"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible. This I did." T.E Lawrence, also known as Lawrence of Arabia

A compelling vision is one that is fuelled by the conviction that current circumstances cannot dictate our future destiny. Knowing what your vision of the future is can go a long way in setting you free from opinion. It can also help you remain focused even when things are not going well.

This brings me to the story of Gukurahundi, a Shona word meaning "the early rain which washes away the chaff before the spring rains." which refers to the conflict between Robert Mugabe's Shona dominated ZANU PF and the Ndebele dominated followers of Joshua Nkomo. There were killings all over Matebeleland in the 1980's.

It was during this period, we were told, that my late aunt, while living in this region of Zimbabwe with her husband Anthony Moyo and children were forced to flee the country to save their lives. Due to the irgency of the situation, they had to heard toward South Africa on foot. I have a vivid picture of this family: my aunt and my uncle, their eldest son, his younger sister and brother carrying whatever they could and navigating their way through the woods to cross the boarder to South Africa.

This scary situation, however, did not deter them from seeing the possibility of arriving at a safe destination. The good news is that they were able reach South Africa all in one piece.

There is so much we can learn about vision in this story. When I heard it again recently it helped me understand that having a clear vision is about Living life fully conscious of the moment and Adopting a "never quit" mentality.

1. Living Life fully conscious of the moment

In his book "Tuesdays with Morrie" Mitch Albom quotes Morrie a dying professor as saying: "So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. They way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning." This statement rings true for today's soceity. It seems as if people have relinquished their ability to dream to politicians, school teachers, and religious leaders. This due to the fact that we are not conscious of the moments we may find ourselves in.

When we become conscious of where we are, we are then able to take stalk of our lives and decide on the way we will deal with things in the future. It is the ability to be aware of our circumstances so that we don't allow them to dictate our internal destiny. Let's be fair, our external circumstances can be harsh sometimes. In most cases they can cloud our judgment of so that we become unaware of our true potential. Most of us who have a disadvantaged background can remember how easy it can be to settle for second best when there is a world of opportunity at our disposal. We allow these circumstances to mystify our success. Like Dr Myles Munroe once said "Eyes are there to see. Never believe them." What we often see with our eyes can sometimes make us lose sight of the possibility of greater things.

Dr Munroe goes on to say that vision is the ability to see beyond your eyes. This means I can see the possibility beyond the the impossible. Like the time I was doing Grade 12 and my Accounting teacher came and stood by my desk and said: "You are going to flunk. Take Standard grade Accounting." My current reality asserted his suggestion. I was struggling that year. However, I just had a gut feeling that I should continue with Higher Grade Accounting. Well, I can now confidently say that I did pass my accounting not because I was clever but because I chose to see possibility beyond impossibility.

2. Adopting a never quit mentality

I am sure my uncle and my aunt could have given up hope anytime on their escape from Zimbabwe. However, they chose to persevere under those bleak circumstances until they reached a safe destination. A clear vision inspires a 'never quit mentality.'

Having been a father for a year now I can testify that babies have a great ability to persevere under harsh circumstances. I have witnessed the resillience of a baby in the way my son, Kgato persevered whenever his mother dressed the ambilical cord. As much as I symphathized with him, I knew that there was nothing I could do to feel that pain for him. However, I am aware of how as we grow older we tend to give up easily whenever we are faced with difficult circumstances. And this, unfortunately denies us the opportunity to discover the best that life can offer. We settle for second best, while there is a world of opportunity at our door step and all it takes is for us to step out and press on to achieve.