Episode 13: The Results Tree | Vision

In this episode of The Navigating Leaders Podcast, host Gabriel Griess explores a powerful question: What happens when you lose sight of the vision you were meant to live?

Drawing from his new book, The Results Tree, Gabriel unpacks why vision is one of the most powerful forces in personal growth and leadership.

Vision is more than a motivational idea. It’s a compass for life. When clearly defined, it becomes a guiding force that shapes decisions, clarifies priorities, and keeps you aligned with the purpose God placed inside you.

Gabriel explains that each person carries a unique vision written on their heart. It reflects their gifts, calling, and the impact they are meant to have in the world. But over time, distractions, fear, and limiting beliefs can cloud that vision, causing people to play smaller than they were designed to live.

In this episode, Gabriel unpacks how rediscovering your vision can quiet doubt, sharpen focus, and bring greater intention to everyday choices.

He also introduces a practical tool called the Vision Engine, available at navigatingleaders.com. This resource helps listeners craft and refine their personal vision through guided questions and AI-powered insights.

When your vision becomes clear, your path becomes clearer too. And when you begin living from that vision, life shifts from drifting through circumstances to moving forward with purpose and intention.

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RESOURCES

🌎 Website: navigatingleaders.com

👀 Vision Engine: navigatingleaders.com/vision-engine

📖 The Results Tree—A Proven Path to the Life You Really Want: TheResultsTree.com 

CONNECT WITH GABRIEL

🎥 YouTube: @navigatingleaders
📸 Instagram: @navigatingleaders

👍 Facebook: @navigatingleaders

🎵 TikTok: @navigatingleaders

🗣️ LinkedIn: @navigatingleaders

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ABOUT GABRIEL

Gabriel Griess is a retired US Air Force officer, the CEO of Excel Medical Staffing and MedForceX, and the founder of Navigating Leaders. A graduate of the elite Air Force Weapons School, he has spent decades leading teams in high-pressure environments and equipping others to reach their full potential. As a combat veteran and an entrepreneur, Gabriel helps individuals cultivate self-awareness, resilience, and the ability to create lasting impact.

An internationally sought-after keynote speaker, he addresses audiences on personal transformation, strategic leadership, and veteran empowerment. The Results Tree is the framework he lives by, and when applied, it will unearth your destiny.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

What tool do you have to use as a cross check against that little voice in your head? Welcome to this episode of the Navigating Leaders Podcast. I'm your host, Gabriel Greese, where we awaken your vision and live boldly. And I really want to dig into it. And in this episode, we're going to talk about what a vision is, why we have one, how to create it, and some tips on using it. So this is such a foundational element that I really would love for you to take some notes, come back and listen to this one. It's not necessarily one for running on the treadmill or whatnot, right? And ultimately, when you get to crafting your vision, you're going to want to take some time. But I have an amazing tool I'll share with you before the end that'll help you get that done. So personally, just to share my vision with you, my vision is I live grounded in faith, creating epic experiences. And I use that vision as a compass, as a guide, as a litmus test for actions and choices I make throughout the day. And so that vision is ultimately something that I believe was imprinted on your heart at the dawn of the universe, like at birth. Like God has had a vision for each of us, a purpose, an individual purpose, if you will, that only we can achieve, right? Only you can achieve what it is you were put here to do. And uh and all of society and and the devil, right? The evil one, all those things are out to attack you, to keep you off balance, to keep you away from your vision and purpose. Because if you don't even get started, then they don't have to stop you from doing anything because you'll do the work yourself. You'll stop yourself. And I think if you if you look back, like most folks on their lives, including myself, um, there are lots of times where we take ourselves out of the game. And in that case, we've done the work of the bad team, right? We've taken ourselves off the field and not moved forward towards that awesome, amazing, powerful, beautiful, kind, loving, compassionate person that you are, right? Revealing your gifts, right? Having you be the champion of your life that you already are. And you fought so hard to get to where you're at. And if you're sitting here today listening to this, it's likely that there's something more. There's something written inside of you, something you know that you just are unable to get access to. Uh, we can dig into a lot of those reasons, uh, and we do in a lot of other podcasts. So we're really going to hold this one as close as we can to vision. Uh, and occasionally I like to go on side tangents, but I'll do my best here, right? So the vision is that that true north, if you will, in your life, right? So me grounded in faith. What I do has a faith element, you know, in my business, in my family, in my community, in my finances, in my charitable contributions. There's always a faith element to it. And the epic experiences piece is hey, are people lifted up? Right. For me, it's like I want you, the listener or the or the watcher here in this case, uh, to have an epic experience. I want you to come away with something that you didn't have before. And you're like, oh my gosh, that was that was so worth my time, right? And time is our most precious asset. And so as we grow, right, as we, as we get older, uh, it seems for many people that we lose contact with that vision or that true purpose, right? You look at a you look at a seven-year-old or an eight-year-old, and they're playing, and for the most part, they are absolutely free, absolutely, you know, enrolled in whatever they're doing. If they're playing firefighter or nurse or teacher or doctor or or cave explorer or chef or whatever it is they're doing, they're doing it full out with little or no concern for what other people may think around them, little or no concern for uh if they're doing it right or not, right? Or what it should look like, or is this gonna be insta-worthy or TikTok worthy? Like, is this picture gonna get me a hundred likes? Uh, they're just living full out in life as God intended. And as we age, right, as our circle grows, as we become more self-aware of how we look and how we show up. Like I've got teenagers at home now, so we're going through this. We're I'm witnessing this. And oh, my kids are amazing. I'm so blessed to have them. But but we see it, right? We see it in the schools with the kids, is that is that that vision that once was so amazing and so big and in many cases so crystal clear begins to be shaded and clouded and covered, and it becomes smaller as people begin to play safer and safer and safer until the life becomes almost completely predictable and in basically void of life, right? Life is choosing to step into the unknown versus trying to control everything so I know the outcome. And if you've ever been in traffic on a highway in rush hour, you know nothing's predictable, right? It's absolute chaos. And so to get to your vision, right, to get to that thing that's written on your heart that only you can do, we must get present, we must become aware of our choices, and we must begin to do the courageous thing of looking at our limiting beliefs, looking at the language we use, that voice in your head. Again, as we open this, I said, Do you have a tool that's a cross-check against that little voice in your head? And the vision is this, right? So when I have that vision that's that's meaningful and purposeful and more valuable to me than any other any other thing, right? It's like this is why God put me here, right, to achieve this. And it's and it's different for all of us, right? Now I've now I evaluate my choices. I go, does this choice align with my vision or does it not? Right. And we may make choices out of alignment and we may do it presently and consciously and intentionally, knowing that it's gonna take us off track, right? Um, a great example is is when we're when we're on a diet, when we're trying to improve our our you know body composition, and maybe we have a cheat day and we're like, look, I'm gonna go get that thing of froyo. Our family's huge on froyo, right? And uh I'm gonna do it on Sundays, I'm gonna do eight ounces of it, and that's gonna be my thing. I'm gonna look forward to it, and then I'm gonna get back to my you know, vegan, gluten-free pescatarian diet or whatever it is, right? You know, and so that vision is a touchstone that really helps me stay on track, right? And so that's what it is. Now, why we have it is is that grounding, right? Is that is that tool to be present, right? So as we started and we talked about choices and and all the things that are on automatic, um a great way to interrupt all those automatic elements of our life can be to say, does this align with my vision? Now, the path I take driving my car to work in the morning, um, well, it's arguably optimized, right? If I've been doing it, it's probably the shortest distance with the fewest traffic lights or the best drivers or or whatever it is that makes my drive most uh pleasing, right? Uh most predictable to get there. And so there may not be a lot of changes necessary, right? So that's an element that I think is important is that the action you take may still be exactly the action you're taking today. I'm gonna say that again. The actions you choose to take when alignment with your vision may be exactly the same actions you're taking today. Here's the difference. You made the decision from being present. You made the decision from a clear intention that this is something that is valuable and I'm choosing to do it, versus having it be on automatic, having it be mindless, having it be uh something that I just do. Because when I'm in that automatic space, when I'm in that mindless space, now it's really easy to fall into victim. Right? It's really easy to be like, oh, you know, I'd be great if only, or if they'd only give me that opportunity, then I'd really work hard or or pick out pick whatever excuse it is you you hide behind. Um, and we do, we all do. We all have things we hide behind, we all have excuses. And and those are chicken exits that keep me from living my vision, right? That's an excuse to not do the hard work. That's the excuse not to stay in the trenches with the committed action. That's the excuse not to look at my results and go, hey, this isn't what I want. This does not align with my vision. Right. And we're gonna dig into all those in future episodes. And so the vision is a reminder in the middle of all the chaos. Your vision is a reminder in the middle of all the chaos, and it's that compass that guides you along. All right. So great. So so yeah, Gabe, I agree. I need a vision. How do I get one? Glad you asked, right? Um I'm gonna say thanks to a buddy of mine, Joel, this amazing guy who's great at tech. Uh, he has actually crafted a tool uh called the Vision Engine, and it is free. It's available to you on our website, navigatingleaders.com. You can go to the vision engine, and it's uh it's an AI-empowered tool that allows you to answer some questions, uh figure out what's really important to you, and it will help to begin to distill down a vision for you. Now, a vision is a living thing, right? Your vision when you're 20 may be different from when you're 30 and 40 and 50 and so on. Um and and really because you are evolving, right? You are changing, right? My current vision, living grounded in faith, creating epic results, is not the vision I had before, right? It was around responsibility and standing for others in responsibility, and then I had other ones, right? And so um it has served me in a season, right? And and so it is that it is that that compass or that touchstone for the season of me moving towards my true purpose, right? And as I reach that next milestone, right, if I reach that that new intersection in this journey, now I have to turn, right? I take a new path uh to ultimately get to the destination that is only only here for me to achieve, only here for you to achieve, right? You have such gifts, right? Unique gifts, and many of them for some of you, you've been hiding, right? You've been hiding for whatever reason, and it's time, it's time to let those come out. It's time to shed those limiting beliefs, it's time to sit in true authenticity, it's time to uh be honest with yourself and honest with those around you. And you know, if you think for a moment about those people that you admire the most, uh I I would lay a dimes to dollars. Most of them are very authentic and truthful and present and humble and kind and credible, uh, you know, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control. Like all those traits are things that those people you embody or you admire embody. And and that's what I would invite you to become, right? To give yourself permission to be courageous and vulnerable, to shed the shame, to shed the fear, and to step into that that beautiful version of you that maybe you're playing at 20% or 60% or 80%. Um, I'm asking you to step into whatever would be a hundred percent today. Right. Whatever would be a hundred percent today, right? And and our best varies by days, right? What's going on in our lives and all that stuff, right? So we are not asking for perfection at all. That's not what this is about. It's about doing your best today, right? To be the most authentic present version of you. Um so you can go to navigatingleaders.com, jump in and use a vision engine, and it will help create your vision. The other option, too, is uh I have the book here. We wrote it. It's it's absolutely amazing. It is uh it is all of this step by step by step by step. And in here, there's a number of exercises that help you tease out and craft that vision as well. Uh, so I highly recommend using the results tree book in conjunction with the vision engine uh to get your to get your vision. And with that, now you get to use it, right? Now you take it out into the arena, right? Like Teddy Roosevelt, the man in the arena. You get out there and you use it versus being in the cheap seats or being in the bleachers, judging the people on the field, judging the people in the arena, judging the people who are who are living boldly, courageously, right? Living from their vision. And uh I'm not saying this is easy. Don't don't take that, but it's simple. Right? It's simple. And when employed, there is a a wholeness, there is an aliveness, there is a a connectedness to self and and to God and to those around you that that is undeniable because it now lets you say no. I'm gonna say that again. Your vision now lets you say no to so many things that don't align, right? So uh Christy and I were having this conversation the other day, and it's like biblically, when we think about uh our lives, right, there's all these stories about the journey and the path and the and and and narrow gates and whatnot. And so if I'm on the path, if I'm using my vision as a compass and I'm pointed towards a destination that only I can achieve, everything to the right and everything to the left is just distraction. It's just chaos. And so using your vision will allow you to stay the course, will let you move more quickly through the chaos to get to the ultimate destination that you're seeking to get to. So the vision is a tool to say no to so many things that may look good, they may sound good, they may be exciting. Um and and and I think it's it's it's so fun to be able to say, does this choice, does this opportunity align with my vision for my life? And ultimately that vision is going to create the results, and the results are what it is you're here to do, right? And we'll get more into results in a little bit. So uh I've shared that tip already about does this choice align with my life, right? We talked about fitness and a bottle of water and a plate of, you know, a plate of french fries. I love french fries, they're amazing, but there are seasons I don't get to have them, right? We just went through a fasting season where I gave up candy, coffee, coffee additives, and alcohol, right? Not earth-shattering things, but it it required me to be present, right? And so I was at CVS the other day and I was picking up some medicine and doing stuff, and I was walking down the aisle and I went right for a bag of wintergreen uh lifesavers and I reached out and I went, oh wait, I'm not doing that right now. Right. And I, and but it was, it was, it was so interesting to see how my my mind was on automatic. My mind was, hey, I'm gonna just I'm just gonna throw this little bag of lifesavers in my in my in my in my cart, and it'll be great, right? Except for I don't eat lifesavers like most people. I'm not like one or two, I'm like 20 or 30. And I crunch them to my wife's delight, like that loud. And uh so the vision helps me understand what is important and where I'm going. So uh as you apply this, here's the here's the mind-blowing piece, right? Is we make thousands, maybe tens of thousands of choices in a day. Thousands of choices that now never were tested against anything other than it's just what I do, or it's how I do it, or it's how it's always been done, or it's what they showed me, or it's what was written down, or whatever the reason was that we're doing the choices we're doing. In this moment, now I get to go, is this in alignment with my vision? And if it's not, now you get to make a different choice. I either get to say no to it, or maybe I'm gonna say, okay, yes, I'm gonna keep this, I'm gonna continue to do this because maybe it's aligned to my job, maybe it's aligned to some other commitment. Right? But now I know, hey, I'm intentionally stepping off my path. I'm step intentionally kind of bending away from my ultimate destination, I'm seeking to achieve because I've made some commitment. And now maybe I'm gonna say, look, I'm gonna honorably complete that commitment and then I'm gonna say no to it and then bring my time back because ultimately time is our most valuable asset, right? Um we'll dig far deeper into results in uh in another episode. So, you know, in this we talked about vision, why to have one, what it is, how to make it, how to employ it, and and ultimately that that that everyday tool of does this choice align with my vision? And so I encourage each and every one of you to begin the journey of crafting a vision if you don't have one. And if you do have one, begin the journey courageously of recrafting it, right? Make the choice to recraft it, to then evaluate it to say, is this still serving me, or do I need to tweak it or move it or adjust it to ultimately get me to those results I'm looking for? So uh vision is foundational. It is epically important. It is that touchstone that lets us know we're pointed in the right direction. And it is it is essential for following the steps, the clear intention, committed action to create the results, which we'll talk about in future episodes. So thank you so much. You now have that tool to sort of quiet that little voice in your head. You have that tool to uh cross-check your choices against. And so I would love to hear uh how this touched you, how it was effective for you. Uh so share that with us at navigatingleaders.com. If uh something in this, you know, reminded you of a friend, please share that. Text them. Uh, let them know where they can find the podcast on any of the uh podcast channels or YouTube. Uh like us, share us. It's how we grow, and it's how more people get the opportunity to uh really get grounded and connected with why they're here. So I appreciate you. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you for your courage and stepping into this arena. Thank you for taking a look at yourself uh because I promise you, you are exactly where you're supposed to be. You're exactly who you're supposed to be. God crafted you perfectly the way you are for the intention and the reason you're here. And so surrender into that. Surrender into who you are, connect with that vision that's written on your heart, and begin to play the game full out for that reason that only you are here. And that vision is the key to get that started. So thank you for joining this episode of Navigating Leaders. I'm your host, Gabriel Grease. Until next, be well and God bless.