Differently

Hold The Vision

• Carla Reeves

Share episode

Send Carla a message!

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/
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

  • If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to share it with a friend.
  • A free way to support our show is by leaving a five-star rating and review on your favorite podcast player. It’s a chance to tell us what you love about the show and it helps others discover it, too.

Thank you for listening!

SPEAKER_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 is differently. Hey there. I want to start today with a simple phrase that has stuck with me. At the end of last year, I read The Go-Giver and The Go Giver Leader, which I highly recommend both of these books. We talked about them on uh in November on the podcast. Uh we had read them in our or read one of them in our mastermind. So if you want to go back and hear about that, you can go back to that episode. But I keep coming back to something from the story. And the story in The Go Giver Leader was Ben was the character and he had a manifesto at the end of the story. And one of the lines in his manifesto was hold the vision. And it just stuck with me. It wasn't new information, right? Anyone can have a vision, but the reminder of it was is the hard part is holding that vision. And here we are in a brand new year where we maybe you have a new vision for your life or your marriage or your family or your business. And the hard part or the easy part is coming up with that vision. The exciting part is creating that vision. But the holding it is the hard part. Holding it when nothing is happening yet, when there's no sprouts or blooms in the garden, holding it when no one else sees what you see, holding it when you start to doubt yourself or the possibility of it, building a business, building a marriage, building a life, it's all an act of faith. And it's our job to keep holding the vision of where we're going, even when the evidence, even when the results are not showing, especially when the results are not showing. And if you're leading something, leadership can be lonely. And I want to I want to talk about what today, what it really looks like to hold the vision, how that's shown up in my own life, because I think it's something really important that we don't often think about and that can change everything for you. I've been holding a vision for my business, gosh, for about over 20 years. And I want you to know that I am an aha. I fall down. I want to quit. I spiral in doubt on certain days. I second guess everything. I feel like an imposter. I spin my wheels. I shrink and fall back in my comfort zone. I feel fear. I feel incredible doubt. This is all part of leadership. I coach leaders. And so I hear all of this from other people too. So if you're feeling any or all of those, you are not alone. What matters is not that you experience those things, but that you keep showing up. So I feel all of these things and 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 and dear to my heart. Um, I don't remember ever being taught this, but it has helped me to create and build many things in my life. And it all started back when I was a new mom, losing my sanity and not sure what to do. Um, but I had a vision in my mind. I wanted to be a happy mom. I felt like that was one of the greatest gifts I could give my kids. And that's what I led with. I just kept that out in front of me day after day after day after day. And that helped me line up my actions in accordance with that, which over time led to me experiencing that. I had a vision of an extraordinary marriage. I knew there was something more possible 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 and dad who modeled a beautiful marriage, but then I went out um young, was married and divorced, and like lost all my confidence that I would be able to do that. This extraordinary marriage vision, it was really just we wanted something that wasn't ordinary, that wasn't mediocre, that was thriving, that could carry us for a lifetime where our marriage would get better over time instead of worse over time. And this vision is still guides us, but it has allowed us over 25 years to fall in love again and again and again, which I never thought was possible. The other place carrying a vision has had a huge impact is I had a vision a long time ago when my boys were babies of having a small, remarkable um business that had deep impact for people, but that allowed for a spacious, mobile, and flexible lifestyle. I have carried that vision for um, gosh, I guess over 20 years now. And it's while my business has seen many different variations of that, it is that today. So I just want to add, sometimes we carry visions for a long time. You know, it's so easy when you're a high achiever and you want to just you want to create it all now. But let this be a reminder that, and I'm reminding myself too, that sometimes visions are carried for years and how important that is, and how important it is that someone is carrying that vision. So I'm wondering what that is for you or what that is stirring up for you. What vision or visions are you carrying for your life that you can set your eyes on again and again and align your posture and your actions to that? These last couple of years, I have felt like my heart and my business and my soul have sort of been a construction zone. Um, our our boys uh became adults and left the nest. We moved from our 25-year home and settled in a new community. There's been a ton of healing. Um, there's been a a lot of hard things, a lot of beautiful things. Um, and my business, I feel like, has been getting reset for the last two years. It can feel like a construction zone. Um, but I feel like the pieces are have settled. I feel like there's greater clarity. Um, but that did not happen overnight. But over the last two years, I also 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 my own sanity and a path to being a happy mom, and hearing God say to me, You're here to teach people how to use writing as a tool to navigate their life. I have come back to that again and again over the last two years. And that has helped me to remember I do have this body of life's work that I'm doing, um, even when it felt unclear. And holding that vision, I'm the only one that can hold that vision because I was given that message to carry it. And so, what is that for you? What is that vision that calls you forward, whether it's for your business or in a different area of your life? So the last couple of years I mentioned that they've been really hard, and there has been a lot of resistance showing up. Um, and I recently got out the book again called The War of Art. Highly recommend it. I don't have it right in front of me, and I can't, I think it's Stephen Pressfield is the author, but I highly recommend it. And it has reminded me again and again what happens when you push through resistance. And so sometimes that resistance might last for days, weeks, months, years. But don't give up. Hold on to that vision, believe in it because when you break through to the other side, treasure awaits. Resistance is often a sign, I believe, that there's a breakthrough coming around the corner. So I want to talk for a minute about writing and holding the vision because writing has been the vehicle for me to hold the vision, to write it down, to remember it, to keep coming back to it. And I'm hosting a free class again at the end of this month, and it's titled Write Your Life Forward. So, free class, come, we're gonna just we're gonna talk about using writing as a tool to move your life forward. It's really not about the writing, it's about using writing as a tool to manage your mind, to lead your vision and lead your life. It's a through line, it's a habit, it's a tool. I want to show you how. Click the link in the show notes if you want to um register for that and save your spot. I also want to just celebrate with you, um, if I could for a minute, that I've been talking about 20 years ago this or over 20 years ago, this all started. And I self-published my first journal at that time. It was called Little Me, and it was a a keepsake to record special moments about your little ones when you're raising them. And here we are, 23-ish years later, um, and I am printing my first journal in like 20 years that will be available for you to purchase. And I am so excited to share that with you. So stay tuned for details and just remember creating the vision is exciting and awesome, but coming back to it again and again and again all year long is so important to you and your dreams. I believe in you, friend. And if you want to come learn and practice and explore how you can use writing to write your life 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. Thank you for tuning in to this episode of Differently. Hey, if you're ready to stop circling the same thoughts and start creating real momentum, check out my coaching experiences. There's a 12-week experience for a big shift, or there's a monthly writing and coaching partnership for ongoing clarity, creativity, alignment, and momentum. You can find all the details at Carlareeves.com. And if you enjoyed this episode, please help me grow the podcast and leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts and share with someone you love. Until next time, stop surviving your life. Start creating it.