Without Vision the People Perish

Without vision the people perish. 

Personally, I believe the most successful entrepreneurs/small business owners master three things: vision, talent multiplication, and serving.

The number one issue I see with small business owners not reaching their full potential is a lack of vision. Not really knowing where they are going (end point, end goal, major milestones, etc) or how they’ll get there. 

Until you gain complete clarity on what you want in your life, you will never be able to achieve it. You will always have some level of discontent and unfulfillment. You will never experience true freedom – freedom of time, money, purpose or relationships. 

If you can SEE it, you can achieve it. If you can’t, you never will.

I had to figure this out the hard way. 

When I had my first company, I had no vision of what I wanted from it. I was scratching the entrepreneurial itch. I’m pretty smart and figured I could run a business better than most. I spent my time grinding, doing $10/hour work, just making a buck. I had no vision, no framework, no purpose. When 2008 came, I wasn’t prepared. I didn’t have the structure to survive.

Since then I’ve spent countless postmortem hours on what I could have/should have done differently. 

This is the framework I discovered and have now applied with dozens of companies, including my current one, to create exponential growth, clarity, and personal freedom.

We’ll begin by asking 3 Questions:

1. Where are you today?

2. Where do you wish you were instead?

3. How are you going to get there?

It’s just that simple, right. Then why don’t people know?

I travel a fair amount. Once I’ve determined the destination, the first thing I do is map the journey. How am I going to get there in the least time and with the fewest headaches/obstacles? It may be flying, driving, renting a car, using an uber, where I’m staying, etc. Or, I could just wing it. Figure it out as I go. And that never works out well. 

Why would you treat your life any differently? Why would you just wing it? Just take life as it comes. 

For a vacation you meticulously plan every detail of the trip. Why? So you’ll have a lot of fun and no stress.

Why don’t we do that with our business? With our lives? We plan more for vacations and weddings than we do our lives. This is why so many people are stressed out and unhappy.

Here’s a framework I’ve used dozens of times for myself and clients to get clear on your vision. Use the three questions from above.

1. Where are you today?

2. Where do you wish you were instead?

3. How are you going to get there?

Where are you today?

Use the scorecard or life wheel. In each area of your life, score yourself 1 – 10, with 10 representing you are crushing it in this area. Be honest. 

Connect the dots around the wheel. Where are your flat spots?

Where do you wish you were instead? 

Write down why a spot is flat or not where you want it to be. There may be 3 areas or all 10. List out your lowest spots down to your highest. On your list, write why you scored it the way you did. Then put the score you want in that area. 

How are you going to get there?

Top 3 priorities: which areas are you going to work on first?

Pick the top 3 you are going to work on over the next 90 days…write down specific actions you’re going to take. Be very specific.

In the next 3 years…write down the actions over the next three years you’re going to take. Again, be very specific.

This simple exercise will get you started in the right direction. Revisit your top priorities every quarter to evaluate your progress, establish new short-term (90-day) priorities, and make sure you’re headed toward your long-term goal(s).

Need further help?

Please reach out to me at lloyd@lloydeasters.com.

Use the subject line “Help” and I will respond right away.