Now we’ll get down to the nuts and bolts of the Mission, Vision & Goals program. It’s at this stage in the process where many fail, only because they choose to give up. It’s where the dreamer is separated from the visionary.
So far we’ve discovered that we all have a purpose and by the same token, we all have a mission as well. To this point we have only had to be willing to discover them. Patience and willingness have been the keys.
Then we learned that we are all visionaries and we not only have the permission but the charge to exercise our imagination in creating visions. Now we come to the crossroads that separates the dreamers from the true visionaries.
The dreamers will remain in the porch swing piling dream upon dream and waiting for someone to recognize them. The visionary will begin to experience a pressing need to see the dream realized and will rise up and begin to formulate the design. If you see a more vibrant, brilliant life inside you, you’re a visionary. If you hunger to see it come to pass, you are ready for the process of on-target goals.
Each of the visionaries in our last article is remembered not so much for the dreams they dreamed, but for the manner in which they brought them into reality. We observed that we ought not be threatened by the greatness of the likes of Edison, Bell, Gandhi, and Pasteur, for to do so is to deny the greatness in each of us.
These greats had what we would consider wild imaginations. But they had something else - the tools to insure that each dream manifested in a better reality. And most importantly, they had confidence in their dreams. It is said that Thomas Edison performed some one thousand experiments before his incandescent bulb glowed. But he continued with the process, knowing that he was not defeated until he quit.
Victory does not necessarily belong to the best. It belongs to the most persistent.
Vision is the ability to see what others are not (yet) able to see; to create within oneself something new and better, bigger and brighter. But that vision must be translated into a concrete, measurable reality. When you begin that process, the designing of goals, you have become the architect of your vision.
Goal design is indeed the work of an architect. It is bringing those visions which are outside and beyond and above the norm into the realm of reality, utilizing the tools of the real world, and changing the real world in the process.
If the vision is properly fleshed out and ready for delivery, if you are committed to its delivery, you will be prepared for the work before you. And make no mistake, the real work begins now.
But this process does not take place in a porch swing. This requires dedication, energy, and sometimes the willingness to forego creature comforts. You will need to pull out the calculators, Gantt charts, the projections, the plans, your contacts and resources. There must be a willingness to “go for broke,” to lay it all on the line for the manifestation of the dream.
If you’re ready to dedicate yourself to the realization of your dreams, the good news is that there is a reproducible process. There is a formula, and while it will not do the work for you, it will guide you.
Each vision will have multiple goals, which must be carefully laid down, much as stepping stones leading to a pre-determined destination. Begin by listing the goals you believe will draw the vision closer to reality.
With each goal you have identified, follow the process below. As you work through the design process, you will determine that some goals are not necessary after all and will be discarded. Others will move to the forefront. Stay with the process. An accountability partner is invaluable at this stage of the process.
Step 1 - TARGET the project
Step 2 - EXAMINE the need
Step 3 - DEFINE Success and Failure
Step 4 - EXPLORE the Options
Step 5 - IDENTIFY the Requirements, the Obstacles, & the Available Resources
Step 6 - DEVELOP Strategies
Step 7 - IMPLEMENT the Final Program
There’s nothing left but the doing. Your plan is formulated, and you need only put the wheels in motion and watch this goal take shape.
Follow the same process with each of the goals you have identified for your vision under construction.
The difference between a dreamer and a visionary is the determination to bring the vision to pass. A dreamer is no less creative, but is often ill equipped or under-inspired to transform the vision into reality.
A true dreamer dreams to avoid reality. A true visionary dreams to change it.
Begin your exciting journey today – create large and detailed dream canvases and then dedicate yourself to the process of bringing them to pass.
You have something to offer the world that only you can offer. The world is waiting!
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