If you’ve been around in business, especially in the online world, you’ve probably heard this a thousand times before.
Create a compelling vision, make a vision board, set out the vision of where you want to be – so many people telling you the same thing!
The reason you’ve heard it so many times is because it works.
Because if you want to change your life, leave your job, start a business, you are going to need a really, really good reason to do it.
And that reason needs to be so clear and real in your mind that you can feel it, right now!
A vision that inspires you to keep going and gives you the roadmap to get there.
Because starting a business is one of the biggest changes you will ever go through in life.
You will be out of your comfort zone every day. Learning new things will be your new normal.
You will switch from being excited, nervous, loving it, hating it, wanting to give up and then back again – and that’s just on a Monday!
You will change.
Every challenge you face, every failure (and there will be some) and every success will push you forward, sometimes kicking and screaming!
The idea you start with will not be the business you end up with.
You will ask yourself, is it worth it?
The answer will depend on your vision.
How you want to live your life and how much you want it!
How to build an inspiring vision
We all have an internal sat nav in minds.
We don’t have to know every detail, every road that we need to take but the first thing we need to do is set out where we want to go.
That is always the first step in any journey, figuring out the destination.
Because if we don’t know where we’re going, then it’s like a Sunday afternoon drive – you set off, meander around the country roads, stop for a pint at the village green and a few hours later, end up back where you started!
Starting a business is a really big journey, so start with you.
Start with how you want to live and get that big picture, that vision in your mind, so clearly it sets the sat nav within us.
It will keep us on track, we can start looking at the roads ahead and work out a route and instead of just stopping us in our tracks when we hit a roadblock, we can correct the course on the way.
So how do you get that big vision, work out what you want to do and make it so strong that you can let your sat nav guide you and know that you are going to get there in the end?
Your Dream Life (if money were no object!)
Seriously, why does this matter – you aren’t going to win the lottery and be able to do anything you want, make your dreams come true, are you?
Before you start thinking this is a load of bollocks, have you ever asked yourself, seriously, what is that dream life really all about.
It’s a nice idea in a minutes wishful thinking that you could win the lottery, but what would you do all day?
This exercise may seem like its a pleasant way to waste a bit of time!
But trust me on this, it really isn’t.
It’s the start of everything!
If you can get the vision of how you want to live in your mind, where you are, what you are doing, who you are with, it’s going to become a lot more real and give you clues to what you should really be doing.
That vision will become your goal – and before you start thinking, that’s all very well but how am I going to get it?
Hold your horses, the how doesn’t matter.
You heard me right!
There is no point worrying about the How – that’s way down in the list of priorities right now.
When we set goals at work, do you really know exactly how you’re going to achieve them?
Of course not. You may have some idea of the direction, but only once you’ve set out what you are trying to achieve.
There are always ways to figure out how you are going to do something, but until you know what you are aiming for, where do you start?
So for right now, the next step is to think, really think, about how you want to live, what you want to be doing, where you want to be, who you are with, in as much detail as possible.
Make it real. Instead of thinking, I wish I could be doing that, take a notebook and write it out, as if this is your life now.
This is what you are doing, this isn’t some vague dream of some day, this is how you live!
Bring Your Vision to Life
To help you think about it, answer the questions in as much detail as you can.
Get yourself some space, without any distractions, turn off the TV, the music, shut the rest of the world out and allow yourself to think about what your life would be like if you could achieve everything you want.
And remember to write it as if this is actually how you live, right now, because it’s much more powerful – you are tricking your mind into believing this is really your life!
Some prompts that will help!
- What is your life like, what do you do all day?
- What’s so wonderful about it?
- Describe your typical day.
- What time do you get up in the morning?
- What do you have for breakfast?
- What’s the weather like?
- Who are you with?
- What time do you go to bed?
- What have you got done today?
- How do you feel about it?
- What was the best thing that happened to you this year?
- How did that make you feel?
When you have a compelling vision, you feel calmer, in control, certain of your direction.
And this in turn makes you more confident about what you’re doing.
And when you’re confident about what you need to do, you’re much more likely to do it!
If you’re at the crossroads and want help to figure all this out, then drop me a line, it’s good to talk!
