If you’ve heard me talk about the Iditarod, then you’re probably aware the word has several attributed meanings. As I was thinking about today and this week on vision the meanings were forefront in my mind, again. One meaning is “distance or distant place” and the other is said to mean “clear water.” While racing, the mushers carry a pot big enough to hold 3 gallons of water and they bring materials to light a fire. They fill they pot with snow and light the fire. The fire turns up the heat on the snow in the pot and purifies it into clear water.
Your vision for your life and business is that ‘clear water’. To get there you need to have plenty of dreams and thoughts to fill the pot. The enemies of filling the pot with dreams are complacency and negativity. Negativity just tells you, “you’re not worthy to leave the lodge”, “who do you think you are?”, “you can’t do that!”, “You’re just going to look like a fool.”, “no one in your family has ever achieved at that level” – and a thousand other things meant to keep you down.
Complacency will leave you satisfied with the status quo. Leaders and mushers who are satisfied with the status quo rarely leave the lodge. And why should they? They have a nice fire, plenty to eat and drink… It’s comfortable.
Why leave the lodge? Because greatness was never achieved in the Lazy Boy! The trail is where the personal satisfaction and glory can be achieved!
Fill the bucket full of hopes and dreams!
Fight the battle over complacency and step on negativity on the way out of the lodge!
Use the beginnings of hope, desire, and passion to be the kindling for the fire. Use the passion for growth that we talked about last week to be the ignition that creates sparks. This is not the time to be concerned with the what if’s? and can’t happens. This is the time to dream the dream!
Remember: Walt Disney was fired from a newspaper for supposed lack of creativity. A Munich Schoolmaster remarked that Albert Einstein would never amount to much. Beethoven was called inept as a composer.
The trail awaits, greatness is out there – it’s time to fill the pot with hopes and dreams!
Dream big today!