By Younas Chaudhary
“Vision without action is a daydream. Action with without vision is a nightmare.”
Japanese Proverb
In the mid-1970’s, I was a door-to-door salesman selling pots and pans around Edmonton for a Canadian businessman, Bernie Lofchick, who inspired me to have a vision for the future. Lofchick trained young salespeople on door-to-door sales and encouraged us to dream big. He showed us a different future with his vibrant trademark shout of Hip Hip Hurray! He built a lot of confidence in me and in our team.
A vision is something you “aspire to be and can be” either in the short-term or in the long run. Growing up in Pakistan in the 1960’s and early 1970’s, like other boys of that time, I wanted to be an army officer. I got selected but that did not last long and I decided to move to Canada. I dreamed of making it big in Canada, but I had no clear vision for my career. My only motive at the time was to make money and send it back home.
In the late 1970’s I arrived in Kansas to scout for oil, and my outlook on life quickly changed. I started writing down my vision for my personal life and my business. In my personal life, I wanted to pay off my home and a car. I dreamed and envisioned that my oil business would double and triple with more wells and increased income.
I was not sure how I could accomplish this as I was the son of a farmer with no business experience whatsoever. Our family struggled when I was growing up. They did not have any long-term goals or a vision to think big.
Over the years, my strong work habits, curiosity, and foresight helped me build a vision for the future. I was interested in learning about trends in my oil business, and what other people were doing and why. I would set long-term goals and build my vision for the future. I thought of it as a marathon and not a sprint. For instance, with little cash I purchased several wells and leases in West Texas and New Mexico in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Later, I would receive offers to sell these leases but I rarely sold anything. My vision was to hold steady with long term goals and the leases’ values went up and up with the passage of time. Today they are worth massive amounts of money.
Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare. So just having a vision is not enough. One needs to consistently work to achieve goals each and every day. This means working hard, watching your costs, and making calculated decisions that may be unpopular or risky. Sometimes, our vision gets broken or delayed because of forks in the road. Yet, through perseverance, consistency, and faith we can overcome obstacles and reach where we want to be! Blessings.
Disclaimer
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article are my own and do not represent the opinions of any entity with which I have been, am now, or will be affiliated. Further, I make no warranty regarding the accuracy or effectiveness of my recommendations, and readers are advised to consult other advisors as well as their own judgments in making business decisions.
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