Posted by
peripheral on Thursday, August 20, 2009 8:59:44 AM
From My Perspective - - -
Every individual should have meaningful anticipations, expectations,
goals, dreams and a vision in terms of what might and can be. Lives
should not be lived in a vacuum or be satisfied with merely a status
quo lifestyle. Three parts of the meaning of vision are: “the act or
power of sensing with the eyes; the act or power of anticipating that
which will or may come to be; an experience in which a personage,
thing, or event appears vividly or credibly to the mind, although not
actually present, often under the influence of a divine or other
agency…” It is the second of those definitions that captured the
imagination and desire of people over the years, and that should serve
as a motivation to stretch oneself beyond self-imposed limits.
For instance, just think of HENRY FORD
– who became famous for pioneering the assembly line and in the
process, becoming the first man to successfully mass produce
automobiles; JOHN ROCKEFELLER
– who after scratching and scrimping to buy his first oil refinery in
1862, was already a dominant force in the industry by the 1870’s. From
there, he almost single-handedly revolutionized the mass market for
oil. By offering discounts to the railroads that carried his oil
cross-country, Rockefeller was able to, in turn, sell it to customers
for low prices that were previously unheard of; ANDREW CARNEGIE
- did for steel what John Rockefeller did for oil. But long before
that, Carnegie set to work as a lowly telegrapher in the 1850’s. By the
1860’s, his investments in railroads, bridges, and oil derricks gave
him the means to develop US Steel; THOMAS EDISON
– while he is best known for inventing the modern electric light bulb
in 1878, he was also one of the fathers of the modern electrical
grid…The impact of this innovation has been staggering. Prior to the
electrical grid, the only available lighting was sunlight during the
day and gas-powered lamps at night. In 1882, however, Edison took the
world by storm, introducing one of the first commercial electric grids
in the world; SAM WALTON
- was the mastermind behind Wal-Mart. After opening his first store in
1962, Walton vowed to remake the retail industry in the vision of his
radical cost-cutting philosophy. By 1966, his fledgling chain was up to
20 stores and growing fast. As of August 31, 2008, there are now in the
United States: 4,227 total units, and Internationally: 3,210 total
units. There are countless numbers of Visionary people like STEVE JOBS and BILL GATES and the development of the Computer; etc.
The one thing common for all Visionaries is that they stretched
themselves beyond any self-imposed limitation or confinement. They
looked at the possibilities and translated that into reality. It was
acting upon what they saw in their minds-eye – a dream – a vision – a
possibility! John C. Maxwell does excellent work in the area of
Leadership. In a recent book, PUT YOUR DREAM TO THE TEST,
he gives encouragement and guidelines to bring Dreams to Realities. He
writes: “For me, the whole process begins with questions I must ask
myself. The dream is always rooted in the dreamer, in his or her
experiences, circumstances, talents, and opportunities. I ask: WHAT AM I FEELING? - What are my emotions telling me?; WHAT AM I SENSING? – What is my intuition telling me? WHAT AM I SEEING? – What is happening around me?; WHAT AM I HEARING? – What are others saying?; and WHAT AM I THINKING?
– What do my intellect and common sense say? If I can get a good sense
of where I am, what I know, and what I want, I’m on my way to
clarifying my dream…”
In JOEL 2:28-32,
the prophet speaks to the people of his day about future events –
things that can be anticipated and that will become realities. He
writes: “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your
sons and daughters will prophesy, YOUR OLD MEN WILL DREAM DREAMS, YOUR YOUNG MEN WILL SEE VISIONS.
Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in
those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood
and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and
the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of
the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be
saved…” These dreams and visions are to give fair-warning that the end
is near and tremendous events will occur. Some will choose to ignore
it! The wise will make preparation for it! Consider these things with
me.