High school student Charlotte Brown recently won a bronze medal for pole vaulting. That is pretty amazing under any circumstances, but it is absolutely extraordinary when you consider that Charlotte is blind.

We often speak of vision as it relates to setting goals. It is critical that you see the goal before you begin – some would call this beginning with a very clearly defined end in mind. The Bible even talks about vision – that without vision, people perish.

Yes, vision is THAT important.

• Vision gives us a starting point.
• Vision gives us something to which we can aspire.
• Vision pulls us forward when circumstances attempt to hold us back.
• Vision gives us clarity of direction.
• Vision gives us life.

Charlotte has no physical vision, but I guarantee she sees everything in her mind. She sees the starting point. She knows the steps it will take to reach the goal, which she also sees in her mind. From disciplined training, she envisions the height of the bar so vividly that she is able to clear it better than most other athletes who do have eyesight.

Think about this as you go about your day and plan your week.

If you are reading this, you have eyesight…but do you have vision?

Are you able to see beyond today to where you want to be and what you want to do? Are you able to envision your business success at the end of the year? Do you have clarity on personal goals as well?

It’s important to have the right kind of vision as well.

Picture yourself poor, unworthy, missing the mark, losing the game…and the chances of your success are pretty much non-existent. But picture yourself crossing the finish line, holding your book, or cashing that big check, and your chance of reaching that goal is exponentially higher. Create a vision board, cut and paste your image into the driver’s seat, write a big check and hang it on your wall…whatever it takes, get the image firmly planted in your mind.

Plant it like Charlotte plants the pole and then…VAULT!