My last blog was about commitment. If you missed that click here. In that blog I shared my ultimate vision which was to replace my husband’s income so he could retire. After much discussion and planning, after 38 years of working full time and at 58 years of age, I’m proud to say that Neil put in his resignation on Monday!
I remember as though it was yesterday, in the very first appointment I had with Peter Cook in September 2002, he asked me what my vision was for 12 months, 5 years and my ultimate vision. The first one was easy – replace the income I earned from my part time job. However anything past 12 months and I was afraid to put my vision in writing because of the fear of failing. What would people think of me?
Pete wouldn’t let it rest of course. He knew how important it was to have a really big vision and he wouldn’t stop until I came up with something. After much angst I realised that my ultimate vision didn’t have anything to do with money, per se. The one thing that really fired me up was the thought of being able to replace Neil’s income so he could retire. I realised that profitability was necessary to achieve the goal, but it wasn’t my focus. My focus was on Neil’s well-being.
We’ve been married for 34 years and I’ve known him since I was about 15. We’ve raised three beautiful children who are now all adults and making their way in the world. Neil has supported me as I’ve grown my bookkeeping business and will continue to support me in the next phase of our journey. We’ve had our share of challenges and we’ve had our doubts, but my commitment to my vision to have him retire early kept me steadfast.
The fact is that people don’t really care about your vision, or if you succeed or fail in trying to achieve it, because they’re busy trying to get through their own life. So when you’re creating your vision, choose something that burns a fire in your belly and don’t let anyone snuff it out. What’s your ultimate vision?