Thursday, November 4, 2010

Faith Without Works Is Dead

          It took me my whole life to learn how important it is to set goals and to be concerned about a vision for my future.  Until recently, I had no vision at all - I simply lived my life by acting without a vision.  Sure I set goals for myself but those goals were never really aimed towards a specific vision, and although I learned alot, things really didn't happen.  Sometimes I thought I had a vision but I was really only dreaming -  I continuously failed to truly dedicate myself and work towards a substantial vision.

          I'm not saying that I did not acquire knowledge and a skill set over the years, but without a focused vision, in my case, that knowledge and skill set did not "connect" with each other in the end (chef, d.j., botanist, math major).   For some reason, I didn't often  consider a vision - I was "okay" with just doing good in school and working hard - I thought thats all I needed to "make it".  Looking back, I can summarize my behavior as jumping back and forth amongst various career paths, gravitating toward the one that was of most interest to me at that particular time in my life.  Was I just not ready or mature enough to accept the responsibility that comes along with embracing a true vision? Perhaps I was just being selfish.
          I can only be grateful that today I have learned this lesson and now know that I must fully embrace the vision I have today for myself in order for it to someday materialize - to be able to care for myself and the people around me.

A few goals that I consider to be feasibile in the near future are (with potential actions to take):
  • Run a marathon (start training, eating right)
  • Push myself harder (enroll in Honors classes)
  • Be more emotionally intelligent (stay teachable, control my emotions)
I promise to you that I will do everything in my ability to fully embrace and materialize my aforementioned goals, with the vision of being able to care for myself and others always in mind.  I will document the progress of the actions I take on future blog posts - hopefully this will fuel my motivation and keep me somewhat accountable.  Please help me keep me honest. Thanx.

Remember,

Vision without action is just a dream.
Action without vision merely wastes time.
Vision coupled with action can make things happen!*



*from Joel Barker in "The Power of Vision"


10 comments:

  1. Hi Vincent. I had the same problem in the past. I had too many unrealistic goals and it took me time to arrange all of them and make them clear in my mind. Now I know for sure what my goals are and how I should realize them. Wish you good luck:-)))

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  2. Vinny, very deep blog, it's good that you now have established your vision. However, don't be so hard on yourself you've always had a vision, it just wasn't as sought out as it is now. Good job brotha

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  3. I think that as long as you have a set vision now, it can only get better. You can think of your diligence in the past as the means to make your vision possible! Considering your grades and studying habits, I think honors classes would be a good challenge to take up. Remember to explicitly state the steps you need to take. That way, when the time comes to evaluate how far you have come, you can be sure of your progress

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  4. I hope you can accomplish your goals in the near future, "Push myself harder" and "Be more emotionally intelligent" can be good for your ultimate goals as well.
    and I'd like to ask to think why you need the goals and how you can make it happen.

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  5. I think be more emotionally intelligent is good for everyone. Staying cool, then you can analyze the problems more deeply. It is not only useful to our academic field, but to our work place, even our real life. Hope you can accomplish it. Wish you luck!

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  6. I mean I used to feel the same way, I think your long term visions will come in due time. I guess knowing what here for is just as important as creating your vision and sticking to it. So you push yourself and just stop and take time to react, anything is possible. Good Luck!

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  7. I can definitely relate to this post. I have done much the same and when I look back I also feel that my visions and skillset didn’t necessarily connect. It seems you have become more focused and realistic with your goals, good job! One of my goals is also to run the marathon, it definitely won’t be easy to work towards but it will be great in the end. As far as pushing yourself and becoming more emotionally intelligent they seem like great personal goals and ones that will help you in all aspects of your life later on. Great quote at the end, keep going Vinny!

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  8. so crazy i want to run a marathon too. and to start i think training for a half maraton and then see how it goes is the right place to start. thats my plan. if you have anyother thoughts though on the subject i am all ears.

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  9. Everything happens for a reason. What if you weren't taking this class or if you didn't enroll in Baruch at all? I feel ya man, but that vision video and this blog could be a big enough change in your life and a start for some great things in life.

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  10. Thanks Everybody! Ya'll just made my day.

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