End Picture

At the end of my first-grade year, I transferred to a new school. Not long after, my teacher told my mom, “Your child’s handwriting isn’t very good.” I was taken aback. At my previous school, I had won a penmanship award. But here, I was just another student who didn’t measure up. That was the first time I understood that different environments come with different expectations, and it sparked a sense of determination in me.

With only a short time before the school’s handwriting competition, I threw myself into practice. I was determined to win the award. That was my end picture. Page after page, line after line, I filled grid-lined notebooks, each stroke a step closer to proving that I could rise to this challenge. When the results were announced, I was the winner. My teacher seemed even more surprised than I was. She lifted me into the air and celebrated with me. That moment became the defining memory of my handwriting journey. It was my first small success.

Since then, I have tackled countless challenges, projects, and goals. Some I’ve conquered; others have slipped away. But the most frustrating days weren’t my biggest failures. They were the ambiguous, directionless ones. The difference is the presence—or absence—of an “end picture.”

The “end picture” is the vision of what you ultimately want to achieve. The word “picture” is key. It emphasizes the importance of visualization. The projects that brought me the greatest satisfaction, whether successful or not, were those with a crystal-clear end picture. It served as a map, a compass, and a guiding light, pulling me and my team toward our goal.

Steve Jobs had an end picture when he created the iPhone: a beautifully designed, intuitive device that seamlessly integrated phone calls, email, the internet, music, and photos.

Samsung’s founder, Lee Byung-chul, had an end picture when he declared in 1983 that Samsung would become the world’s number one memory semiconductor company. By 1993, just ten years later, that vision became a reality.

A wise leader I worked with once shared this perspective: “I’ve seen and heard Brand X being used as a case study of what not to do, an example of a great brand that lost its way. What inspires me is that, in the years to come, people will talk about another case study—one about how an iconic brand not only made a comeback but went beyond where it had ever been before. And we will be the team that did it.”

The common thread here is the ability to visualize the goal—to see it, draw it, and believe in it before it exists. Meaningful journeys begin when we can see them vividly. The clearer your end picture, the more tangible your path becomes.