Vision

As you should well know by now, the visionary Nelson Mandela passed from our presence yesterday.

I think Mandela's story is one so awe-inspiring, it's hard to know where to start. For me, the pure vision of this man was incredible. How many of us would, upon emerging from wrongful incarceration for decades, be willing to work with our captors to bring about a complete paradigm shift? I know I would struggle with this charge. You see, Mandela had a vision. He saw a united South Africa all working toward a common goal, regardless of race, creed, sex or religion. Not only that, but he was willing to swallow his bruised and beaten pride to make it happen.

What is your vision? Whether it's enacting a shift in the way an entire country thinks or simply a vision for your personal life, we all must look to the future. We must find something to hang our hats on, something to work toward. Nelson Mandela had a vision of positive change. What is your vision?

Rabbits

Now I realize a lot of you are likely confused by this Thought. What does it mean? After all, isn't it just a stuffed energizer bunny? Well, yes, you would be right. It is 'just' a stuffed rabbit. However, the message behind it is what I am trying to get at.

Throughout this summer I was always amazed at the ability of my co-workers to identify and stay true to our organization's mission and vision. Sure, they were always looking for new ways to fulfill that purpose, but the purpose itself was never in doubt.

I wondered about this until the CEO and President told me a story. He said that a number of years ago, when the organization was just starting out and starting to gain traction and expand, there were many many different directions the organization could go. The temptation was great to stray from the core mission of the organization into other (very worthy) causes. For Christmas one year, his co-workers gave him this stuffed rabbit. It came with the message "Don't chase the rabbit". Wait, what? What rabbit? Don't worry, I was confused for a second too.

You see, his co-workers equated these worthy, though ultimately off target ideas to rabbits. So by saying "don't chase the rabbit" they were telling him to stay on target, stay on sight with the organizations purpose.

Have you ever gotten off target? It's easy to do. With life, there is no manual. We just have to go with what feels right. And many times, there are ideas or activities that while seeming to be ok, are truly off target with the people we are striving to be. This target or purpose would be called your values and morals by many people. Strive to stay on target. Don't get away from the values, purposes and visions that you hold dearest. Don't chase the rabbit.