Hold The Vision

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When the dream is fresh, energy is easy. The real test comes later, when the page is blank, results are slow, and no one else can see what you’re building. 

In this conversation, we dive into the quiet discipline of holding a vision through doubt, resistance, and long seasons of building. 

If you crave a marriage that gets better over time, a business that pairs deep impact with freedom, or simply a steadier way to lead yourself...

I hope this conversation stirs your heart and mind for how holding a vision can carry you forward for the long haul.

Resources Mentioned:

The Go-Giver
The Go-Giver Leader
What the Go-Giver Taught Us Episode

January Free Class: Write Your Life Forward
Save your spot here. 

Learn more about Carla:
Website: https:/www.carlareeves.com/

Get The Differently Journal:
https://carlareeves.com/journal

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Connect on LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reevescarla/
Connect on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@differentlythepodcast

Go to https://carlareeves.com/free-class to get The Class schedule, sign up, and/or pass it on to a friend.  Come hang out and learn with us for FREE!

Book a Complimentary Strategy Call with Carla:  https://bookme.name/carlareeves/strategycall

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
A deep change in the way that we live requires a deep
change in the way that we think.
I'm Carla Reeves, and this isdifferently.
Hey there.
I want to start today with asimple phrase that has stuck
with me.
At the end of last year, I readThe Go-Giver and The Go Giver

(00:21):
Leader, which I highly recommendboth of these books.
We talked about them on uh inNovember on the podcast.
Uh we had read them in our orread one of them in our
mastermind.
So if you want to go back andhear about that, you can go back
to that episode.
But I keep coming back tosomething from the story.

(00:42):
And the story in The Go GiverLeader was Ben was the character
and he had a manifesto at theend of the story.
And one of the lines in hismanifesto was hold the vision.
And it just stuck with me.
It wasn't new information,right?
Anyone can have a vision, butthe reminder of it was is the

(01:04):
hard part is holding thatvision.
And here we are in a brand newyear where we maybe you have a
new vision for your life or yourmarriage or your family or your
business.
And the hard part or the easypart is coming up with that
vision.
The exciting part is creatingthat vision.
But the holding it is the hardpart.

(01:27):
Holding it when nothing ishappening yet, when there's no
sprouts or blooms in the garden,holding it when no one else sees
what you see, holding it whenyou start to doubt yourself or
the possibility of it, buildinga business, building a marriage,
building a life, it's all an actof faith.

(01:49):
And it's our job to keep holdingthe vision of where we're going,
even when the evidence, evenwhen the results are not
showing, especially when theresults are not showing.
And if you're leading something,leadership can be lonely.

(02:09):
And I want to I want to talkabout what today, what it really
looks like to hold the vision,how that's shown up in my own
life, because I think it'ssomething really important that
we don't often think about andthat can change everything for
you.
I've been holding a vision formy business, gosh, for about

(02:33):
over 20 years.
And I want you to know that I aman aha.
I fall down.
I want to quit.
I spiral in doubt on certaindays.
I second guess everything.
I feel like an imposter.
I spin my wheels.
I shrink and fall back in mycomfort zone.
I feel fear.

(02:53):
I feel incredible doubt.
This is all part of leadership.
I coach leaders.
And so I hear all of this fromother people too.
So if you're feeling any or allof those, you are not alone.
What matters is not that youexperience those things, but
that you keep showing up.

(03:14):
So I feel all of these thingsand I keep showing up because I
know it's my life's work.
It's in me through and through.
Holding a vision is near anddear to my heart.
Um, I don't remember ever beingtaught this, but it has helped
me to create and build manythings in my life.
And it all started back when Iwas a new mom, losing my sanity

(03:38):
and not sure what to do.
Um, but I had a vision in mymind.
I wanted to be a happy mom.
I felt like that was one of thegreatest gifts I could give my
kids.
And that's what I led with.
I just kept that out in front ofme day after day after day after
day.
And that helped me line up myactions in accordance with that,

(04:01):
which over time led to meexperiencing that.
I had a vision of anextraordinary marriage.
I knew there was something morepossible in marriage than what
our world and culture shows us.
I had no idea how to create it.
I mean, I grew up with a mom anddad who modeled a beautiful
marriage, but then I went out umyoung, was married and divorced,

(04:27):
and like lost all my confidencethat I would be able to do that.
This extraordinary marriagevision, it was really just we
wanted something that wasn'tordinary, that wasn't mediocre,
that was thriving, that couldcarry us for a lifetime where
our marriage would get betterover time instead of worse over

(04:48):
time.
And this vision is still guidesus, but it has allowed us over
25 years to fall in love againand again and again, which I
never thought was possible.
The other place carrying avision has had a huge impact is
I had a vision a long time agowhen my boys were babies of

(05:09):
having a small, remarkable umbusiness that had deep impact
for people, but that allowed fora spacious, mobile, and flexible
lifestyle.
I have carried that vision forum, gosh, I guess over 20 years
now.
And it's while my business hasseen many different variations

(05:32):
of that, it is that today.
So I just want to add, sometimeswe carry visions for a long
time.
You know, it's so easy whenyou're a high achiever and you
want to just you want to createit all now.
But let this be a reminder that,and I'm reminding myself too,
that sometimes visions arecarried for years and how

(05:54):
important that is, and howimportant it is that someone is
carrying that vision.
So I'm wondering what that isfor you or what that is stirring
up for you.
What vision or visions are youcarrying for your life that you
can set your eyes on again andagain and align your posture and
your actions to that?

(06:15):
These last couple of years, Ihave felt like my heart and my
business and my soul have sortof been a construction zone.
Um, our our boys uh becameadults and left the nest.
We moved from our 25-year homeand settled in a new community.
There's been a ton of healing.

(06:37):
Um, there's been a a lot of hardthings, a lot of beautiful
things.
Um, and my business, I feellike, has been getting reset for
the last two years.
It can feel like a constructionzone.
Um, but I feel like the piecesare have settled.
I feel like there's greaterclarity.

(06:57):
Um, but that did not happenovernight.
But over the last two years, Ialso have had to hold on to that
vision.
The vision of sitting on my bed,flipping through the pages of
that journal where I found myown sanity and a path to being a
happy mom, and hearing God sayto me, You're here to teach

(07:18):
people how to use writing as atool to navigate their life.
I have come back to that againand again over the last two
years.
And that has helped me toremember I do have this body of
life's work that I'm doing, um,even when it felt unclear.

(07:38):
And holding that vision, I'm theonly one that can hold that
vision because I was given thatmessage to carry it.
And so, what is that for you?
What is that vision that callsyou forward, whether it's for
your business or in a differentarea of your life?
So the last couple of years Imentioned that they've been

(08:00):
really hard, and there has beena lot of resistance showing up.
Um, and I recently got out thebook again called The War of
Art.
Highly recommend it.
I don't have it right in frontof me, and I can't, I think it's
Stephen Pressfield is theauthor, but I highly recommend
it.

(08:20):
And it has reminded me again andagain what happens when you push
through resistance.
And so sometimes that resistancemight last for days, weeks,
months, years.
But don't give up.
Hold on to that vision, believein it because when you break

(08:41):
through to the other side,treasure awaits.
Resistance is often a sign, Ibelieve, that there's a
breakthrough coming around thecorner.
So I want to talk for a minuteabout writing and holding the
vision because writing has beenthe vehicle for me to hold the
vision, to write it down, toremember it, to keep coming back

(09:04):
to it.
And I'm hosting a free classagain at the end of this month,
and it's titled Write Your LifeForward.
So, free class, come, we'regonna just we're gonna talk
about using writing as a tool tomove your life forward.
It's really not about thewriting, it's about using
writing as a tool to manage yourmind, to lead your vision and

(09:28):
lead your life.
It's a through line, it's ahabit, it's a tool.
I want to show you how.
Click the link in the show notesif you want to um register for
that and save your spot.
I also want to just celebratewith you, um, if I could for a
minute, that I've been talkingabout 20 years ago this or over

(09:48):
20 years ago, this all started.
And I self-published my firstjournal at that time.
It was called Little Me, and itwas a a keepsake to record
special moments about yourlittle ones when you're raising
them.
And here we are, 23-ish yearslater, um, and I am printing my

(10:13):
first journal in like 20 yearsthat will be available for you
to purchase.
And I am so excited to sharethat with you.
So stay tuned for details andjust remember creating the
vision is exciting and awesome,but coming back to it again and
again and again all year long isso important to you and your

(10:39):
dreams.
I believe in you, friend.
And if you want to come learnand practice and explore how you
can use writing to write yourlife forward, write your dreams
forward, your goals forward,join me this month.
That link is in the show notes.
I'll see you next week.

(11:00):
Thank you for tuning in to thisepisode of Differently.
Hey, if you're ready to stopcircling the same thoughts and
start creating real momentum,check out my coaching
experiences.
There's a 12-week experience fora big shift, or there's a
monthly writing and coachingpartnership for ongoing clarity,

(11:23):
creativity, alignment, andmomentum.
You can find all the details atCarlareeves.com.
And if you enjoyed this episode,please help me grow the podcast
and leave a five-star review onApple Podcasts and share with
someone you love.
Until next time, stop survivingyour life.
Start creating it.