Your Life Tomorrow: Creating a Personal Vision Statement

Is there a more confused (or confusing) subject than creating a personal vision statement? Okay, leadership is about "vision", and obviously there's nothing wrong about creating a vision for your life and your business.

Is it really all about mindset?

So how do we create a vision statement that works? One that takes reality into account, and puts us into action mode, while holding us accountable for producing results? Aren't results the object of any plan of action?

Where do we start? At the beginning of course; with the brutal facts.

To make better decisions and to avoid making the same mistakes over and over we must get real with ourselves and assess where we are in our lives and businesses. As Robert Greene writes in his book The 48 Laws of power: "You begin by examining the mistakes you have made in the past, the ones that have most grievously held you back."

Clear thinking about your vision for the future is rooted in your ability to think clearly about the past.

But at the heart of many books and training courses is that the "dream" itself is the key to making it come true. That's B.S!

Clear thinking about the past plus a clear assessment of the present determines your ability to accurately visualize the future. It is part and parcel to all achievement, any one who tells you different does not have your best interests in mind.

Why Personal Vision Statements Collect So Much Dust

Most visions for the future focus on the end results, but forget the necessary steps that must be taken to achieve it. A good vision statement will never forget the barriers to success and give ideas on how to mitigate them.

These barriers are actually beneficial because they keep you honest and focused on the task at hand. The key to making your vision a reality is constant small improvements (like the Japanese idea of Kaizen), improvements not only to yourself but improvements to your vision statement as well.

Have You Spied the #1 Enemy To A Powerful Vision?

It is a silent killer to thousands of could-be visions, do you know what it is?

Choice kills vision. . . too many choices to be exact.

If there is one serious danger lurking in the future in the back of people's minds who dream of achieving great things both professionally and personally, it is not a lack of choices, it is too many choices.

Viva Le Hedgehog!

• What you can be best in the world at?
• What are you deeply passionate about?
• What drives your economic engine?

For you, understanding these three factors at a core level, and being able to visualize the shared space in the middle Collins calls "The Hedgehog Concept".

The best businesses confront the brutal facts through disciplined thought, then they root their personal vision statement on the amalgamation of these factors.

You can do the same.

This process takes disciplined thought, something you might feel you are lacking. At first everyone feels this type of resistance, but you must identify it as just that: Resistance. "Resistance presents us with a series of plausible, rational justifications for why we shouldn't do our work," says Steven Pressfield.

Once you have the three factors in place making decisions about your personal vision statement becomes 100% simpler. It makes the answers self-evident because if they don't fit into your "Hedgehog Concept" they don't belong.

Stop Buying the Foo-foo Mysticism

Many books and trainings encouraging you to write a personal vision statement encourage you to do so with flowery language and possession of the always elusive "positive attitude."

Why? Because flowery language and attitude are easier to sell than reality. The only way to improve your results is to develop the skills that produce better results; success produced any other way is pure dumb luck.

A Positive Attitude Still Counts (as long as you have your bases covered)

I'm not suggesting a positive attitude is worthless, far from it. Positively is essential to stay focused and accountable on your vision and goals. Staying positive while in possession of a clear sense of reality is key to success.

Understanding your position in the world is essential to make rational good decisions. Which means avoiding delusions at all costs. For many people living their life under an illusion this process can be painful, and many people avoid pain (even when it's good for you).

In the short term, avoiding pain can cause long term destruction. Those brave souls who develop their personal vision statement without the possession of a clear sense of reality, will find more obstacles that ways to mitigate them.

The better understanding you have of your position, the better grounded you'll be and the better results you'll attain in the future.

So the starting point for your personal vision statement (return to SMART goals page) is: "Your Truth Grounded In Reality."