Creating your Personal Vision
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We discussed in the article entitled "Why are strategies and tactics not enough to grow my business?" that successful people create their own success by developing a vision and setting out to achieve it. In this article, we will go over what a Personal Vision is, why it's important to you, and how to create your own Personal Vision.
A Personal Vision is a picture of your True Self in the future. It describes the purpose and meaning of your life and therefore includes all the important elements of: who you want to be, what you want to do, how you want to feel, what you want to own, who you want to associate with and even how you want to lead. In this way, your Personal Vision serves as a guiding force for your actions and can help you accomplish your goals, dreams, and plans. The best way to create your Personal Vision is to take the time to notice what's important to you, identify the values by which you live, and synthesize these observations into a clear, concise statement.
Prepare to write your Personal Vision
Developing a successful Personal Vision requires time. Reserve at least an hour of uninterrupted quiet time to write your first draft.
You can use the following questions and exercises to guide your thoughts and collect some of the insights you will use to develop your Personal Vision...
- First, focus on your Death. Draw a tombstone on a sheet of paper and write the following on it: your name, your date of birth and the date of your anticipated death. (Just make up a date.)
- Now, create a vivid picture of your funeral in your mind: make it bright and large. Do you see the flowers, hear the birds and see the faces of your friends and family? Your best friend is standing in front of your grave, giving your eulogy. Keeping the image of your funeral in mind, write down the answers to the following questions:
- What will you be known for? What qualities did you embody? What values did you honor as you lived your life and worked on your business?
- Who were the people whose lives you touched and which special causes did you contribute to? How did you impact the lives of your family, friends, and business associates?
- How did you spend your free time? What passions and hobbies did you pursue?
- At the end of the day, what was the final significance of your life and your efforts?
- Finally, come back to the land of the living and look at how you would like your life to be in 15 or 20 years Look at aspects like:
- Where will you live, and with whom?
- What types of material possessions are in your life? What kind of house do you live in? What kind of car do you drive? What else do you own?
- What things make you happy? What inspires you?
- What things do you do best? What do you enjoy doing?
Reflect on what you have written down. Did you successfully capture how you really feel? Does success, for you, look and feel like what you described? If not, go over the list again and reword it. Be careful not to place any restrictions or limitations on what you feel and write. You want to describe your deepest desires and wishes.
Next, distill this concept down by describing your ideal:
- Self-image
- Possessions
- Living environment
- Health
- Relationships
- Work
- Personal pursuits
- Community
Now look at what you have written and make a list of at least 10 values you feel are guiding your actions. Values are traits or qualities that you consider worthwhile. They represent your highest priorities and your most deeply held driving forces.
Feel free to choose from the following list of values, or come up with your own:
Acceptance; Appreciation; Ambition; Competence; Individuality; Equality; Integrity; Service; Responsibility; Accuracy; Respect; Dedication; Diversity; Improvement; Enjoyment/Fun; Loyalty; Credibility; Honesty; Innovation; Excellence; Accountability; Quality; Efficiency; Dignity; Empathy; Accomplishment; Courage; Wisdom; Independence; Security; Challenge; Learning; Compassion; Friendliness; Generosity; Persistence; Optimism; Discipline/Order; Dependability; Flexibility; Freedom; Harmony; Peace; Perfectionism; Pleasure; Power; Humor; Spirituality
Make sure the values you list reflect your beliefs and are not imposed on you by others. After you prioritize the values in order of importance, eliminate the bottom five values on your list of ten. The idea is to narrow your list down to the top 3 to 5 values that guide your life choices. Next to each remaining value on your list, write a brief description or definition of what it means to you. Ask yourself, is this value the most meaningful and important to you? If the answer is yes for each one, congratulations, you are that much closer to defining your Personal Vision. If the answer is no, revisit the list and determine what is the most important to you.
Writing Your Personal Vision Statement
Lastly, combine your values and the concepts you have developed earlier into a statement about who you are. This is your Personal Vision statement. Generally, your statement can be anywhere from 40 to 200 words long. If it's too short, it may not provide you with enough clarity, while a statement that's too long may be difficult to remember.
Since this final step may take some time, it is best to look at it over a time span of several days. In our work with our clients, we have found rewriting your Personal Vision statement several times is the best approach. You want your Personal Vision to motivate you and create an abundance of mental and physical energy when you read it.
Now that you've written out your Personal Vision statement, embrace it! The best way to do this is to read your Personal Vision several times each day over a period of 30 days. (For example, read it to yourself when you wake up in the morning, at lunchtime, and before you go to bed at night). Your subconscious will begin to create a physical and mental state consistent with what is needed to manifest your vision. Also, make it a habit to measure the achievement of your goals, plans and dreams. This ensures that your subconscious keeps working toward the successful outcomes that will bring you closer to your ultimate vision.
By creating your Personal Vision, you will have joined countless other successful people who create their own success by developing a vision and achieving it. Congratulations!
© 2009 Copyrighted by Dr. Joe Mayer, Managing Partner of The Growth Coach, who helps business owners, professionals and their key employees to grow their businesses by focusing on vision and strategy. Joe can be reached at J.Mayer@Thegrowthcoach.com; http://www.mayerbusinessgroup.com/
