What do you see in your future?

Please forgive me in advance for all the references to our beach trip.  I think I mentioned a while back that many blogs were born that week. They’re still trickling out.  😉 When we all got back together on Sunday night, we retold some of the stories and laughed all over again.  That laughter brought back this story, with new perspective of being back home.

We stayed on the beach in a very remote area of the Cancun area of Mexico.   That’s kind of like saying we stayed in a remote area of Miami.  It doesn’t make sense.  At least in our price point, it doesn’t make sense.  We drove out a long, bumpy dirt road to find our place and it was gorgeous.  It’s way out on a little peninsula and when you arrive, we were wondering why it’s mostly undeveloped and unpopulated.

There were empty lots lining the white sand beaches.  There were homes with strong concrete walls only partially finished.  What could this be?  Let me tell you.

In my optimistic mind… it was opportunity knocking!

I talked to some local realtors and got us scheduled to visit a couple of houses and see a couple of lots.  I was scheming in my mind about how the ten of us might go together to renovate a home to have a permanent spot for our annual reunion trips.  And I wasn’t kidding.  My friends looked at me like I was completely wacko….well, all but one.

Nonetheless, I convinced them all to walk down the dirt road with me to meet the realtors and look at the first house.  Only three of us even went inside.  While we were inside, everyone bailed, except one friend and my hubby.  I get it. This was an ugly little house, built of concrete in the 70’s and never renovated.  But it was one of the only ones still standing. Why, you ask?

It was WINDY.

Unlike the hotel zone in Cancun, this little peninsula is not protected by any other island.  It gets the direct wind and surf from the Caribbean Sea.  Hurricanes have torn this little peninsula to shreds time and time again.  This little house survived.  It was set way back from the water with double sea walls.

It was a little Fort Knox.

From the roof deck, the panoramic view was nothing but beach and water.  It was incredible.  But only two of us could see it.  Only two of us stayed through the tour to make it to the roof.  We were sold!  Our minds were brimming with investment ideas and vacation plans for the rest of our lives.  Much to the distress of my hubby, who lovingly obliged, we three ended up on a three-hour tour of lots and homes along that little beach.

The little lot in the photo above won my heart.

I could see a great little house with a pool with friends and family forever making memories in the sand.  When we returned to meet up with the group at the house, I was so excited to share all these ideas with them.  Needless to say, they were relaxing with their books by the water, without a care in the world… and not picking up what I was putting down.

Here’s the deal.

They didn’t get to see it all.  They didn’t get a chance to fall in love with the idea.  They didn’t get that view, from that tiny rooftop, providing a dream of what the future could look like.   They only saw the current reality of that day.

Changemaking happens when people fall in love with a different version of the future. ~ Seth Godin

The only way that beach is ever going to become a vacation spot of the future is for some folks with a different vision to come in and invest in creating it.

What do you see in your future?  

Can you see the water beyond the shrubs?  Have you considered climbing the stairs on the little old house to see the rooftop view?  Can you imagine the relationship you could have with your kids?  With your spouse?  What about doing the work you’ve always dreamed of?

Nothing is going to change until you see what’s possible, a different and better version of your future.

First, you have to see it.  Next, you have to believe it’s possible.  Then you have to risk.  Risk the hurt, the rejection, the pain of falling in love. Because you really do have to be in love with that better version of your future to stick with it long enough to make change happen.

Tell me what you see.  

Is it worth it?

I really want to know!

to more love,

Crystal

P.S. It turns out I needed that kind of reasoning from my friends.  It doesn’t make any sense to go for something like that, right now in our lives.  Like, no sense at all in fact.  But I needed my friends to help me see it.  That’s the different and better version of my future I ended up needing.  😉