I’ve been reading a book called Discover the Gift – It’s Why We’re Here by Shajen Joy Aziz and Demian Lichtenstein (brother and sister).

Here’s a quote in the book from Personal Development teacher Barbara De Angelis. I share it because I want to make a positive difference to you:

“A lot of us discount what we have to offer because we can’t see how it’s going to make us money, or it’s not going to make us famous, or we’re not going to get invited to be on Oprah. So we believe we are not making a difference. But making a difference is really about the way you show up in the world every day. In fact, know it or not, like it or not, you’re already making a difference just by your presence. It may be a good difference or a bad difference, a large difference or a small difference, but you had an effect on everyone who saw you, felt you, or heard you today. So the question is not whether you can make a difference, but what kind of difference are you making?”

Short but sweet this week. What is the difference you are making? Is it aligned to who you really are and what you really want?

If not, maybe now is a good time to re-evaluate and make some changes.

In 10 more weeks we celebrate 9 years of Weekly Thoughts. Personally, I am amazed at my own commitment. Thank you for being part of my community.

Yesterday we went to The National Arboretum in Canberra (a mosaic of 94 living forests of rare, endangered and symbolic trees from Australia and around the world) to see the National Bonsai and Penjing Collection.

We were lucky enough to have a guide explain the history of the Aboretum and a curator show us the difference between plants styled by the Chinese Penjing and Japanese Bonsai methods.

According to the Arboretum website, “Prior to the 2001 and 2003 Canberra bushfires, the Arboretum site was mostly covered in pine plantations (Pinus radiata).” Our guide further explained that the pine plantations replaced the Cork Oak trees, which were originally thought to be a revenue raiser for the capital, prior to cork being replaced by other synthetic materials. The capital then looked to pine trees to raise revenue.

The website continues, “Following the devastating 2003 Canberra bushfires, the Australian Capital Territory Government consulted extensively with the community and experts about the best use of the large areas of land occupied by burnt-out pine plantations, some of which were very close to Canberra.” Our guide explained that the Chief Minister for the ACT at the time had a vision for the arboretum and against public demands for hospitals, transportation and schools, he was determined to create the Arboretum.

Today the Arboretum is a huge success and as I reflected on the story, I thought about leadership and how important it is for leaders to have and share their vision and, like great role models such as Nelson Mandela and Ghandi, to stick to the vision, against the odds.

There will always be naysayers; people who think differently and who want different things.

As the leader, your job is to clearly articulate your vision and stick to it. Your job also includes engaging your people emotionally to make it happen.

When Ross and I decided we wanted to travel Australia in a motorhome, we became very clear about our vision and we shared this with anyone and everyone. We were determined to make it happen, although we didn’t know how it would manifest at the time we placed our order.

This week I urge you to invest some time on your vision. If you don’t have one, your priority is to create one. If you do have one, your priority is to engage your team and if your team are engaged, your priority is to continue to take action towards manifestation.

Remember, the most important point is to “Stick to Your Vision”.