What is life without purpose? If all men lived just for the sake of living, without visions, dreams, aspirations and goals, why should I, for instance, task myself to write this essay in the first place? Imagine great minds whose lives were driven by a vision such as Leonardo Da Vinci drew no paintings nor designed any models; Thomas Edison didn’t invent the light bulb, the Wright brothers hadn’t designed and flown the first aircraft, Benjamin Franklin and Nikola Telsa played no part in the discovery and development of electricity respectively and the list goes on and on. They would have ended up insignificant men whose lives had no impact on humanity and their names would have meant nothing to history. Life in its very essence is therefore characterized by dreams and aspirations which culminate into the driving force that propels all things and actions.
Every great feat, milestone, invention, and achievement initially just existed as imaginations in the minds of those who eventually executed them. For every individual, life begins on a clean slate. Nothing is predetermined or certain. Henry Ford whose words facilitate the basis for this essay didn’t grow from a family of inventors or engineers. He was once a farm boy who had a knack for innovation and that desire gave birth to our present day multi-billion dollar car manufacturing company, Ford Motors. Once upon a time, prominent names we know today at the top levels of the various facets of life were once “ordinary”, regular individuals who battled life’s rigors and fought their way through mediocrity to prominence. Behind every success story, the long journey to success was once mere visions and their manifestations were only possible through HARD WORK. With hard work, the execution of dreams become possible and in its absence, all that’s left is just hallucinations.
Donald trump once said, “In the end, you’re measured not by how much you undertake but by what you finally accomplish”. In other words, having identified hard work as the execution process of any vision, I’d be quick to point out that hard work without purposeful direction and expected outcome is a practical waste of time. So many fall victims to the syndrome of misguided labour and end up reaping undue proceed because they lack purpose, mission and direction. Therefore, hard work involves the implementation of several dynamic steps to facilitate the realization of any well calculated vision. These processes ensure that nothing is left to luck and as such every task follows a deliberate, well articulated pathway with possible contingency measures. They involve setting goals aimed at achieving ones vision and structuring plans on how to go about it, having foresight to see beyond the present and sacrificing pleasures of today for the future, undertaking well informed risks, proper decision making to overcome tough times, tenacity to overcome failures and unfavorable outcomes, periodic appraisal on progress levels. Consequent upon this, notable factors like fear, laziness, procrastinations constitute to kryptonite that render work progress sterile and the execution of visions impossible. Lastly, in all things, time is of the essence.
The path to success has no definite procedure or theory. As such, working hard doesn’t guarantee that success is 100% certain. Rather, it positions an individual in the right direction to pursue success and achieve a positive outcome. Someday, everyone will look back to see how far they’ve gone in life. Many will feel fulfilled seeing how much they’ve accomplished; some others will take solace from the fact that they made efforts though their visions didn’t eventually materialize. The last group will see out the rest of their days carrying the guilt and unforgivable feeling of what could have been if only an effort was made towards achieving their dreams. Failure is not defeat but signs that more effort is required. After all, Abraham Lincoln had 8 unsuccessful tries at the US presidency and was eventually successful on the ninth try. His vision to become a president eventually paid off because he had the zeal failure couldn’t break and today, he’s remembered as one of the best to rule the United States.
The possibilities of what the human mind can achieve are limitless. Take a step today towards achieving your dream and vision. Greatness awaits…