Having a clear vision is very powerful.  In my last ever corporate job, I spent 45 minutes a day in the parking lot, writing my three daily pages of journal notes.  People were encouraging me to hold an exhibition.  Each day I would start my journal by writing, “What are you doing about your exhibition?”  That was it.  No plans (I was not big on planning in those days), no deadlines, no responsibilities.  I began to sit at our kitchen table with my watercolours on Friday and Saturday nights.  Sometimes till 03:00 or later.  My watercolour technique grew in leaps and bounds.  And at the end of that year I took 80 paintings to a gallery in Swakopmund where I held my first-ever exhibition.  A solo exhibition.  A life-time milestone.

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This is the power of a vision.

  • A clear, compelling vision motivates:  By drawing a vision out of what you love and really want to see happen, you can create your unique contribution.
  • A vision marshals your unconscious resources.  We may not be aware of some of our most magnificent abilities and they emerge as we work towards our vision.
  • A vision attracts.  When our vision is clear we may find people stepping forward with unexpected support.

Here are some pointers to consider as you craft your vision:

Focus on the result you desire, not the problems you want to solve

Reiterating the problem reinforces it as the only possible way in your mind.  Telling stories of the positive future begins to make them happen.
“Stop being such a failure in my work” reinforces your self-image of being a loser.  “To be skilled and on top of my game” has a whole new positive energy.  Revel in this energy.

Focus on the vision, not your current reality

You may not be aware of the strengths you will summon to achieve your vision.  You will find skill, insight and ingenuity as you deal with the unexpected yet inevitable obstacles.  Dwelling on current reality may keep you stuck in a small vision.  (BTW of the day:  The strengths you define in your SWOT exercise may not create traction in your vision world).  Later you can assess current reality in a positive light (an ability you can learn)

Update your self-talk from your vision

We all have a constant conversation running with ourselves.  It is usually negative.  Write out your vision.  Read it often.  Salt your inner dialogue with excerpts from your vision.  Instead of “what an idiot I am” say “I have just learnt another lesson on my journey to become a level 5 leader”.

Write your vision in the present tense

Creative tension, will be heightened as you speak your vision in the present tense.  Stories of the past and stories of the future are held in the same place in our brain.  Our brain works overtime to resolve incongruent stories.  By speaking the future in the present tense you open doors to opportunity.

Move from generic to specific

Start with a concept but do not give up until you have a rich picture of the future.  Your vision may be to open a coffee shop.  Now describe the clients, the hum of conversation and laughter, the sounds and smells of coffee, the suppliers, bags of beans, coffee-making technology, the costs, the revenue, making the coffee.  Smell the grounds.  A rich rich picture of the future.

Draw your vision from your heart, not your ego, or worse, someone else’s ego

Your soul knows what it wants to be and do.  A good vision resonates in your heart.  Honour your highest, deepest aspirations.  Stretch your desires way beyond your current capacity.  Stretch!  Bruce Elkin does the ‘Goosebump Test’.  He stands up and reads his vision out loud.  If it gives him goosebumps and chokes him up a little, if he pumps his fist, he knows he is on the right track.

The ‘someone else’s ego’ part is rampant but a topic for another newsletter.

Allow your vision to grow as you engage in the work

Your vision may take time to emerge.  You may start with a short proposal, a paragraph, a list of bullets and some stories describing aspects of the final picture.  .  Some elements may be out of focus, others you will later discard.  This is all good.  It does not have to be perfect in the first draft.  Start the work.  Now!  Give yourself space, time and intent to develop your story as you work.

Start small if necessary and grow the vision as you cut your teeth

Start with the stretch you can manage.  Moving into the unknown takes courage and skill.  Deliver small projects.  You will get stuck along the way.  There will be times when you cannot access what you want.  This is guaranteed.  This is the creative process.  As you engage with this process, as you engage your vision, your skill and courage AND your vision will grow.

Start the work now!

Start now!  Take the resistance head-on.  Steven Pressfield says stars are born in cataclysm.  The most refined mothers give birth to babies in sweat and blood, swearing like a trouper.  Will you fail?  Of course you will fail.  If you don’t, perhaps you are not stretching enough.  And each failure will provide insight and learning.  Revel in the learning.  Set yourself free.

 

In this post I drew on Bruce Elkin’s ebook  “Thrive”  Check it out – it is a great read.