All too often, people fall short of their goals. Why is that? Perhaps you’ve wondered this many times before, regarding yourself and your teammates. While there certainly is no single answer that explains the disappointing outcome every time, there is one commonality that all these people share. Are you curious what that is?
Without exception, everyone who consistently falls short of their goal lacks a crystal clear vision. The importance of clarity of your vision cannot possibly be overstated. It is an absolutely essential foundational piece of the success puzzle — in business and in life, actually. If you don’t know EXACTLY where you are going, how could you possibly reach the goal? Or, stated another way, if you don’t EXACTLY know what the goal is (in very clear, specific terms), it is impossible for you to reach this elusive state of existence.
When stated this way, you likely can easily agree – right? As people often say, if you are in New York and you want to ‘Go West’, and that is as clear as your goal is — How exactly will you measure your success? Is success defined as reaching Los Angeles? Or Seattle? Or Denver? Or Chicago? Or New Jersey? Each of these cities is west of New York, but obviously each destination is very unique and represents a different journey. If you don’t have a crystal clear vision of your end goal, you cannot possibly get there. Chances are, in fact, you won’t even get anywhere near your goal!
Following this journey metaphor a bit deeper, if you began your trip without a map, what are the chances you’ll get to any of your desired destinations? Certainly, we all know that having a map or a blueprint is something very critical to progress. Yet, I challenge you further — if you don’t know exactly what your end goal or vision is, how can you create an accurate map?
Just think about and ponder that question …. For, all too many people jump right over this and get ‘busy’, filling their days with activity. Meaningless, or non-strategic activity will only create chaos, fatigue, and frustration. Instead, I’d like to see you take that invaluable action of clarifying your vision, setting a firm foundation, then creating a sound strategy to get there.
Once you have taken the steps to thoughtfully reflect on your vision, I encourage you to dig even deeper. Get as detailed as you can. While this may seem a bit silly to you at first, believe me, the exercise is invaluable. You are actually training your subconscious to see and feel these results. By doing this, there will be a ‘pull’ force that is created, which pulls you toward the desired goals. This strategy is far, far superior to a ‘push’ force, where you are consistently pushing yourself toward some vague direction, without making much progress.
One last note on the importance and necessity of achieving a crystal clear vision… It is not something that you do just once, set aside, and rarely review. Far from it! Rather, this is an ongoing process. As you grow and experience the bumps and challenges of your business life, you will find the need to continually refer to your vision. In fact, you will find yourself sharpening the vision as you gain new insights and knowledge. You will likely realize some intermediate steps that need to be taken, that were completely out of your knowledge or awareness before. When that happens, fill in the detail. As you grow your vision, your business and the value you bring to the world will also grow.
So, now get on it — Create that crystal clear vision and continue to sharpen the focus. Doing this faithfully will deliver amazing results to you — Guaranteed!