Categories: Paul HennyVision Development

Vision Matters

Don was a 13-year-old paperboy when he read the headline that Buddy Holly had been killed in a tragic plane crash. The news left him devastated and empty inside, particularly when his friends responded with “So what?”.

Later Don McLean become a struggling solo act artist rambling through Canada and playing Buddy Holly songs 13 years after Buddy’s death, and when Holly’s legacy of ‘Peggy Sue’, ‘That’ll be the day’, and ‘Not Fade Away’, were largely forgotten.

But Don McLean had a vision rolling around in his head, a vision of a song which was true as ‘American Pie’ and that revealed his deep feeling of loss.

When the song was finally written following a flurry of inspiration, the recording took months to complete. Don’s former record label had collapsed into bankruptcy; and the session musicians kept telling him what was wrong with it.

McLean persisted, and the song hit #1 for four weeks and quickly propelled the album to gold status, making Don a millionaire along the way. He recently sold a copy of the original manuscript for 1.2 million dollars.

I am sharing this story today, because this is precisely how a vision works. Visions are deep on purpose, inspiration, and tenacity, and they face many obstacles which must be overcome before they are ever shared and generate prosperity.

These same principles apply to the creation of a relationship-based practice. It requires a clear vision, insight, readiness, and a deep determination to overcome every obstacle. And just like Don McLean’s experience, the rewards of execution are greater than ever imagined in the beginning.

Paul A Henny DDS