Many of the worlds top entrepreneurs started with nothing more than a really powerful vision of what they wanted to achieve. Donald Trump had a very simple vision - Im going to makeover the skyline of Manhattan. That drove him to be one of the most powerful players on the worlds stage. When he started out, he didnt know exactly what he was going to build, he didnt know how, he didnt know where he was going to get the finance, but he absolutely knew what he wanted to achieve.
The important thing to note is that vision provided clarity of purpose. It allowed Trump to recognise and take advantage of opportunities as they came along, because he knew his end goal.
When a vision is working well you will be passionate and excited about the future and what you are trying to achieve.
But anyone who has ever dared to reach for the stars will know that having faith in a dream demands courage and patience. When all around you de-cry your goals or undermine your belief it takes tenacity and will to keep the dream alive. But just look at the rewards.
Time to take action
By this stage you may have gathered some ideas and are beginning to feel a bit excited. Now you have to take the actions to start to make things happen.
One of the more interesting ways to achieve this is by getting in touch with people who are doing what you want to do to share their ideas. Gather names from newspapers, articles, the internet or join professional associations, attend conferences, join a local group. By talking to people who have similar interests and desires the feedback you get will validate or otherwise your own desires and interests.
Write, draw or mindmap your vision for your business and bring it to life by employing your senses.
*What will your business look like?
*What will you and others think about your vision?
*How will you and your clients feel?
*What colours do you associate with your vision?
Create a vision board. Start to collect images from magazines, postcards or downloaded from the internet, that represent aspects of your vision. Piece the story board together and place it somewhere you can look at it regularly and get a top up of inspiration. Feel free to add to it and keep it fresh as your future unfolds.
Through a visioning process you can get clear on a bigger picture for your business, become passionate and excited about the future and then make that a reality by chunking it down into realistic and achievable goals.
In coaching one of the very first steps the client is asked to undertake from the outset is to define a set of goals to work towards. Keeping fingers crossed, going with the flow, drifting or just letting life happen to you are not effective ways of getting what you really want out of life.
So often we can lose ourselves in a fog of indecisiveness and confusion that procrastination or surrender takes over from drive and focus. Fear keeps us stuck and our dreams go on hold, perhaps never to see the light of day, rendering regret and dissatisfaction as our destiny.
Having a clear goal is not always about pushing ruthlessly ahead for grand and impressive achievements but sometimes just a quiet knowing what you want, how youd like to be and why you are doing what you are doing, all adds meaning and purpose to life.
Start by writing out your short term goals. What you would like to aim for in the next 3 months? Learn to speak in public, practice closing sales, increase your database of clients?
Once you are clear about your goals and you have a vision of how things will be when you have achieved it, then planning how to get there is relatively easy. A successful plan has three ingredients:
1.A clearly defined goal
2.A sequence of milestones required to reach the goal
3.The physical actions required to achieve each step
To develop the steps in your plan, try the following:
Fix in your mind the goal you have set: see as clearly as you can what things will be like when it has been achieved.
Get a pad of Post-It Notes and brainstorm all the outcomes which will need to be achieved in order for the goal to be reached. Write each possible outcome on a separate note.
Lay out the notes into a chronological sequence, showing the order in which each outcome would need to be achieved. While doing this, check (i) that each outcome is absolutely necessary (and remove it if not dont make extra work for yourself!), (ii) that there are no outcomes missing (ask: if all these things happen, will the goal be achieved? If the answer is no, then keep brainstorming!).
When you are happy with the outcomes and with their sequence, take each step in turn and ask: what is the next physical action required to move this forward?
An action in this context is simply something someone needs to do in order to achieve the stated outcome. For example, in order to achieve the milestone All staff are clear about changes in their roles, many actions may be required: write new job descriptions, organise briefing sessions, conduct briefing sessions, design any training required, and so on.
The golden rule is: get the outcome or goal right before you worry about actions. For example, in the morning the important thing is to arrive at work on time. The actions to achieve that outcome (whether you set your alarm clock or get someone else to wake you up, whether you walk to work or catch a train) come second.
If in doubt about whether something is an outcome or an action: an action is something you can write in your diary. In personal development terms for example, Improve my listening skills is not an action, its an outcome (a what). How you go about achieving the outcome leads you to actions.
For bigger dreams be audacious. Its OK to want to write a book, speak to thousands, have your own TV show.
*Tell friends, colleagues and family what you want so they can share your dream and support you.
*Create a community.
*Read autobiographies to hear how your heroes conquered their obstacles to success.
*Be prepared to get out of your comfort zone.
*Review your dream regularly to chart your progress
*Make your vision compelling. Truly imagine what it will be like to get there for a few minutes each day.
*Expect set-backs but dont be defeated. Learn from them.
*Act as if you were already living your dream.
*Never give up
The important thing to note is that vision provided clarity of purpose. It allowed Trump to recognise and take advantage of opportunities as they came along, because he knew his end goal.
When a vision is working well you will be passionate and excited about the future and what you are trying to achieve.
But anyone who has ever dared to reach for the stars will know that having faith in a dream demands courage and patience. When all around you de-cry your goals or undermine your belief it takes tenacity and will to keep the dream alive. But just look at the rewards.
Time to take action
By this stage you may have gathered some ideas and are beginning to feel a bit excited. Now you have to take the actions to start to make things happen.
One of the more interesting ways to achieve this is by getting in touch with people who are doing what you want to do to share their ideas. Gather names from newspapers, articles, the internet or join professional associations, attend conferences, join a local group. By talking to people who have similar interests and desires the feedback you get will validate or otherwise your own desires and interests.
Write, draw or mindmap your vision for your business and bring it to life by employing your senses.
*What will your business look like?
*What will you and others think about your vision?
*How will you and your clients feel?
*What colours do you associate with your vision?
Create a vision board. Start to collect images from magazines, postcards or downloaded from the internet, that represent aspects of your vision. Piece the story board together and place it somewhere you can look at it regularly and get a top up of inspiration. Feel free to add to it and keep it fresh as your future unfolds.
Through a visioning process you can get clear on a bigger picture for your business, become passionate and excited about the future and then make that a reality by chunking it down into realistic and achievable goals.
In coaching one of the very first steps the client is asked to undertake from the outset is to define a set of goals to work towards. Keeping fingers crossed, going with the flow, drifting or just letting life happen to you are not effective ways of getting what you really want out of life.
So often we can lose ourselves in a fog of indecisiveness and confusion that procrastination or surrender takes over from drive and focus. Fear keeps us stuck and our dreams go on hold, perhaps never to see the light of day, rendering regret and dissatisfaction as our destiny.
Having a clear goal is not always about pushing ruthlessly ahead for grand and impressive achievements but sometimes just a quiet knowing what you want, how youd like to be and why you are doing what you are doing, all adds meaning and purpose to life.
Start by writing out your short term goals. What you would like to aim for in the next 3 months? Learn to speak in public, practice closing sales, increase your database of clients?
Once you are clear about your goals and you have a vision of how things will be when you have achieved it, then planning how to get there is relatively easy. A successful plan has three ingredients:
1.A clearly defined goal
2.A sequence of milestones required to reach the goal
3.The physical actions required to achieve each step
To develop the steps in your plan, try the following:
Fix in your mind the goal you have set: see as clearly as you can what things will be like when it has been achieved.
Get a pad of Post-It Notes and brainstorm all the outcomes which will need to be achieved in order for the goal to be reached. Write each possible outcome on a separate note.
Lay out the notes into a chronological sequence, showing the order in which each outcome would need to be achieved. While doing this, check (i) that each outcome is absolutely necessary (and remove it if not dont make extra work for yourself!), (ii) that there are no outcomes missing (ask: if all these things happen, will the goal be achieved? If the answer is no, then keep brainstorming!).
When you are happy with the outcomes and with their sequence, take each step in turn and ask: what is the next physical action required to move this forward?
An action in this context is simply something someone needs to do in order to achieve the stated outcome. For example, in order to achieve the milestone All staff are clear about changes in their roles, many actions may be required: write new job descriptions, organise briefing sessions, conduct briefing sessions, design any training required, and so on.
The golden rule is: get the outcome or goal right before you worry about actions. For example, in the morning the important thing is to arrive at work on time. The actions to achieve that outcome (whether you set your alarm clock or get someone else to wake you up, whether you walk to work or catch a train) come second.
If in doubt about whether something is an outcome or an action: an action is something you can write in your diary. In personal development terms for example, Improve my listening skills is not an action, its an outcome (a what). How you go about achieving the outcome leads you to actions.
For bigger dreams be audacious. Its OK to want to write a book, speak to thousands, have your own TV show.
*Tell friends, colleagues and family what you want so they can share your dream and support you.
*Create a community.
*Read autobiographies to hear how your heroes conquered their obstacles to success.
*Be prepared to get out of your comfort zone.
*Review your dream regularly to chart your progress
*Make your vision compelling. Truly imagine what it will be like to get there for a few minutes each day.
*Expect set-backs but dont be defeated. Learn from them.
*Act as if you were already living your dream.
*Never give up