My Vision

So for LEAD we are supposed to write down our Personal Vision; an idealized projection of our lives 10 years from now. I'm procrastinating with the completion of this introspective essay so I decided to post something.

My personal vision is conflicted to say the least. I want the success and financial security afforded by having a well-paying job. Unfortunately, such things don't come very easily or without sacrificing certain things and mainly the sacrifices come in the allocation of time.

I think most of my personal conflict comes in my upbringing. My grandfather got thrown into the family business and then grew it to a fairly successful enterprise. My dad has been an auditor for the past 25+ years slogging away up the corporate ladder. I admire what they've done and strive to accomplish as much, if not more, than what they have. Yet, I know what they've had to sacrifice and the affect it had on everybody around them. I know it's not easy. I know it's not gonna keep everyone happy all the time.

When I have kids (as a testament to my submission to getting older, I've moved from the "IF I have kids" or "Besides the kids I actually know about" to "When") I want to be the good father and family man and all my personal vision questionnaires pretty much back that up. But, at the same time I worry that my career ambition will have to be sacrificed and then maybe I can't give my kids all the experiences I got to enjoy growing up and then I've failed as a father.

It's a thin line that people walk all the time. You continually have to question what you want, what truly makes you happy and what you'll give up to be happy. I think after this post I've realized what my personal vision is: Win the $250M Mega Millions jackpot. Hey, those LEAD folks didn't say our vision had to be absolutely realistic.