Amanda Heal’s new book Seeing by Vision, Not by Sight: How to Discover Your Life’s Purpose and Put It Into Action is a life-affirming journey through the process of determining what your life’s purpose is and then discovering how to take steps to achieve and live it.
The title refers to the need to have a vision of your future, but it’s also a clever play on words because Amanda is blind. Consequently, finding and living her purpose has offered her more obstacles to overcome than many people. Readers will marvel at her stories of how she has done everything from becoming a lawyer to traveling in Nepal, despite her total blindness. They’ll walk away thinking, “If Amanda can do it, nothing can stop me.”
However, sometimes determining our purpose is easier said than done. Amanda realizes that extenuating circumstances can make us feel stuck or afraid to change our current situation. That said, he makes the process as easy as possible, breaking it down into three steps and then showing how to put those steps into practice. She discusses how to cast off fear and find the courage to move forward, making the changes necessary to lead your own personal growth, master your mindset, and manage your finances.
Throughout the book, Amanda also shares her own story of overcoming various obstacles, from being laid off from her job due to government downsizing to reinventing herself as an author, speaker, podcast host, businesswoman, and life coach. Being blind herself, some very real fears at times almost prevented her from moving forward. As a speaker, she had to learn to move on her own. She wanted to take a taxi to speaking events, but the organization she worked with was dedicated to helping blind people, so she had to set a good example by taking the bus everywhere. She was very afraid of getting on the wrong bus and ending up lost, but with a little practice, she mastered taking buses on her own and soon overcame her fear.
Finding your life purpose can seem like a big and overwhelming task, but Amanda breaks it down into three steps: examine your present, examine your past, and examine your passions and dreams. She discusses the importance of asking specific questions to get the details of her answer. Questions should be limited, such as “What things did you most enjoy doing as a child?” or “What makes me feel the happiest and most fulfilled right now?” He is also not afraid to admit that it takes some trust in God or a Higher Power, and how important it is to wait for the answer.
It also explores how we can examine our personal attributes to determine our strengths and where we may be blocking us from achieving the success we desire. For example, she realized that she was not getting clients because her own doubts and negative beliefs about herself were transmitting doubts that were driving them away. She learned how to overcome those limiting beliefs, project a more positive attitude, and actually become the kind of positive person who would attract others who wanted what she had.
Amanda’s stories of hiking in Nepal despite being blind will inspire readers to do what seems impossible. Her stories about reinventing herself rather than letting her identity be tied to a lost job will give people courage to think outside the box about who they are and who they can become. Her challenges in dealing with her change, including having to retire her guide dogs and train new ones, as well as making difficult medical decisions for her guide dogs, will be heart-wrenching. I especially appreciated her advice on changing her when she said:
“Another essential thing to embracing major change is creating space for it. This might involve letting go of how things were before the change to create space and acceptance of what they will be like after the change. It might also involve giving those responsible for the change, if forced upon you, or perhaps forgive yourself for things that happened in the past that may have led to the change taking place. It may also involve dealing with any complaints that may come up during this step.”
Ultimately, finding and living your life purpose is an adventure in self-leadership: intentionally leading yourself. Amanda states, “Self-leadership is important because, for most of us, our life purpose is bigger than we are. Therefore, to discover our life purpose and put it into action, we must guide our own growth.” to him”.
There is much more to See by Vision, Not by Sight to benefit from. One last thing I will mention that Amanda focuses on is the importance of gratitude. I think many readers will be grateful for her words of wisdom, encouragement, and assurance that she offers in these pages. Personally, I left not only believing that Amanda’s process works, but also grateful that she is such a wonderful human being and role model for the rest of us.