We Believe Life is all About Your Vision

My oldest boy, age 12, played in his first tackle football game a few weeks back. He played sparingly as a receiver – inserted here and there with the ball never being thrown in his direction. His team lost. Not surprisingly, he wasn’t overly excited about playing through the remainder of the season like he had been prior to the first game. His vision of how things were supposed to go didn’t quite equate to how things actually went. Keep in mind, my boy is probably the smallest (lightest and almost the shortest) boy on his team at 79 ½ lbs, but dreams of playing for the BYU football team in college.

At practices following that first game you could see his dreams dimming – inattentive posture, emotionless effort, sitting or laying on the field if he wasn’t directly involved with the play being run. This was not exactly what he dreamed of when he begged to play tackle football. He could see the writing on the wall: shortest kid is not going to get a lot of playing time. I think it was rather hard for the coach not to notice.

A few practices later his coach asked him to try punting. Encouraged by his kicks, he proclaimed him their team’s starting punter. A couple of practices later his coach had him try some field goals. He made 10 in a row. You could see the excitement turn on in how my son saw himself. Teammates came up after practices and told him how good he had done on the field. Interestingly, his efforts in tackling suddenly turned around. During team drills he actually made efforts to make contact and assure the tackle rather than avoid contact. During team scrimmage, he sacked the quarterback and recovered two fumbles. It was a new hope and a new found faith and belief in his ability.

From my perspective as his father, I saw a short kid who was going to get pounded by the bigger kids and although I heard him express his desire to play for BYU, I just didn’t see it… until I saw him punt and my entire view and vision of my boy’s potential expanded to include the possibility of playing for BYU, if he worked at it – not as a receiver, but as a punter and kicker.

Life is what we make of it. What we make of it depends on our vision – our hopes, our dreams, our deepest desires and our faith in our ability to achieve.

As an eye doctor, I work with people every day to give them the best vision they can possibly have to enjoy the world around them. It’s a thrill when I hear patients express excitement when they put on their contact lenses or glasses because their vision is suddenly clear when before they couldn’t see.

I have a wonderful life. I moved my family back to my hometown in 2008 after being away for over 17 years and I opened my own optometry practice and started cold – just as the economy collapsed. Like my boy, I had a dream. While still in high school I dreamed one day of becoming an eye doctor and using my profession to provide sufficiently for my family and to use it to allow me to serve in my church and in my community. I did what was necessary to become an eye doctor, but once I graduated I didn’t quite know where my dream would take me, whether I would be employed or whether I would be the employer. Come to find out, it has been a little of both.

And there have been those times, as occurred with my boy, when the light dimmed somewhat and I wondered if my dreams would ever turn into reality.

The economic recession created a time where faith in the outcome was questioned, yet, I didn’t quit. My wife wouldn’t let me. Day in and day out, I kept practicing. I worked hard. I got involved in the community. I served as President of the Red Rock Rotary Club here in St. George. I became board certified. I served in my church. I struggled and I grew. I became stronger in all aspects of my life and my faith increased – not just in my abilities, but in my knowledge that God would be there to carry me through my darkest of nights to brighter days.

Now, 24 years after I first decided to become an optometrist, 13 years after graduating from optometry school and nearly six years after opening my own practice, I’m starting to see the fruition of what was once just a dream, a hope, a goal. What’s more? I’m just beginning to see the possibilities of what I can accomplish.

My wife posted a quote from Napoleon Hill on the wall of our office that reads: “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” Life truly is what we make of it. WE BELIEVE LIFE IS ALL ABOUT YOUR VISION!

​​​​​​​

​​​​​​​

​​​​​​​