May 2004
Creating Your Vision
As a youngster I often pretended I was the teacher and my friends were students in my class. When my friends didn't want to play I just used my dolls and stuffed animals. In later years I would daydream in class about how I could make the topic easier to understand or the class more fun than the teacher up front. I didn't know it then but I was creating a vision.
What little boy hasn't imagined he was a fireman in a fire engine rushing to a fire? We all seem to have the capability to "day dream" about our future as youngsters but somehow that capacity sometimes gets lost as we grow older.
So many business owners start their businesses with no clear vision of what they want their businesses to become. Many have the hidden belief , "Build it and they will come.". This is particularly true for those starting a practice of law, medicine, therapy or coaching. It also happens in businesses like dry cleaners, contractors, restaurants etc. It is simpler to copy what others have done rather than following a unique and personal dream.
What kind of outrageous dream do you have? In an article I read recently about young volunteers in Iraq Rachel Zabarkes Friedman says that some American 20 and 30 year olds feel compelled to "do right by the Iraqi people by seeing the reconstruction through".** Imagine giving up good jobs and the comforts of home to fulfill that dream! Visions are compelling.
There are two primary reasons for having a clear vision. Starting a business takes an enormous amount of energy and persistence. A vision must excite you enough to keep you moving forward even when things get rough. People who have great businesses have big enough visions so that instead of being ordinary, the business becomes extraordinary. Visions inspire!
The second reason is that your vision now can show you the path you need to take to grow your business. With a clear vision you will be able to see where you are today and where you want to be in the future. Once you know that you can figure out the steps in between. Visions show you the way!
It is possible to have two levels to your vision. The top level is a statement of what the world would look like in its ideal state. It is such a big dream that you cannot do it by yourself. John Kennedy's dream to put a man on the moon could not be done by one person nor could the American young people I mentioned before reconstruct Iraq by themselves.
For myself I have a vision of a world where all people work as though they are free agents using their special gifts and talents in ways that are profitable to themselves and others. This gives me goose bumps when I think about it and creates a really strong desire in me to do something that forewards that vision.
The second level of a vision is actually seeing yourself in action as part of the dream - the daydreaming part. In my teleclass 5 Secrets of Business Success I ask people to close their eyes and visualize what their life and their work would be like if both were exactly the way they wanted them to be. It's fun and sometimes surprising what results! Try it for yourself.
Finally I recommend that once you see your vision in your mind's eye, you write it down. Then make a commitment to yourself to return to that vision regularly to get re-inspired and energized.
Take Action:
- Try the visualization I described in the article. Set aside 15 minutes in a quiet place to do this.
- You are at your 90th birthday party. What are your friends and family saying about you and your accomplishments? Write out your own legacy. See the clues in your legacy that relate to your vision.
- What would you like to change in your own life and work situation? How do those changes fit into your vision?
- Michelangelo said, "I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free." What do you need to carve away to set your vision free?
- Some books to read about finding a vision are:
The Path by Laurie Beth Jones
The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge