A World of Fulfilled Potential
As best childhood friends, Brian and I had a lot of adventures. We were opposites in many ways—I played sports; he was scholarly—but chasing side-splitting guffaws was a shared avocation. Sometimes it was Don Martin’s Fester Bestertester in a Mad Magazine bit. Other times it was a mishap involving mini-bikes or firecrackers or playing dodgeball with Southern California’s plenteous citrus fruits; that’ll leave a mark.
One event made Brian roll on the floor holding his stomach, but caused my parents different pains. I have always had bad eyes and grew up wearing glasses. I usually broke my glasses playing sports so my parents invested in contact lenses when I was a teen. The early, semi-affordable models were hard. Wearing them was like wetting a pebble and poking it in your eye. Sometimes I lost a contact lens and my parents had to fork out for a replacement.
On this occasion I was at Brian’s house, rinsing a new pebble to put back in my eye. Fingering it, I thought it seemed more malleable than the rigid ones I was used to. “Hey,” I said. “I wonder if my folks got me one of those new soft lenses.” Brian encouraged a scientific experiment so I squeezed the lens between thumb and forefinger until SNAP, I had two crescent moons. What a humdinger!
It is hard to see clearly with one contact. 2. Nothing is as fun when vision is cloudy.
Pivot: I have written about the importance of vision in creating a high-performance organizational culture and recently watched a nice video by Andy Stanley about how a compelling vision begets motivating clarity.
Organizational vision is a crystal clear mental picture of a better future that beckons.
It is a rendering of how the world will look when we have accomplished our mission. Vision should define a magnificent purpose.
My personal and professional vision statement is passion distilled:
“A World of Fulfilled Potential!”
I want that for me, Mary, my kids, grandkids—everyone. Fulfilled potential ties the relentless pursuit of excellence to every human endeavor: families, churches, businesses, schools—everything. But it is a targeted quest because every one is uniquely and beautifully gifted.
Sadly, however, most people feel stuck and disengaged. The medicine is too much of anything else that helps forgetting. The cure is purpose, meaning, and drive. The result is feeling exultant; soaring on a lifelong quest.
So all the work we do at our firm—business development, people development—is for one purpose: To bring a world of fulfilled potential.
There, that feels like looking through two soft, clear lenses. Do you see it?
