'First Things First'

Stephen Covey, in his book, "First Things First," talks about the passion of vision:

Viktor Frank, an Austrian psychologist who survived the death camps of Nazi Germany, made a significant discovery. As he found within himself the capacity to rise above his humiliating circumstances, he became an observer as well as a participant in the experience. He watched others who shared in the ordeal. He was intrigued with the question of what made it possible for some people to survive when most died.

He looked at several factors -- health, vitality, family structure, intelligence, survival skills. Finally, he concluded that none of these factors was primarily responsible. The single most significant factor, he realized, was a sense of future vision -- the impelling conviction of those who were to survive that they had a mission to perform, some important work left to do.