"If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours."
      - Henry David Thoreau

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Everyday Visionary Three Steps

Step one: Create a vision of what you desire to happen now or in the future. This is central to being an everyday visionary. Your vision is a touchstone to determine what you want to be aware of, and upon what to focus your actions. When things are not how you want, stop and focus your thoughts, feelings, and actions on what you want most to happen next. Repeat the thought or feeling over and over again to drown out what you don't want. Go to...

Step two: Awareness is using your ability to think, feel, see, and listen to notice opportunities or to provide direction. When you want to be visionary, hold your vision in your thoughts and use your senses to provide input about what action to take. Go to...

Step three: Action is necessary to make your vision happen. Without action the best of dreams will never see the light of day. The most effective action originates from vision combined with awareness. When you take action based upon your vision and awareness, you have a clear way to make choices about how to allocate your time and energy, how to prioritize and solve problems, and what resources to obtain or use. Go to...

Jump-start the future

     This moment is the outcome of the choices that you have made.

     The choices you make in this moment are the seeds of your future.

     Your future begins with what you vision now.

     Your future begins today.

     Your vision jump-starts your future. It becomes a rallying call to bring forth the energies, talents, and resources to make things happen.¹ It has the capacity to connect you to knowledge, skills, desires, and energy so powerfully that the outcome may be beyond what you could have imagined.²

     Through the visioning process, new images of the future are born. Stephen Covey states, "Everything is created twice - first in the mind, then in the physical world."³ While much of the future is out of our control, we can influence the outcome of events by using vision.⁴ Vision stimulates imagination, encourages creativity, and helps us identify opportunities that connect future choices with present values, beliefs, and desires.

     Few events "just happen." When people decide what is important to them and dream about what it might look like, the possibility of that particular future occurring becomes more likely.⁵

     When you create a vision, you take an active role in predicting how your life will be. Without a vision, you leave yourself open for others to control your destiny.

Notes

1. Nanus, "Leading the Vision Team."
2. C. Guadiani, "Developing a Vision," New Directions for Higher Education, 1996; 93: 59-70.
3. S. Covey, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1989), 99.
4. C. Bezold, "On Futures Thinking: Trends, Scenarios, Visions, and Strategies," Quality Progress, 1996; July: 81-83.
5. Nanus, "Leading the Vision Team."