Powerful goals start with a Vision

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A vision without a task is but a dream
A task without a vision is drudgery
A task with a vision is the hope of the world
- inscription on a church in Sussex 1730

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Seven years ago I wanted my life to be very different. I had read a couple of books on success, but that was about it. I had heard about the idea of writing down what you want, and reading it over regularly, that was all I knew.

So I tried it. I wrote down that I wanted to be married within two years, I wanted to buy a house, I wanted to do work that I felt had meaning - not just for money.

Even though I wrote down these dreams, I will admit I was lazy. I don't think I read them over more than a couple times in the next few years. I looked at that list three years after writing it down, and 80% of what I had written down I had done!

I accomplished 80% of what was on my list without extensive visualizing or frequently reading it over. How could this happen?

The things that I wrote on my list were things that I already had a deep yearning for. I was so tired of my life as it was, that deep within me I wanted these things very very very much.I thought about them constantly and looked for ways to achieve them. You see, the things you want bad enough you visualize constantly without effort. If you want something bad enough you can't stop dreaming about it. I thought about these things a lot, I didn't need to remember to visualize them twice a day.

Sometimes I now wonder if getting what you want is that easy, then why didn't I ask for more?

Excellent question!

This is a good example of how the only thing that holds me back is myself. The only thing that holds you back is YOU!

Allow me to be a bit more specific. The part of you and me that holds us back is not our highest self, our wise voice from within. No, the part of all of us that holds us back is that little chatter box voice that loves to dwell on fear and lack and negativity and judgment.

If you have a 'big' vision for what you want in your life your chatter box will immediately start to tell you that you can't achieve it.

This voice that frequently focuses on "you are not good enough" is the voice that we must all learn to over-ride, ignore, and transplant. One way to over-ride the negative chatter box is through the power of visioning.

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A vision is a result you picture for your life, your business, your family, or your organization.

What do you want to achieve?

What do you want to be, do and have?

What do you want your relationships to look like?

What do you want to contribute?

To over-ride the powerful voice of doom and gloom within you, you must have a very clear vision that you cannot help but visualize on a daily basis.

My vision to own a home, be married and have a family was so strong in me I didn't even need to re-read it to achieve it. But in recent years, I have notice that as I learn to visualize my visions for my life, that I achieve them much quicker than ever before.

So yes, you can achieve things in your life without a vision, but if you want to really take yourself to the next level, and break out of your current limiting thoughts you are going to need a BIG vision.

So the first piece of advice on creating a vision is 'MAKE IT BIG' - beyond your perceived ability. Just be sure to make it believable and make sure it aligns with your values, your strengths and your passions.

If it doesn't align with your values, strengths and passions, then how will you ever believe it?

You must create a vision that is believable to you.

Once you have decided on what you want in your life in 5 years, 10 years and beyond, then you must turn your vision into a clear picture in your mind. You need to be able to see it.

Why is creating a vivid picture in your mind important?

A vivid picture is important because it will help you create feelings of power and excitement, and these feelings will help you override the negative feelings created within you when you listen to the chatter box.

Most people spend all of their time listening to that voice that says "you will never be able to achieve that so why bother". If you want to be more, have more and do more than most people, you must over-ride the chatterbox. I can guarantee that if you don't - you will not achieve your desires.

If you have a clear vision, then whenever you catch yourself feeling not good enough, or less than, or depressed; you can call up your vision to pull you back into your vibrant, excited, alive self. You may not believe it yet, but you do have the power to change your emotional state at will. A clear vision is another tool that can help you do this.

Another way to make your vision more real, even though it is still just a mental image in your head, is to tell others. Tell anyone that will be supportive of your vision and who will encourage you to go for it.

I suggest you be careful at this stage who you share your vision with, because until you have the inner fortitude to not be pulled down by the nay-sayers, you would be wise not to share it with them.

Now that your vision is crystal clear, you revisit it regularly, and you feel excited about making it your reality, it is time to break down your vision into small easy to achieve steps - goals.

Plan and replan how you are going to accomplish your vision, your dream. As the quote from the church in Sussex states - without action (a task) your vision is simply a dream.

As soon as you begin taking action towards your vision in small easy to take steps, your vision becomes the hope for your world, and ultimately the hope of the whole world.

Read the biographies of people who had BIG visions; Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa, and Marthin Luther King; they will inspire you to be more than you currently are.

Taking action right now and continuing to take action over time will guarantee you achieve your vision.

Don't delay

Dream your big dream, and begin taking action to achieve it, and it will become a powerful force that pulls you into the now, simply by the aliveness you will feel as you pour your heart into realizing it.

Do it today.

You are amazing.

David Gray