Staring at the lighthouse on the IWSG's official picture, made me think of the framed lighthouse picture on the wall of my study. It's a white lighthouse perched atop New England bluffs, casting its spotlight out into the dark ocean. The caption below the picture reads:
Vision: The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible.Whenever I'm stuck on my writing or debating an idea, I look at that picture. It helps me find my focus--focus on what I'm trying to achieve and not "why are my thoughts so muddled?" If I focus on "what am I trying to achieve," then I will eventually find the answer I'm looking for. If I focus on "why are my thoughts so muddled," I will be supplied with an answer to that question, too, which will not help my writing whatsoever.
I look at that picture and dream big. All big dreams started with a vision, nothing more. The man who built Starbucks into the behemoth it is today, Howard Schultz, had a vision of bringing the European coffeehouse experience to America and for it to become the world's leading coffee authority. At the time, he worked for the owners of Starbucks in one of their few Seattle stores. The owners didn't share in his expansive vision, but Howard didn't let that deter him. He started his own coffee shop, grew the locations, and came back and bought Starbucks out. And that was just the beginning. Fast forward twenty years, whether you like coffee or not, I'm pretty confident this isn't your first time hearing about Starbucks. That is the power of vision.
Vision alone will not build your dreams for you, but you need a vision to decide what you want to build. Is your vision clear? What is the lighthouse shining on for you?
