Everybody ends up somewhere in life. A few people end up somewhere on purpose. Those are the people with vision, with a clearly-defined dream.
Vision, Dream, Action
Successful people may have other things going for them as well. But they certainly have vision. A clear dream, along with the courage to take action and follow through, dramatically increases your chances of success. It has been said that if you aim for nothing, you will hit it every time! I couldn’t agree more.
Professional hockey players are highly skilled and trained (and might I add highly paid). They make the game look so easy. Remember Team Canada’s dominant performance at the 2014 Olympics, and the excitement of the gold medal game? Now picture the nets at either end of the rink being removed. Now what do you have? Highly trained and skilled players skating around in circles going nowhere fast, simply wearing themselves out and accomplishing nothing.
Unfortunately, far too many highly skilled and trained business owners are not achieving their full potential because they haven’t clearly identified their dream. They are “skating around in circles going nowhere fast.” Without a vision to guide their day-to-day decisions, leaders get trapped in the tyranny of the urgent.
Helen Keller, probably the most recognized blind person who ever lived, once said:
The Good Book says that without a vision, people perish. They run amuck. They live without restraint, giving their time and attention to whatever screams the loudest instead of what will get them ahead in life.
Your Business, Your Vision
For a business owner, the backbone of any business plan must be structured around his/her dreams and passions. Only after you have clearly defined your life purpose can you effectively measure any progress toward that goal.
Defining a life mission is a process that requires self-evaluation and reflection. In other words, it takes work. But the benefits of clarifying what you want out of life is worth its weight in gold!
Tweet ThisWhat about you? Do you have a vision for your life? For your business? If so, have you broken it down to action steps you perform every day? Are you living on purpose?
A clear vision can enhance your life and your business exponentially. In upcoming posts I will examine some of those benefits more specifically.
Until then, ask yourself the following questions. They can help kickstart the visioning process:
- What do you want to do?
- Why do you want to do it?
- What are the benefits of doing it?
- What are the negative results of not doing it?
Make a commitment right now to set aside 30-45 minutes this week to work on these four questions. You might be surprised by what they reveal.
You’ve just read the second in a six part series on the characteristics of successful people. If you’d like to read more, the next article is called Successful People Focus on Solutions or you can jump to any of the articles from the list below.
Successful People Have Six Things in Common
1. Successful People Take Risks
2. Successful People Have Vision
3. Successful People Focus on Solutions
4. Successful People Make Things Happen
5. Successful People Go Above and Beyond
6. Successful People Embrace Change
Eric Deschamps | Ottawa Business Coach
Co-Leader of Rhapsody Strategies
“Helping others succeed has always been my passion. There is no greater feeling in the world than coming alongside someone and empowering them to achieve their goals and dreams.” I work with individuals with a single and simple purpose: to help them define and attain their goals, one step at a time. Through the coaching relationship, I help business owners and professionals achieve more by delivering world-class growth strategies, tools and advice individually tailored to each owner and his/her business.