We are continuing with our series this week. We also ask the question, how do we connect to our inner hero?

Last week we looked at our values, that are values are the clue to how we can reach deep down inside and access our inner hero.

This week, we look at the power of having a vision and how holding onto a brighter vision, a vision of your life that is better than it is now, might hold a clue as to how you can also access you inner hero!

The Bible, says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish”.

The very essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision. It’s got to be a vision you articulate clearly and forcefully on every occasion.” –Theodore Hesburgh, President of the University of Notre Dame

If you want to lead in your own life, work, community and business then having a vision is extremely important.

I am going to get personal with you and share a true story with you.

Back in the late 90’s my life had been turned upside down, by going through the fallout of a messy divorce and custody case, add to it, I lost my first job ever and I had financial challenges as well! Let’s just say I had seen better times.

One way out of this mess, was to tap into courses, books and information on personal growth and development. I felt the need to right the ship and I needed to read and learn the ideas, tips and tools that would help me rise back up!

In this time of life turmoil, I had bought a book called, “The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari” by Robin Sharma.

The book is about a stressed out lawyer who nearly drops dead from the stress of his mile-a-minute high powered lawyer life.

He survives this, but gets schooled on how to truly live life the right way. He gets trained by a Monk and ultimately becomes a better version of who he truly is and wants to be.

One of the lessons shared in the book is the notion of having a vision and to visualize that vision every day. To see where you are wanting to be in your minds eye!

I decided to practice this then. I mean if I tell you that my life wasn’t working and I was on empty with what I thought was the right path until that point, I would not be sugar-coating it.

I remember going to bed each night and visualizing a new career for myself. At the time, I was in the Promotional Marketing field and it was a commission only sales gig, where yes I had done well but having gone through this emotional divorce, I truly lost my sales edge and my Mojo!

Like the Monk, I had to do things differently, meditating, visualizing was one way.

Now, one other cool thing I got into was Landmark Education. Landmark Education is a worldwide organization that literally transforms lives through their teachings, workshop series, leadership training and coaching.

I had done the Landmark Forum, the Advance Course and the Self-expression leadership program and even went back to coach the Self-expression leadership program.

Landmark changed my life. It was in that class that I got tapped into the idea of teaching and coaching others. But I had no idea as to how that would happen back in the late 90’s, especially having gone through a messy 5 or so years after my marriage ended.

Fast forward to me reading the Monk Who Sold his Ferrari, in 1999. I had mentioned a job loss, money issues (no job, not so much money coming in), plus my divorce got finalized too.

I remember visualizing me teaching a workshop. Even though I had never taught and technically was in sales in the Promotional Marketing field.

But each night, before I slept, I would visualize a vision. A vision of me teaching in a room with light pink walls. This was in February of 1999.

By April, I had been accepted into a government training program, called the “SEA Program”. Or the Self-Employment Assistance Program.

I had applied to start my own promotional/leadership training company. In April I got accepted and took a 7 week-in class small business training program and even got a coach!

During this program, one of the teachers, taught advertising. It was a good course, but it totally went over all of our heads. I was in class with 25-30 other small business owners and we all thought that this “Advertising” course we had just taken was a waste of time.

The instructor talked to us about advertising in the Toronto Star, on Chum FM, or on T.V.

None of us in class had that kind of money or ad budget, so to learn about how that worked, didn’t make sense.

Plus, this was a training program for those who had lost a job and instead of finding a new job, we opted to start our own small businesses. So, money for major advertising campaigns, was not the best idea.

What happened, next changed my life.

After the class, I approached the course coordinator about teaching a course called “Marketing on a shoestring” to replace that Advertising class.

I was instructed to submit a proposal. I did just that and by August of 1999, I sent in a proposal and outline for me doing this workshop.

I got accepted!

By September 1999, I taught my first ever workshop. It was a half day session and paid pretty well, I might add. (I got paid $300 for a half day session).

I taught marketing on a shoestring, to other small business owners and like the vision and visualization I did back in February, I taught in a room, that had Light Pink walls!

Since then I have taught thousands of people, in Canada, the United States, by radio, via webinar, at conferences, events, at trade shows and in class.

I also went on to coach in that very same Self Employment Assistance Program I had taken too!

But here is the key to me sharing this story, I don’t write to boast…I write this to teach.

Have a vision, visualize it, do the actions needed and you too can tap into your inner hero and realize your dream, goals and vision!

If you want other examples of people who have held onto their vision and succeeded, check out the biography of Soichiro Honda…here is the link to his biography…

Soichiro Honda Biography: A Great History of Japanese Car Manufacturer

 

Or read the biography of the great thinker Viktor Frankl and read his book “Man’s Search for Meaning”.

Frankl, survived the horrors of being in a Nazi concentration camp, where death, torture and human injustices were horrifically being carried out.

In his book and in his work as a psychologist, he shares how he held onto a vision of him speaking at a conference that was attended by leading Psychiatrists and he would be the keynote speaker.

Somehow holding onto that vision miraculously, allowed him to survive being held captive, but it also programmed his mind to think other thoughts amid this chaotic, frightening time.

Here is a link to Viktor Frankl’s biography too…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Frankl

The key is to learn to create a vision for your life, then visualize it and then act on it!

Until next week, when we look at commitment. Our journey to your inner hero, will continue then!

Cheers/David Cohen