads to the question, what's stopping you? I like to put it this way:
What enemies are stopping you?
I put the question in this form because I like to think of your journey to achieve your vision-quest as a narrative and the while the concept is very simple, there are some dynamics you will need to keep in mind. If you understand the key components of narrative, it helps you to know what you will be encountering. In this article let me talk about one of the dynamics, your enemies.
First, let me say that your journey of bringing your vision to life is an adventure and some day you will look back at what happened and tell people your story.
The story looks something like this, where you are in this situation maybe living a life of routine and then you get this idea to do something. It's the generic situation of any main character in a story, like the girl who works in a shop and a handsome young man walks in and she decides to win his love, or the story of the retired cop who spends his time fishing and he gets accused of a past crime and he takes the iniative to clear his name. In the movie, 'The Lord of the Rings', Frodo the Hobbit is living in his situation and then he is given a ring and sent on a quest. In all cases the main character could have just stayed in their situation (their box), but then we wouldn't have much of a story.
You find yourself in a situation (your life at this moment), something happens (you discover a vision), and voila, Once upon a time is underway. Now you have the choice, like all the characters I mentioned above, to action out of your situation and start the quest to achieve your vision
The question is, are you really going to take that action? Risk is involved for Frodo, the retired spy and the woman. Many people stay in their current situation because they are afraid of the risk. Are you going to remain in fear or step out into the unknown?
Once you are on your journey something happens, you meet enemies. Those enemies could be a real person, or it could be something in your own mind, such as a fear or a destructive pattern. It could be something spiritual. To know your enemies, the questions you need to ask are:
1. What is stopping me from pursuing my vision?
Even before you step out of your routines there will be dynamics that will try and stop you from pursing what is really important. These could be such things as the daily pressures of life, the pressures of society, or things going on in your own mind. With the pressures of life it might be family or friends who are telling you that your idea is stupid. In your own mind you might be telling yourself that you are worthless and you will fail.
2. What enemies will stop me on my journey?
Once you decide to actively pursue your vision, and you get into doing it, there will be further enemies. It might be the same ones that initially tried to stop you, or it might be barriers that you face as you go on your journey.
The important point here is that you need to know your enemies (your antagonists that will try and stop you from achieving your quest. To use a personal example, I have often had to deal with this. Because of my business relationships, I receive an inordinate number of demands to look at new ideas and opportunities and to spend time with people reviewing their business plans. When I evaluate them after doing them I realize that these encounters were most often unproductive, eating up my valuable time. Over the last few years I have had to consciously cut back on business engagements in order to devote more time to my passions, one of which is writing the book to help you live your passion. That's not my only enemy.
We need to understand what will stop us from achieving our quest, to know those enemies, and deal with them. Prayer and faith are essential in this process. Remember that this story is your individual adventure. You are the one who makes the decision on whether to step out into the unknown.
The reality is, once you actually start to pursue your vision, you will face challenges and enemies that will try and prevent you from achieving your goal. Know what they are before, and then understand what is needed to overcome them. Sometimes they come up unexpectedly. When barriers pop up, use your creativity and reason to know how you will go through them or around them. If you are a person of faith you will want to seek Gods help to overcome the enemy. Dr. Francis Schaeffer, a Christian theologian and philosopher said, Real history involves both the seen and the unseen, often in a cause and effect relationship . . . We must remember that we are creatures in the total reality of history. In the Christian faith there is a loving God who walks with us through our journey.
What enemies are stopping you from stepping out to achieve your vision? What enemies will try to stop you once you on the path toward achieving your vision. Know them. Overcome them. Remember, this is your story and your vision is too important to let go.
Concepts from Bring Your Vision to Life: The Guide to Turning What if? into Reality, by Dr. Ralph McCall. Destinee S.A. Used by permission of Destinee S.A.
Dr. Ralph McCall is a writer, lecturer and director of several companies. He co-teaches a course at graduate schools of theology and graduate schools of business
So, let's say you have dug deep into your soul and found that important thing. Yet it sits there. It leads to the question, what's stopping you? I like to put it this way:
What enemies are stopping you?
I put the question in this form because I like to think of your journey to achieve your vision-quest as a narrative and the while the concept is very simple, there are some dynamics you will need to keep in mind. If you understand the key components of narrative, it helps you to know what you will be encountering. In this article let me talk about one of the dynamics, your enemies.
First, let me say that your journey of bringing your vision to life is an adventure and some day you will look back at what happened and tell people your story.
The story looks something like this, where you are in this situation maybe living a life of routine and then you get this idea to do something. It's the generic situation of any main character in a story, like the girl who works in a shop and a handsome young man walks in and she decides to win his love, or the story of the retired cop who spends his time fishing and he gets accused of a past crime and he takes the iniative to clear his name. In the movie, 'The Lord of the Rings', Frodo the Hobbit is living in his situation and then he is given a ring and sent on a quest. In all cases the main character could have just stayed in their situation (their box), but then we wouldn't have much of a story.
You find yourself in a situation (your life at this moment), something happens (you discover a vision), and voila, Once upon a time is underway. Now you have the choice, like all the characters I mentioned above, to action out of your situation and start the quest to achieve your vision
The question is, are you really going to take that action? Risk is involved for Frodo, the retired spy and the woman. Many people stay in their current situation because they are afraid of the risk. Are you going to remain in fear or step out into the unknown?
Once you are on your journey something happens, you meet enemies. Those enemies could be a real person, or it could be something in your own mind, such as a fear or a destructive pattern. It could be something spiritual. To know your enemies, the questions you need to ask are:
1. What is stopping me from pursuing my vision?
Even before you step out of your routines there will be dynamics that will try and stop you from pursing what is really important. These could be such things as the daily pressures of life, the pressures of society, or things going on in your own mind. With the pressures of life it might be family or friends who are telling you that your idea is stupid. In your own mind you might be telling yourself that you are worthless and you will fail.
2. What enemies will stop me on my journey?
Once you decide to actively pursue your vision, and you get into doing it, there will be further enemies. It might be the same ones that initially tried to stop you, or it might be barriers that you face as you go on your journey.
The important point here is that you need to know your enemies (your antagonists that will try and stop you from achieving your quest. To use a personal example, I have often had to deal with this. Because of my business relationships, I receive an inordinate number of demands to look at new ideas and opportunities and to spend time with people reviewing their business plans. When I evaluate them after doing them I realize that these encounters were most often unproductive, eating up my valuable time. Over the last few years I have had to consciously cut back on business engagements in order to devote more time to my passions, one of which is writing the book to help you live your passion. That's not my only enemy.
We need to understand what will stop us from achieving our quest, to know those enemies, and deal with them. Prayer and faith are essential in this process. Remember that this story is your individual adventure. You are the one who makes the decision on whether to step out into the unknown.
The reality is, once you actually start to pursue your vision, you will face challenges and enemies that will try and prevent you from achieving your goal. Know what they are before, and then understand what is needed to overcome them. Sometimes they come up unexpectedly. When barriers pop up, use your creativity and reason to know how you will go through them or around them. If you are a person of faith you will want to seek Gods help to overcome the enemy. Dr. Francis Schaeffer, a Christian theologian and philosopher said, Real history involves both the seen and the unseen, often in a cause and effect relationship . . . We must remember that we are creatures in the total reality of history. In the Christian faith there is a loving God who walks with us through our journey.
What enemies are stopping you from stepping out to achieve your vision? What enemies will try to stop you once you on the path toward achieving your vision. Know them. Overcome them. Remember, this is your story and your vision is too important to let go.
Concepts from Bring Your Vision to Life: The Guide to Turning What if? into Reality, by Dr. Ralph McCall. Destinee S.A. Used by permission of Destinee S.A.
Dr. Ralph McCall is a writer, lecturer and director of several companies. He co-teaches a course at graduate schools of theology and graduate schools of business