Vision and Hope

This is provided by Donna N and is an exept from Steven Scott's book The Richest Man Who Ever Lived

Solomon's power source is VISION, and his fuel is HOPE. But don't be deceived by their simplicity. You'll discover that their combined power is like the power produced by splitting an atom.

Solomon's concept of VISION and HOPE is radically different from our contemporary concepts of these words. We hear the word "vision," and we picture something abstract such as a mystical experience or a dream. We hear the word "hope," and we instantly think of a wish or a desire. Our contemporary concepts of these two words fall woefully short of Solomon's concepts.

Vision is not something abstract or intangible, nor is hope a mere wish or desire. To Solomon, vision and hope are both tangible and precise. Understanding what Solomon meant when he used these two words is critical to achieving anything extraordinary with your life.

For most people, the word "vision" has little more relevance to their daily life than a modern-art painting has to choosing the highways they will follow when going on a vacation. By Solomon's definition most people either have no vision at all for what they want in life, or the vision they have is vague and abstract (to be more successful, wealthier, etc.). To Solomon, a vision was not abstract at all.

For him, gaining a true vision was more like using a highway atlas. It means having a perfectly clear picture of an ultimate destination and a detailed road map to get there. In my failed jobs after college, I never had a clear and precise vision of what I wanted to achieve. It's not surprising that they lasted less than a year or produced only minimal income. On the other hand, in my tenth job, I had a very clear vision for my first project. I created a detailed road map of my goals, and outlined the steps and tasks that I needed to complete to achieve those goals and fulfill that vision. The result? Within six months of starting the job, our sales skyrocketed from a thousand dollars a week to more than a million dollars a week.

A VISION IS A PRECISE, CLEARLY DEFINED GOAL WITH A DETAILED PLAN AND TIMETABLE FOR ACHIEVING THAT GOAL.