by: Stephanie Gonzalez, CEO & Managing Partner Vision plays a critical role in our life. You might think that I am referring to the vision that is produced from our eyes; as this is often our first association. And, yes, that kind of vision is uber important. But, in today’s modern-world vision plays a unique role in our life, one that supersedes eyesight. In order to better understand it, we need to go back in time. If you look at the origin of the word (1250-1300; Middle English < Latin) back then it was intended to describe a ‘seeing view, equivalent to one’s past.’ More than 700-years later the word has evolved. The synonyms reach beyond a perspective of the past. Today, vision can be associated with words such as: insight, foresight, imagination, fantasy and dream. It’s this description of the word that I want to explore… I am fascinated by the fact that the word evolved from seeing one’s past – to seeing one’s future. Vision now carries so many different meanings. Each day I challenge myself to continue to uncover the vision I see for myself…my home, my marriage, my family, my work, my happiness and my future. I started keeping a journal many-moons-ago, in my teens. I found, like most teenagers, that I had ALL these feelings and I had nowhere to put them. So, every night before I went to bed I poured my emotions on – and into – my journal. This activity served me well growing up. It served me to better understand and study myself. I digress. My point is that writing and expressing myself on paper was/is familiar to me. But, being comfortable writing about what happened to you and how it made you feel is a much different exercise than writing about your future self. It wasn’t until I started working with Brian and our business coach Zanzibar that I started to explore the power behind this activity; and what it means to close your eyes and listen to what is going to make your heart happy. Brian introduced me to Zanzibar in mid-2015. Without much analysis (not really my style) Zanzibar became our business coach. We met weekly…a healthy colonoscopy for our start-up brokerage. Step one: he required that Brian and I together create a vision for our future business (“3-years from today what do want the outcome to be?”). All other businesses I previously worked for – Nordstrom, Coldwell Banker and Realty Executives – already had an established vision, mission and values. So, creating one from scratch was new territory for me. It took us more than 6-months to create the North&Co. vision. We took our assignment seriously. Each word was hand-picked. Brian and I sat together in conference rooms, on the phone, seeking wisdom from our spouses and volleyed countless versions of the document that would eventually become our 2018 vision. Back then, the leadership tribe was recently formed, and each person helped caress and finalize the 2018 vision. The first North&Co. vision was complete October 2015. That first North&Co. vision was insight, foresight, imagination, fantasy and dream – all wrapped into one. We laughed at ourselves, for what we wrote on that piece of paper seemed impossible at that time. But it’s amazing what you can accomplish when you unabashedly pursue the picture you want to create for your future. Other than two specific sentences, that vision came true. As we hit the sunset of 2018 I must admit it was challenging to think about what the next iteration of the vision would be. YES…you guessed it. Pan to Zanzibar telling Brian and me “you guys did it – congratulations, now you need to create the next 3-year vision!” Can you say exhausted, exhilarated, proud – yes, all that and more. BUT, funnily enough we both felt like it was rather intangible. For me personally, I felt a bit uninspired by our next attempts, because I felt like nothing would compare to our first version. Admittedly, the thirst, the desire, the hunger had morphed. Over the past 15-16 months we started, stopped and/or completed over a dozen different versions. All seem to fall short, until now. I am excited to say…in our February brokerage meeting we will unveil the vision for North&Co. 2022. Taking recent news into account creating a vision may seem insignificant or overwhelming right now. I lovingly challenge that! Now more than ever, your vision matters. Now more than ever you need to look at your day-to-day life and make sure it is exactly as you wish it, and as you want it, to be. If not, change it! We are all blessed with a head to think and heart to feel. Now is the best time to close your eyes and see your future. It is my sincere belief that it was because of that vision (a document that in full technicolor described the wishes, hopes and dreams of a brokerage that did not yet exist) that we achieved what we did. Of course, it helped to have a DB, agents, partners and a support team who helped build it with us brick-by-brick. Make time to stop, pause, close your eyes, take a deep cleansing breath and truly visualize the outcome that we want. No judgement…no inhibitions…and with pure joy in your heart. Create a vision for yourself, your home, your family, your work – or write one that encompasses it all. I am blessed to now know what it feels like to see with your eyes closed!