Everything Around You Was Once a Vision.

Look around. Notice the chair you are sitting in. The home you live in. The roads you drive on. The phone in your hand. Everything around you was once a vision. 

Before there were blueprints and written strategies, there was imagination. Someone envisioned something that did not yet exist and decided to bring it into existence. The world we live in is a collection of visions that became real. There is a story behind every pen, every coffee shop, and every work of art. It’s truly extraordinary. 

A teenager once traveled with boxes of postcards and sold them to local stores. Eventually he imagined something more personal than a postcard. A card that could express feelings people struggled to put into words. That imagination would eventually become a multi-billion dollar company called Hallmark.

A man struggled financially early in his life. He prayed that if he ever became successful, he would dedicate part of life to helping others. This man believed that no family should ever receive a bill for treatment, travel, housing, or food while their child is being treated. After his career finally took off, he started working on the promise he made to himself and God. The St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital became the result of that promise. And today, struggling families can walk into that hospital and get told they won’t receive a bill for treatment. 

Coco Chanel noticed that many women’s clothing were restrictive and uncomfortable. She knew there had to be something better out there. She imagined elegant clothing that allowed women to move, work, and live more freely. Her vision wasn’t simply fashion, but rather a different way of living. The little black dress, relaxed silhouettes, and elegance in a practical matter all grew from a small idea. 

However, although these stories are monumental, visions do not only belong to inventors, artists, or CEO’s.

A meal begins as a vision, 

a garden begins as a vision, 

a marriage begins as a vision, 

a career begins as a vision. 

Every personal transformation begins as a vision. Before someone becomes healthier, stronger, or wiser, they first imagine the possibility of becoming that person. And what exists internally, eventually influences what exists externally. 

The world is a museum of completed visions. What vision are you building right now?