It is 2:30 in the afternoon and you have been running like a rabbit since the moment you woke up. You arrived at this day with the best of intentions to take some time to work “on” your business instead of being trapped “in” it, even if it was just for today. Now, like most days, you are overwhelmed and frustrated that you have not been given a single minute to be the business leader you wanted to be today, and the thought of getting started now, at 2:30pm, is more than you can emotionally overcome. You slip back into the comfortable numbness…

Every business owner is equally bombarded with distractions and interruptions that pull us away from our best intentions for the day. Sadly, too often we willingly climb into the bumper car, choose to let ourselves get plowed into from all sides. Through the whiplash and headaches, we mutter, “I guess this is just how it is.” What if there was something different? What if it was within your capacity to have a controlled present because you had clarity about your preferred future? The discipline to see, define, and clarify a vision for your business is a powerful exercise that can inspire and focus your entire organization.

Create your vision by first dreaming about where you want to be in the next year, 3 years, 10 years, and 25 years. Think deeply about all the possibilities, the achievements, and the people you will serve. Write those things down. List the future gifts, awards, and accomplishments with which you will be blessed. Describe what you are feeling at the very moment you recognize your vision has become a reality. In your mind’s eye, shake the hands and offer hugs to your family and those who are there with you, who shared the ride with you. Smile and have fun as you celebrate all that has been accomplished. Give yourself some quiet time to really contemplate the future and your desires for your business and your life. In time, a vision for what you want will start to emerge. It will inspire you. Be patient with yourself, this is hard, but powerful and meaningful work.

Start to get all those thoughts down on paper or in a document on your computer. Add to it as new thoughts come to you. As you start to see it coming together on paper and in your mind, begin to write your vision to make it permanent.

A vision for your business includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Action-oriented – contains language that empowers disciplined and focused action
• Confident – suggests a moment in time and a place you will meet yourself, because in your mind, you are already there.
• Emotional – when read, it stirs your heart to relentless activity.
• Imaginative – shows freedom to imagine a new reality.
• Proactive – demonstrates that our behaviors are within our control.
• Specific – includes powerful verbs and descriptive words that paint a picture; it’s your masterpiece.

Congratulations! You have just captured your vision for your business. It’s the narrow, focused road down which each day of the journey brings you a little closer to your next big success. Keep it in front of you. Read it once daily until it becomes part of you. Review it periodically when you feel yourself getting off track or overly distracted. Share it with trusted friends and family members and bring them along on the journey for support as well.

Having an unclouded vision will not eliminate exhaustion and frustration. The power of vision is in its ability to refocus us, and those around us, on what we have set out to accomplish.

Ryan Hill
KLAS Business Mentor