Because that's the danger,
the danger is that you have this unbelievably compelling vision,
but along the way, there's the daily grind. And typically, what happens is
we get so caught up in our so-called problems that we end up focusing on the problem,
living in the problems, so to speak, versus living and,
you know, essentially going towards and focusing on the solution.
One of my favorite businessmen who I really love and respect is James Cameron.
He's the director of “Titanic” and “Avatar”, and I say he's a businessman because
besides being, you know, an unbelievable director and an artist,
he's also a businessman. The reason why is,
I heard an interview that he did a year or two ago,
when, “Avatar” came out and they were like, “how did you stick with this
“Avatar” for 10 years?” “And you dumped your own money into it,
you just put everything on the line, how it is that you have now the two
biggest grossing movies of all time?” “What's the chance that one director
would have $2 billion to lose?” It just seems outrageously impossible, right?
He goes, “well, I'll tell you what I do”. And this is without even knowing
anything about the inner games, just naturally, he revealed it.
He goes, “here's what I do”. “I think really, really, really, really big,
this way, if I'm only half right, I'm still doing great”.
That's what James Cameron said. And herein lies one of the
great secrets to a vision. Is that it has to be so amazing
that even if only half becomes true like, “I'm doing great”.
If your vision is only going to be great, if everything happens,
typically it will not work out that way. And your vision is also malleable,
it's constantly changing, it's updating. Honestly, I'm just feeling so great,
and I'm living my vision like right now, like I'm living my own vision,
I don't have to look at it each day because it's just it's me,
I'm congruent, my life force is on my vision path.
It's when I feel like I'm off path that I make sure that every single day,
sometimes twice, three times a day, I'll put it on my screensaver, on my phone,
so every time I look at the phone, it's in my face,
what I got to be doing, where I'm going in life. To remind myself to train myself,
not to get caught up in all the daily noise. Because that's the danger,
the danger is that you have this unbelievably compelling vision,
but along the way, there's the daily grind. And typically, what happens is
we get so caught up in our so-called problems that we end up focusing on the problem,
living in the problems, so to speak, versus living
and essentially going towards and focusing on the solution.
There's an awful lot of hard work that stands between where you are right now
and where your vision is. It ain't going to be easy,
there's going to be work involved. So if you're not totally turned on,
and when you think about that vision, if it's not like, “Oh boy”, you know,
that's it, it seems like it's so worth it. Guess what your brain will say?
“Oh, not worth all the work”. So that's what happens,
some people when they think about what the actual end result is,
the prize, so to speak at the end of the day and the prize ain't so great,
and their brain, smart as it is, will say, “why do all the work?”
“If the payoff is not that great, why do all the work?”
And conversely, if you actually are in a situation where your vision is
so inspiring and the payoff is so dynamic and so fruitful
and so empowering that when you actually think about it
and you realize like,“ it's worth it”, you will do the work,
you'll go through the barriers, you’ll go through the obstacles.
There is going to be obstacles, there is going to be setbacks along the way.
It's never a straight line to success. We wish it was, but it's just not,
it's going to be all these sort of detours and sort of,
problems and obstacles that come in that just kind of kind of mess you up.
And if you have that, that amazing vision though, that truly inspires, you'll say,
“it's worth it, I'll do the work, I'll overcome the obstacles”.
So that's the first thing that really you have to just have to drop the negative voices
the naysaying voices of the past and write a compelling vision
that is thinking big. That's about the best you can be on the horizon,
that's number one. The second thing that you have to do is,
you have to write it in the actual present tense. “In five years, I see myself doing…”,
not like, ”in three years now, maybe I'll have this…”,
It's got to be, “I am doing this”. “I am. I am living here”.
“I am driving this car, my wife is doing this”. “My children are attending these schools”.
“My parents now are no longer struggling day to day”.
“I am moving up now, I am working each day and feeling great”.
And you start speaking in the present tense and your brain starts to make it real.
So you want to project three to five years down the road,
think big and bold. Unlimited possibility.
If you're sitting watching this right now, you're smart enough to do a vision statement,
so that's not what's holding you back. If you're being held back right now
from writing your vision statement you are simply just not trying,
you have the skill set to do it. So what I would do in that case,
let's say, you know, you're blocked, you just can't,
for some reason, you can't get off the mark,
you can't get past square one, I would start in a different way, I'd say,
“rather than my vision, let's start off with my why”.
“Why is success important to me?” “Why do I really want to achieve?”
Let's call your vision achievement. “Why do I want to have achievement in my life?”
“Why does it matter?” “What are the things in my
life that really are important that are really my drivers?”
At the deepest level, we always move away from things that cause us pain
and we gravitate towards things that give us pleasure.
So I would say, what in your life gives you ultimate pleasure?
What is ultimate pleasure mean to you? And what is ultimate pain mean to you?