Working from a goal, not to it!

There is a reason we have Visions and Dreams. They are not there by accident.

They have been planted in us. We are here for a reason and a purpose.

When we step into that purpose and be brave, we can do the good work prepared in advance for us.

I have lived this concept almost innately my whole life, and I believe that when explained, it can help someone else out there, too.

When I was at 澳大利亚拉筹伯大学 , I knew I needed group learning to pass! So, I started to envisage creating study groups for all my subjects as a strategy. I began by asking randoms in my class if they would like to join my study group. Before long I had a study group with 5-7 people for every class. It benefitted all of us!

On reflection, here is what happened: I invited people to join from the vision when I knew nobody. (I was the only one from my high school going to that university, so I literally knew no one on campus.)

I Lived into the Vision!

A few years later, I went on a volunteering trip to Nepal with The Duke of Edinburgh. I met seven disabled women, and I came back with 12 products the women had made and a passion to improve their lives. Again, I had a vision to help, and my goal was to raise money by selling women's products (even though the ethnic-looking designs were tough to sell, and I had no platform to sell them on).

Drawing from my previous life experience, I once again shared the vision as if it was already happening with passion, belief in what I was doing, and faith that it would come to pass, and people, one by one, came on board. The results were astounding... We had a market stall in the Agora at La Trobe for 15 years, until the disruption of COVID of student attendance on campus. I was initially involved for the first three years, and then the project took on its own energy and evolved.

I have always found it fascinating how one person has one specific passion and interest and another something completely different! We are fearfully and wonderfully made.

When we follow those dreams despite all odds, we begin to live our potential and feel a deep sense of fulfilment.

Yet, at the beginning of any adventure, there are so many questions:

Where do we start? How do we achieve it?

Well, dreams are often big and scary. We are not sure how to achieve them or to bring tham about. They are designed that way. The secret is, we are not meant to try to bring them about in our own might - in fact a lot of the time it's impossible.

In building the Charity Seven Women and running it for 17 years, if there is one thing I learned on my journey, we are not the heroes in our story. We are being looked out for and looked after.

Sometimes, our pea brains cannot comprehend the plans God has for us. They are better than what we can ask for, imagine and sometimes deserve.

This is very much my lived experience, and I have lived a large part of my life in wonder and awe!

Credit for what we achieve is not always ours (and I was so aware of this on my journey because I know my strengths and weaknesses and the challenges we faced in creating significant impact).

I know I had tremendous help, favour, and blessings along the way. We all do when we take leaps of faith and relentlessly pursue and share the vision placed in us for a reason.

The reason is not to take it to the grave with us- what a sad waste, but to take action towards it to contribute to the lives of others while we are alive and healthy on planet Earth.

So here is my take for what you need to do to change our world for the better:

Start at the endpoint and invite people to help bring it into being! Be clear on the vision and your passion for the vision. Share the vision.

Put your 100% in and do your best to take steps towards it.

Steph