In his book titled Courageous Leadership, Bill Hybel explains vision and passion as this: “Vision is a picture of the future that produces passion.” There are two key components here that are the cornerstone of any strategic formulation. When we begin to assess what the picture of our lives and businesses should look like we need to have these two components in mind. The first is the picture of the future, i.e. your vision, and the second is the passion-driven emotion.
The Picture
In any society, there are many issues that need to be addressed. Ask yourself, “what is that societal issue that vexes me the most?” and “am I prepared to dedicate my life to solving this problem?”. These are issues that elicit strong emotions that ultimately prompt you to change the status quo.
The need looks different for various people. Particularly in South Africa, many look at the growing unemployment rate of 33.9%. They see the need and the potential for a brighter and better South Africa and they find a passion for creating opportunities for employment. When you find the issue you want to address, the vision often becomes clear to you. For some, this is an instantaneous realisation; for others, it happens over a longer period. This leads me to my next point about passion.
The Passion
Passion is the fuel! It is what excites you about your vision and aids in formulating the necessary avenues to work towards addressing it. Once the initial picture is clear, passion acts as a catalyst that elicits an emotion, prompting you to chase after your vision.
It is only after the picture is clear that the passion begins to work. Before you begin to build a strong strategy for a business, it is paramount that you identify what your passion is. In times of hardship, your passion will drive you forward.
Sharon Lechter explores this idea of passion, purpose and success in her book, “Personal Success Equation”. She explains the formula for success:
Success = (passion x talent) + associations + affirmations + actions
When you start to connect your passion to your talents and discover common themes, you begin to reassess whether your associations and the networks you are tapped into will help you achieve that ultimate vision. On a more personal-value level, you need to start envisioning yourself as your most successful self. Lastly, once you understand that your associations can aid in building your future and your value as a person, you can take action. On a day-to-day basis, you begin to work towards the vision you had initially pictured, driven by passion and aided by your talents.
Conclusion
As industry leaders and business owners, we have been called to contribute to the success of our society. Our assignment is to identify those specific tasks that match our unique skill sets, in order to build a better society for the future. The moment we understand this picture, passion ignites a drive to fulfil our purpose: working towards building a more promising future.
