“Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.” ~ Jonathan Swift

This year is moving at the speed of light and I know that if you’ve watched it blow right on by, now you may be thinking that you could have gotten more done or having the “shoulda, coulda, woulda” conversation with yourself.  You’re looking at what didn’t get done and trying to figure out what to do before the end of the year so things aren’t left hanging, which leaves you determined to get things on track and not start next year in this same mode.

So what is vision? Vision is of course, your picture; what you see as it relates to anything that you want to bring to fruition.  Visioning is the starting point of your planning.  That’s where it all begins; it’s what leads to your plan to carry it all out.  Without it, the rubber can’t hit the road, and nothing comes to fruition.  Do you think about vision before you start to plan? If not, this might be one reason why the year has blown by without you being able to get any of your top goals accomplished. Missing that step will have you wandering aimlessly as you attempt to forge forward but instead, only find yourself spinning your wheels.

Before you do anything, you have to know where you want to go and have a crystal clear vision of what it is. Not having vision, or not having it be clear will stall your efforts every time. So, exactly what do you do if you don’t have that clear vision? Think about what you want, and with all of the details. What do you want to accomplish inside of your business?  What’s the best thing that you can imagine?  Don’t leave anything out and write down what you want things to look like. At this point, you’re visioning, so you aren’t focusing on the “how” or “who”, just on the “what”, and be specific so that the picture is really clear. Remember this is your vision, not anyone else’s, so you have to see beyond what others may see or even be projecting for you. You have to allow yourself to see what’s not there; what has yet to be. Your vision should be something that moves you, inspires you and something that will pull you forward.

Invest time in creating your crystal vision. You might be able to get the clarity for what you want in the matter of just a couple of hours, or you might need more time or even to contemplate things and come back to it a day or so later. It’s necessary to make the time to do this before you start trying to make it all happen. Once your vision is clear, it’s time to take the vision and create your road map to getting there with a solid plan.  Without vision, you have no foundation to pursue and bring what you want to life. Don’t make the mistake of missing this step. Make the time now to tighten things up for the final quarter of the year and to set things in motion for the coming year. Put your vision first!