For the benefit of doubt - a visa, as defined by the Free Online Dictionary, is an official authorization appended to a passport permitting entry into and travel within a particular country or region.Have you lived in foreign land? If you've, or aspire to - you'd agree that a visa (I fondly call it "kwali") is paramount and it's issued for a specific period of time (usually 6 months, 1 year, or more) - after which it expires. Upon expiry, your stay in the country in question becomes an illegal venture - a nightmare! In order to avoid the embarrassment, you need to renew your visa before it expires - that's if for some reason, you wish to stay longer in the country. As a matter of procedure, you must have a good reason why your visa should be renewed. A request for renewal would be rejected, if according to the immigration authorities, you don't have a good enough reason to stay longer, in the country. For instance, if you're a student, you must show that you've not completed your studies. More importantly, you have to show the courses you validated during the past academic year. This is because the authorities would like to know that you made an effort, but failed to complete your programme in record time, due to reasons beyond your control. If you proof beyond reasonable doubt why you need more time in the country, your visa would be renewed. On th other hand, if the authorities are not convinced, your request would be rejected and you'd be expected to leave the country as soon as possible. Now, imagine a visa to live and work on earth - would you agree that you'd be more successful and accomplished if you needed a visa to live and work on earth?
I've been thinking about this lately - people would work harder, and not only set goals, but strive hard to achieve them - if they had to secure a renewal of their visa to live and work on earth. Believe it or not, I've seen people work really hard at school or hold on to jobs - even odd jobs, because failure to convincingly work hard at school or to secure a job would be costly - failure would mean a rejection of an application to renew their visa - when the visa expires. A visa makes people set substantial goals and work aggressively to achieve them. That's the power of a visa!
When I was making my New Year Resolutions for 2010, I considered my goals (written down) to be reasons why I want to live and work in 2010. In this way, I HAVE to accomplish my resolutions - otherwise, my "visa" would not be renewed at the end of 2010. This wild imagination has pushed me to accomplish 2 out of my 5 key goals for 2010, in just the first 2 months of this new year.
The truth is - the fear of a sanction keeps people grounded and in their best behaviour. This translates into other aspects of life. Many people don't achieve their goals because the goals are not backed by any sanction - should they fail to achieve them. I challenge you to back your goals with a sanction! You'd be amazed by how much you can accomplish.
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