A few weeks ago, I found myself sitting on a park bench next
to a fellow struggling actress. While watching the boys we baby-sit play
basketball, we began discussing the exuberant tuition required by the boys’
elite private school. During the discussion, she stated, “I cannot fathom
having that kind of money! I was thinking the other day that this is what is
wrong with my life. I cannot imagine being more successful than I am now and
I’m not that successful.” I had a previous conversation with this sitter in regards
to her recent twenty-ninth birthday and her short stint on Broadway, which left
her with more disappointment than fulfillment. Obviously, we’re both caught up
in the same means to an end now, but unlike her I believe I will make it in the
arts and already have a date set, on which, I will eliminate my “means to an
end job”. This conversation made me think about the difference in our mindset.
Mine with vision of prosperity, hers lacking improvement beyond where she is
now.
I concluded after our conversation that our success in life
is determined by two things:
1. You are what you believe you are.
2. You will succeed as far as your vision
expands.
You are what you
believe you are.
Have you ever met someone who believes they are less than what
they are? They might be the CEO of a company, but they have the attitude of a
part-time sales associate at Wal-Mart. On the flipside, have you ever met a
part-time sales associate at Wal-Mart that thinks he’s the CEO of the company?
He takes your question of, “What aisle are the Clorox wipes on?” and turns it
into an opportunity to tell you how well Wal-Mart stock is trading and suggests
that you invest in the company if you haven’t already. Then he convinces you to
open a Wal-Mart credit card upon checkout.
If you do not believe you are making a difference as a CEO
you won’t. If you believe you can make a difference as a part-time sales
associate you will. With faith, the part-time sales associate, with the CEO
mentality, will go on to run the company or better yet start his own. You will
continue to rise above and climb up the career ladder until you believe you are
no longer making a difference. For at the moment you stop believing in yourself,
your career will philander.
Who we believe we are is based on the vision we have for our
life, which brings me to my second point…
You will succeed as
far as your vision expands.
Richard Branson supplies us with the ultimate example of
expansive vision. He has pioneered the Virgin group for several decades and has
no set retirement date. Branson, 63, started a magazine by the name of The Student at the ripe age of sixteen
and since has founded over 400 companies and is worth $4.6 Billion. If Branson’s
vision only stretched as far as The Student,
I wouldn’t be using him as an example today. He did not view the magazine as an
accomplishment of destiny, but rather a springboard to a limitless career that
is leading him into the infinity of space and beyond.
Many people have said to me, “You’ve already done so much in
the arts, even if you stop now what you have done is more than most people will
ever do in their lives.” This back handed compliment sickens me. One, because
it’s suggesting that I limit my vision, two because it’s a reflection on our
society’s lack of vision. If at the threshold of my career I have done more
than most people will in their lifetime that is pathetic.
God didn’t put us on this earth to waste oxygen. He is the
ultimate Creator and His vision is more expansive than we could ever fathom. He
instilled that same creative vision in our souls and if we choose to utilize it,
we will surpass the odds set against us, and transcend the confines of this
world through our vision.
To be a billionaire
or not to be a billionaire? The answer lies in your belief and vision.
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