Be married to your vision - 10 Lessons

Are you merely paying lip service to your vision or you are sold out 101%? A marriage of convenience sometimes occurs where one party or both parties are seeking to get a quick solution to an issue. Be it citizenship issues or merely passing time. Sometimes we are found reneging on our own commitments and vows out of familiarity and making our marriage so common. Question that comes to mind automatically is "What happened to your first love, the days you used to court your vision? Has the marriage been one of convenience or it is truly something worth talking about?"

Do you feel you own your vision and dreams or they are borrowed? Where there isn't total FOCUS and COMMITMENT, the vision is susceptible to neglect and eventual collapse. The building block of your link to your vision is constant Tender Loving Care (the vision also requires a budget and investment). After all, the PRESENTATION of your vision to others is important as it creates lasting IMPRESSIONS. You must eat, sleep, dream and always vibrate the vision. If it does not consume you enough then you can easily be persuaded or negotiated out of your own vows.
A few pointers we can learn when we marry our vision.

• It is a lifelong commitment, whatever storms come, you stick by your vision, believe that the storm will soon pass and you will still be holding fast to the vision.

• It calls for trust, transparency and perseverance. Chase your dream (don't divide your attention by having multiple partners). Do not manufacture your own confusion and then cry out when you have no vision to chase. Can the vision trust and depend on you. Given an opportunity to be untrustworthy, will you pass the test?

• It will demand of your investment in terms of time, finance and effort. What you don't invest in you easily ignore and under value.

• Side with your vision - nothing creates more frustration for the detractor than when two are united.

• Mean what you say - May your words about the vision count for something. May your vows have meaning. When you say "I will run with my vision no matter what..." mean it.

• Do not allow anyone to sweet talk you out of your marriage. Accept no other offers. Minority shareholders tend to scuttle the vision of the founder especially if they have ulterior motives.

• Always write your vision down - The reason why you have a marriage certificate (vision statement, corporate profile) is so that the vision is not forgotten with the passage of time. Translating our visions and dreams which are initially just between the two ears, onto paper makes our commitment solid and unshakable. You cannot pass to the next generation a vision you are not willing to pen down.

• Know what to do when fruits come - As the fruits of your marriage to your vision come in the form of profits and influence; do not neglect the main vision at the expense of the latest arrivals. Many marriages are affected when children come; suddenly the focus shifts to the fruits rather than ensure the main thing remains the main thing. The children must be seen as an additional investment to the marriage not a sub-division.

• Watch what you say about your marriage to outsiders - people who are not party to your vision will receive your negative confession with gladness. Not everyone enjoys a sound marriage. External attack can be countered by Internal loyal systems that will not parade every shortfall to the world.

• Take care of the unspoken requests too - Your spouse will not always wake up with a shopping list of things you must address. You should take initiatives that benefit your marriage without having your spouse dial the helpline all the time.

It is interesting how much you can mirror what you face in marriage to what you see in business. If we run our business as passionately as we run our families, communities will never be the same.

Cherish your visions and your dreams, as they are the children of your soul. The blue-prints of your ultimate achievements. -Napoleon Hill-