The Power of Vision

“When you want something, all the Universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” —Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

Sunday was a special day.

Exactly five years ago on that day, on August 30th, 2015, my girlfriend (now wife) and I sat on a couch in a small coffeeshop in Cincinnati. We pulled out our laptops and daydreamed.

We asked ourselves: “If our life could be anything we wanted in five years, what would it be like? Anything. What will we be doing? What will we have accomplished?”

A long list resulted from this. Among others, the list included… getting married, completing a long trip around the world, becoming location independent nomads, creating multiple sources of income, giving a significant portion of our time and money to causes we cared about, figuring out immigration hurdles, and building the strongest possible relationships with our friends and families.

We wrote down that vision, printed it on a large page, and pasted it on our closet door, where we could see it every single day.

Back then, we had no idea how—or if—any of this was possible. We had none of the knowledge, capital, or relationships needed to achieve any of it. Little by little we took action, made mistakes, learned and kept moving forward.

Today I look back and realize that we have accomplished ALL of this and more. The gratitude and pride we feel is immense, and we feel incredibly lucky to be living the dreams we imagined so long ago.

There were, of course, many things we did not accomplish. Some things were hilariously off (I have not yet, to my knowledge, written an NYT bestseller). About 25-30% of the list did not come true. But that’s OK—it would otherwise mean that we were shooting too low.

The past couple of years have been particularly incredible. We have focused on hunkering down, working hard, getting shit done and creating value for others. It gives me great joy to think about some of the highlights...

• ?? We built eight sources of income and three businesses
• ???? I became a US Citizen
• ???? We became an aunt/uncle to the most adorable little nephew
• ?? We acquired and renovated two rentals and an Airbnb
• ???? We sponsored 4 Guatemalan kids' schooling through the amazing Cooperative for Education, where I am now honored to serve as Chair of Development and part of the Board of Directors
• ?? I was selected to serve as a member of Vox Futura Board at the Cincinnati Regional Chamber
• ?? We became location independent, traveling at least once per month since 2017 (pre-COVID, of course), checking off amazing bucket list items like seeing the Northern Lights in Iceland, scaling up the Acropolis in Greece, crossing the London Bridge in the UK, hiking up the Austrian Alps, floating along the Venetian canals, and breaking bread with friends and family around Guatemala and the world.
• ???? I joined the badass group of people at the M1? Tribe, which has been a constant source of help and inspiration—the absolute best group of peers and mentors I could dream of

I hesitated whether to even post this—a lot. I don’t want it to sound rosy. There were a lot of lows as well—countless late nights, many moments of self-doubt, loneliness, distraction and frustration. We still have so much more to fix and to accomplish.

At the end, my hope is to share, to express gratitude, to help and to inspire. And as my mentor Rock Thomas says—“make a change in the world, and don’t apologize for being awesome.” ??

Vision matters. Dreaming matters. Designing your life and becoming the master of your destiny is more important now than ever. As 2020 and COVID continue to rock the world, we all need to continue to grow, to evolve, to make a difference for others, to create the best possible version of ourselves and the best life for our families. There’s a lot of pain out there right now. The world needs DREAMERS.

If I can help anyone reading this create an exciting and powerful vision for your life (or if I can help you with anything at all, really), please message me and let’s connect virtually or in person.

As for me, it’s now time for a grander vision. The next five years will be focused on FREEDOM and IMPACT. On giving and creating. On meaning and adventure. All of this side-by-side with my gorgeous life partner and soulmate Jenn, of course, for whom I will be forever grateful.

OK. 2025. Here we go. ??