Developing A Vision For Your Life

What Only Effective People Do

The only way to improve an individual's personal and/or professional life is to learn from successful people. What I have discovered was that every individual who had ever been successful in their personal and/or professional life had a clear vision outlining where they had wanted to go. Of the 1000 individuals I have researched, ranging from successful business leaders, educational leaders, entrepreneurs, non-profit and for profit organizations, parents, families, and specific positions and titles throughout various companies; every person attributed having a CLEAR vision as the #1 reason for their success. More importantly, every individual focused on their vision daily!

Develop A Clear Personal and/or Professional Vision

Successful people take the time to think through and develop a clear picture of where they want their personal and/or professional life to be in one, three and five years. Successful people communicate this vision to everyone around them in such a way that others "buy in" and eventually see the vision as belonging to them. A vision must be grounded in purpose. There must be a purpose for everything we do!

How to Motivate People

It is the vision of the future possibilities, of what can be, that arouses emotion and motivates people to give of their best. Unfortunately, most people never clearly identify what it is they want their future to look like. Telling yourself you want money, a happy family, advancement in your career, a meaningful relationship is not a clear vision. Describing what your vision feels like, sounds like, and looks like is in fact clear and measurable. What does your vision look like?

Describe it to yourself write now?

The most powerful vision is always qualitative, aimed at and described in terms of values and purpose rather than quantitative, described in terms of money. Of course, money is important, but the decision and commitment to "be the best you can be" is far more exciting. To encourage others by instilling confidence in them and helping them to perform at their best requires you to lead by example.

Change Agent Power Exercise

Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

1. In regards to your focus area, write down your ideal vision (2-4 years). What does it feel like, sound like, and look like? Be as detailed as possible. Read this everyday and focus on receiving the benefits of your vision. You may be surprised at what you will find! What are some things you can do immediately to turn your vision into your current reality? My suggestion above is a start.

2. Ensure you hold this statement in your consciousness as often as possible. Whenever you encounter a problem or obstacle, ALWAYS focus on the SOLUTION rather than the Problem. You will not advance your vision if you are complaining about the problems in your life!