I will begin this journey from a place of your highest potential. The magnificent place of the grown up oak tree. This is what you and all of us could become. We could shine like stars for the rest of our lives.
First and very important is to discover where that place is for us. Cause this place is different for different people and businesses.
So…
Vision is the biggest and the highest goal in a life of a person or an organization. The vision is an ideal model of how could we be, and a motivational and guiding star in our lives.
It contains the maximum potential that we can reach in our lives.
The vision is the anchor of the focus in our lives. Like a boat without an anchor, people and businesses without vision are getting lost.
It focuses towards where are we going in our lives. The vision paves the path, which we are about to follow, educate our selves, work and create.
We need vision in order to concentrate our creative energy towards fulfilling our goals in life.
The vision brings meaning and colour in our lives.
We need vision in order to live fully, not just part time.
The vision has the quality of a GOAL. When we don’t have a purpose in life it’s normal to feel lost, un-focused and to throw the energy on many sides without concrete aim. Without a vision in life, we could not be fulfilled in long terms. Without it we also achieve minimised personal and professional results.
Most people and new businesses fail as a lack of vision. They concentrate on quick gains and on short-term goals. This instant philosophy is not fulfilling and sustainable on long way.
How to create your vision in life?
Step1
Ask your selves and answer the questions from the first triangle (life purpose). For organizations (use the second triangle) this process is slightly longer as it involves both managerial and employee level participation. Companies should use organizational coach for this purpose.
Be aware, you have to feel your vision from within, with your hart. Your vision, if right, will have a quality of fulfilling and joys feeling.
When the vision is right for us, people say in moments like this: “This is it, this is for me/us”. And you will know it without a doubt.
If fulfilment is not accompanying your vision perhaps you need to be more persistent and patient in the answer from your hart.
Your life vision is not a mental-intellectual process, and it should not come from your brain.
The feeling could not come from the head any way. In the process of discovering your vision, you need to learn to trust your emotional intelligence, or the “path with the hart”.
The vision is like a call from the soul, from within. It will inspire you and fill you with energy and joy.
There is not a single person in the world that could not recognise this feeling. The only thing we have to do is to persistently ask our selves the vision questions and to listen for the answers within. The answers to these questions will inevitably come. For some of us it will take more, for others les time to get the answer. With time the vision will become clear and clear.
Once you get the feeling start working on fulfilling your vision.
In addition to the questions from the first triangle, you could ask your self this ones too:
Where do I want to be in 25 years?
What would I like to do then, that will fulfil me, engage my creativity and make me useful and contributing for the systems that surround me (family, friends, colleagues, the wider society, my country and the planet?) How, with my unique talents could I contribute to richness in my personal and professional life, society and life on the planet?
Step2
What to do, action steps in order to reach the vision and the full potential of a person or organization?
To begin with, all you have to do is to focus your attention towards your hart and ask the questions.
The emotional intelligence of our hart has superior natural intelligence. Once you have the sign of your vision from your hart, start working on it. By working on your vision, you are working on the fulfilling of your potential and life purpose. There is no bigger enjoyment in life, but to work on what fulfils us the most.
Remember, if you are not fulfilled with what you are doing in life, perhaps you are not walking the path of your hart, no matter weather you are having excellent financial results.
Personal fulfilment is precondition to success.
Anthony Robins, one of the most commercial coaches in the world says: ”Success without fulfilment is failure”.
Start your action plan that will take you towards your fulfilment and life purpose, by asking your self:
Where do I/we want to be in 25 years from now? Personally and professionally?
What would I be doing then, that will fulfil me?
How with my creativity I can contribute to the systems around me? What lies at the hart of my being?
What lies at the hart of my/our work?
Take a pen and paper and start writing the answers on these questions as well. What is most important to you? Is that your family, health, profession, friends etc?
Where do you want to be internally in your life?
What are the most important things for you in life?
No one could know the answers on these questions but you, no one.
Do not worry if you do not know in an instant where you would like to be in 25 years from now.
The whole process of visioning and achieving your life goals could be illustrated as below.
Be aware, your vision is the guide, and your medium and short-term goals must be in line with the vision. This is the only way to create continuous focus in our lives. One of the biggest causes of failure in life and business is the broken focus. People are often making the same mistake over and over again, by focusing on short-term results, and forgetting the bigger picture.
Step 4As the old telescopes used to be open in order to have closer picture of what is far in front of our eyes, the same way we could work with vision and make it closer to us. Having the vision in mind as the highest goal, and where you want to see your self in 25 years from now, ask your self:
Where do I want to be in 5 years time from now in order to reach my vision? Write down your concrete list of goals that you want to achieve by 5 years from now. What will you learn, complete, and build by then?
Which people do you need to surround you in your life by then in order to help you and support you reaching you vision?
Remember, always be guided by what fulfils you internally. If you work the job that you are destined and fulfils you, you’ll always have long term satisfaction, including the financial one.
Organizations and businesses could use these questions :
What will we as business produce, export by then, that will empower, strengthen and fulfil us?
What services will we offer?
Who will be your clients, partners?
What markets will you be present?
What will be the number of your employees, offices, and production sites? Be ambitious and also realistic (also read the phase II of the coaching processREALITY) in you projections for your place 5 years from now. Organizations must take care about their profits, yet at the same time they must be beneficial for its consumers and the environment too. (See also: Quality of vision, win-win-win).
In order to achieve your life purpose (your life long vision), and your 5-year plan , what do you need to do in this year?
What are your yearly goals that will bring you closer to fulfilling your 5 years ambitions and ultimately your vision?
Write the list of your yearly goals. Put at least 5-7 yearly goals. Once you complete this, look at your list once again and chose the priorities.
The first things on the list are your immediate goals on which you need to focus and work right now.
The rest of your yearly goals will come first on your list, once you complete the immediate ones first.
If you are self-motivated and disciplined person, you could work on your goals on your own if you use the basic coaching principles given in this guidebook. Yet, the best coaching comes if an independent, impartial and professional coach supports you. You could contact Victor on ++38970 956 977
or via e-mail: viktor@skyisthelimit.org
The coaching model I mostly use is called GROW (Goal, Reality, Options, Will model), described by John Whitmore, have four main steps:
Other authors are using other models very close and similar to this model. For the simplicity I have chosen this very simple basic tool.
I . Choosing the GOAL
I I . Assessing and evaluating the reality of your current goal I I I . Discovering the options that will take you to the goal I I I I . Will- Action plan and next steps
I. The Goal
Choose the most important option from your list in step 5.
Make this option, your current goal. Write down this goal. Make it clear as much as possible.
What will be the end result of this goal?
How it will look once completed?
How much time you will give your selves in order to complete it fully? Be very specific about the time, the start and the end. Be realistic in allocating the time per goal.
If you give your selves a bigger bite than you could choose, perhaps you will have to extend your allocated time or minimise the goal you want to achieve. Always use pen and paper to write your answers.
Try to imagine and create a vivid picture in your fantasy about how the completed goal would look like.
Answer these questions:
What is the present situation?
What have you done so far in order to accomplish this goal? What results do you have from the actions taken and completed so far? If you haven’t done anything so far, answer nothing.
People often create ambitious goals. There is nothing wrong in the ambition. Yet it is often not very realistic either. That is why, before we start working on something we should check how realistic our goals are.
Example:
The recently appointed new manager of the sale team in a car shop has set an ambitious goal for him and his team. “ To sale 500 new vehicles in the last quarter (Q) of the year”.
When asked a reality question: how was the sale of vehicles in the past 4 quarters? the statistic created the reality of the new goal.
In Q4 a year ago, the sale was 468, In Q1 the sale was 457, in Q2 the sale was 443 and in Q3 the sale was 460.
The importance of establishing realistic goals is paramount.
Unrealistic goals easily create big expectations, and lots of additional invested energy, which when not fulfilled brings disappointments and feelings of un-achievement. This tension is also very stressful for the working people and teams.
That is why, sometimes is wise to lower the ambitious goal, rather than have and an unrealistic optimistic goal.
Young managers and entrepreneurs, who by nature are passionate, energetic and impatient to see their ideas materialise, should pay much attention to the reality of their current goals, especially the new start up businesses, who need to be aware that from the day of opening, till the day of money making, it is normally to invest 18 to 36 months.
Perhaps our wise ancestors, knowing this facts have said that:
”Rome was not build in a day”
I I I. Options
What do you have to do in order to reach this current goal? what are all your options that come to your mind? Write them all. Before you complete the list ask your self: What else could I do in order to reach and complete this goal?
Now check the list of options that you have created. If there is an option for which you think it’s unreal or you have doubts like:
I/we don’t have enough money to complete this, or
I/we don’t have enough time to complete this, ask your self this imaginary question:
I I I I. Action
Look at the list of all your options now.
Put your attention for one moment on your hart area. Concentrate on the feeling within and trust it. Your hart knows better than your brain what is your next best step. Ask you self these questions:
What action will I take firs in order to reach my current goal? When will I start with the actions? When will I finish? Be specific about your dates.
Who needs to know about these actions in order to support me and measure my progress?
Who could and will support me?
These questions are very important, as we all need support and partners while working on projects.
Complete the process with other options from your list in step 5.
You could use the above coaching principles in all aspects of your life, with all kind of goals important to you.
Few more words about the action taking:
Unless you take direct, consistent actions towards the achievement of your current goals and in line with your life vision, your chances for fulfilled success in life are left to bare minimum.
Taking consistent actions is paramount. It is not so important to do the things always right, but it is important to put the things in motion.
To start a journey of goals towards your life purpose, you need all the support in your life. From people and resources, to pictures, music and words of inspiration. Find what empowers you, what inspires and supports you and have it close to you. Use it as support and empowering fuel.
Books that could assist you:Celestine Prophecy, James Redfield
Practical Guide to Celestine prophecy, from the same author. Coaching for Performances, John Whitmore.
The inner Game of Tennis, Timothy Gallwey
The inner game of work, the same author.
Your life as art, Robert Fritz
Liberating the corporate soul, Richard Barrett
The little Prince, Antoan Exiperi
The Alchemist, Paulo Coelio
The writings of Deepak Chopra on the “ seven spiritual laws for success”.
This are some of mine supporting sentences:
I am gona shine like a star, till my hart stops…Mary J. Blidge
…being the one, is like being in love…The oracle talking to Neo. MATRIX
You must surround your self with things that give you great pleasure and peace. This are the items of the “Path with heart” Don Huan, from the books of Carlos Castaneda
”Perform daily the best you can, and over time you’ll become the best you can be”.