I had this short but memorable conversation with this hotel bartender about having a vision for your life.
So, my friend and I decided to go to our hotel bar after a wedding reception. I have no clue why we did, considering how much we had already drunk at the reception. Maybe it was because we were still in a party mode. I still remember what we both ordered: I got a gin n tonic and she got a spritz. Small details…
Initially, we were served by this woman. Then this younger guy joins us. He sort of came out of nowhere, but he knew how to make conversation. His name? Frank, but pronounced Frah-nk.
Meet Frank (Frah-nk)
I never asked Frank for his age, but if I had to guess, he was somewhere between 20-30.
Frank can speak 4 different languages – Japanese, French, Spanish, and English.
Frank is working on multiple things right now – he’s got a personal IT project that he’s trying to grow and make profitable, and he bartends at night.
What is the vision of your life?
After mentioning all the things he was working on, I asked Frank was his vision for his life was. I phrased it as “what is your ultimate goal. where are you trying to go or be?” type question.
He had to think about it for a couple of minutes. He invited me to share first if I knew what my vision was. I told him I forgot what my vision was.
After only a couple of minutes, he says he wants to retire himself and his own family in 10 years time. He plans to work hard for the next 5-10 years, make his personal IT project successful, and make loads of money so he can retire himself and his family.
When I first heard it, I immediately thought – “wow…that’s a pretty grand vision. 10 years and then retire early? I wish I could do that.”
My friend goes next and she shares about her vision of becoming a professor. I sort of zoned out thinking about my answer to my own question. I knew about my friend’s vision since we had talked about it in the car.
After she finished, I told him what I thought was a part of my vision – it was to be able to share meaningful stories that can teach and serve other people. It was what I could think of at the time.
He then reminded both of us that it’s key to nourish our vision daily.
The conversation then gets lighter from there. We both share our mutual interests in anime and other hobbies. We then leave because the bar was closing for the night.
You have to constantly nourish your vision
My conversation with Frank stuck with me for a few days. I kept thinking about his advice to nourish your vision daily, and I realized I hadn’t been doing that for myself.
At least, it didn’t feel like I had been. I mean, I’ve written down my ideal life vision before. So, I have a vision. It’s just that I’ve been distracting myself with instant gratification and losing sight of my vision for the future.
But how do you nourish a vision when you’re not even sure what it is? It’s like trying to water a plant when you don’t know what you’ve planted.
I’ve realized I need to remind myself of my vision. In a way, that’s one way to nourish it—to read what I wrote down (daily and/or weekly) and align my daily goals with that vision.
What is a vision
If you are creating a personal vision for yourself, I’d recommend watching Simon Sinek’s talks about vision. I love his definition. It’s simple and relatable.
He says, a vision is the ability to see that which cannot be seen.
Your vision is what you see. You can’t touch it—it lives in your imagination. So, there are no rules for how to create your personal vision. Have a little fun with it!
