Personal and Organizational Vision

A personal vision/mission statement is the framework for creating a powerful life. Your personal vision statement provides the direction necessary to guide the course of your days and the choices you make about your life. The idea is to craft a broad based idea about your life and what will really make it exciting and fulfilling, thats your life vision. From the vision, you craft a more focused and action orientated mission statement based on purpose. And finally you get to a list of goals, wishes, desires and needs. Think of the process like building a life strategy that has tasks and actions underneath it.

The vision is the center of the target, what your ideal life will look like its a guiding set of principles and objectives. Unlike a goal, a vision or mission rarely changes. It is a reason for our existence. It guides us in the decisions we make and the directions we take. To help you answer this think about what your passion is in life? What were you put on this earth to do? Your ultimate success in life will be determined by your ability to clearly define this and in turn this will drive your decision about being an entrepreneur. In order to create a balanced and successful life; your vision needs to include the following seven areas: 1. work and career 2. finances 3. recreation and free time 4. health and fitness 5. relationships 6. personal goals 7. contribution to the larger community Why Write a Personal Vision Statement? To express:

- your purpose - your lifes dream - your core values & beliefs - what you want for yourself - what you want to contribute to others - what you want to be Characteristics of a Vision Statement: - Engages your heart & spirit - Taps into embedded concerns & needs - Asserts what you want to create - Is something worth going for - Provides meaning to the work you do - Is a little cloudy and grand - Is simple - Is a living document - Provides a starting place from which to get more specificity - Is based on quality and dedication Key Elements of a Vision Statement: - Written down and referred to daily - Written in present tense, as if it has already been completed - Includes a variety of activities and time frames - Filled with descriptive details that anchor it to reality Use these questions to guide your thoughts:

What are the ten things you most enjoy doing? Be honest. What three things must you do every single day to feel fulfilled in your work? What are your five-six most important values? Your life has a number of important facets or dimensions, all of which deserve some attention in your personal vision statement. Write one important goal for each of them: physical, spiritual, work or career, family, social relationships, financial security, mental improvement and attention, and fun. If you never had to work another day in your life, how would you spend your time instead of working? When your life is ending, what will you regret not doing, seeing, or achieving? What strengths have other people commented on about you and your accomplishments? What strengths do you see in yourself?

Craft Your Personal Vision Statement

Once you have thoughtfully prepared answers to these questions and others that you identify, you are ready to craft a personal vision statement. Write in first person and make statements about the future you hope to achieve. Write the statements as if you are already making them happen in your life. Some experts recommend 50 words or less, but I would rather see you fully articulate the vision you want for your life and your future, than be limited by word count. Motivational speaker and writer, Brian Tracy, states that writing you vision down lends power and commitment to accomplishment. Keep in mind that your personal vision statement can also change over time, depending upon what is happening in your life. You will be amazed, however, at how many components remain consistent over time. Vision Statement Brainstorming Questions Things I Really Enjoy Doing What Brings Me Happiness/Joy The Two Best Moments of My Past Week Three Things I'd Do If I Won the Lottery

Issues or Causes I Care Deeply About

My Most Important Values (Circle)

Things I Can Do at the Good-toExcellent Level

What I'd Like to Stop Doing or Do as Little as Possible

Creating a personal vision statement 1. Based on my personal insight, these are the main things that motivate me/bring me joy and satisfaction:

2. My greatest strengths/abilities/traits/things I do best:

3. At least two things I can start doing/do more often that use my strengths and bring me joy:

4. This is my Personal Vision Statement for myself:

Developing Your Professional Vision

Developing Your Professional Vision A professional vision consists of two interrelated elements: Your CORE IDEOLOGY: What you stand for and why you exist as a professional, lasting qualities that in some cases will never change over the course of your lifetime. An ENVISIONED FUTURE: What you aspire to become, achieve, or create--a vividly described goal that will change only at long-term intervals. Your CORE IDEOLOGY Your core ideology defines what you stand for and aspire to achieve as a professional. It consists of 1. Your Core Values and 2. Your Core Purpose. Be aware that you can't create your core ideology; you discover it. You won't deduce it by observing anything in your external environment; you understand it by looking within yourself. Your core ideology must be authentic and genuine. It is not relevant to consider what core values you should have or what your core purpose ought to be. Aspirations may be part of your long-term envisioned

future or your short-term strategies, but they're not elements of your core ideology. Other people may readily share your core values or purpose. What will distinguish you is the consistency with which you live by your core ideology, not its content. 1. Your Core Values Your core values are your essential and enduring tenets. These guiding principles require no external justification and have intrinsic value, meaning and relevance to your conduct as a professional. You will not alter your core values in response to changes in your circumstances or external environment; rather, you will change jobs or even professions in order to remain true to your core values. You'll have to push with relentless honesty to define the values that are truly central for you. After drafting a preliminary list of potential core values, ask yourself the following five questions about each item: If for any reason this value became a disadvantage and you were somehow penalized for maintaining it, would you continue to live by it? If you were advising your children about their core values, how important should this value be in their professional lives? If you were independently wealthy, how significantly would this value continue to affect your dealings with other people? If you were to launch a new career in an entirely different profession, how important would this value be to you? Do you expect this value to be equally valid for you a year from now? Ten years from now? Twenty-five years from now? Aim to narrow down your list to three, four or (at most) five items. If more than five values remain on your list after asking these questions, consider whether you're confusing values (which rarely change, if ever) with strategies (which should change as often as necessary). 2. Your Core Purpose Your core purpose is your professional reason for being. It reflects your idealistic motivations for working. Your core purpose is a concept that should have meaning and relevance throughout your entire career, and it shouldn't be confused with professional goals, which may change frequently during your lifetime. Your core purpose is like a compass heading: it defines a course for you to follow, but it is not a destination that you can reach. But even though your core purpose doesn't change, it will inspire change. The fact that your core purpose can't be entirely fulfilled should drive you forward.

You can begin to understand your core purpose through a "Five Whys" exercise. First, state what you do as a professional in clear and simple language. Then ask yourself, "Why is this important?" Answer the question as clearly and simply as possible, and use your answer to redefine what you do as a professional. Then ask yourself, "Why is this important?" again, and repeat the process four more times. Each cycle should help you define your professional purpose at a deeper and more fundamental level. It may take fewer than five "Whys?" or it may take more, but at a certain point you will have a sense that this is your core purpose. Another approach is to ask yourself, "If I woke up tomorrow independently wealthy, what would keep me working in my current job? What deeper sense of purpose would motivate me to dedicate my valuable energies to this career, if there were no need for financial rewards?" Don't confuse core ideology with core competencies. The latter define "What you're good at," while the former defines "What you stand for and why you exist." Your ideology and competencies should be aligned and are often related, but they're still different concepts, with different implications for guiding your career. YOUR ENVISIONED FUTURE Like your core ideology, your envisioned future also consists of two parts: 1. An Audacious Goal and 2. A Vivid Description of what it would be like to accomplish that goal. 1. An Audacious Goal Ordinary goals are, well, ordinary. Audacious goals... Look beyond your current capabilities and environment. Are clear and tangible, requiring little or no explanation. Are compelling, energizing and engaging. Focus your efforts on their fulfillment. Have a defined finish line.

By definition, an audacious goal may have a modest chance of success, but it also compels you to believe that you can--and you will--achieve it. Take care not to confuse your audacious goal with your core purpose. You will one day achieve your audacious goal and move on to new ones, but you will never fulfill your core purpose. If your audacious goal is a mountain to climb, your core purpose is a guiding star on the horizon. 2. A Vivid Description

This is a vibrant, engaging and specific description of what it would be like to achieve your audacious goal. It may be useful to think of it not only in linguistic terms but also in images, as if it were a picture you could carry around with you to instantly communicate your audacious goal to others and to remind yourself of what success would feel like. Passion, emotion and conviction are essential elements of a truly vivid description. You can't just describe it; you have to feel it. If identifying your core ideology is a process of discovery, determining your envisioned future is an act of creativity. You may find it tempting to "analyze" your way into the future, but this approach may not yield success. If you're having difficulty identifying your audacious goal, it may be more effective to start from a vivid description of what success would feel like (by any definition of "success" that is relevant to you). This involves asking questions like the following: Where do you see yourself in ten or even 25 years? If a journalist in the future were to write an article about you and your success, what would the article be about? What topics would it cover? What limits have you set for yourself as a professional? And what would it look like if you exceeded those limits? Note that there is no "right" envisioned future. Your vision is the vision that you find exciting and stimulating. Don't measure it using other people's yardsticks.