Dream for Tomorrow - Act for Today

Myles Monroe said, “The wealthiest place in the world is the cemetery… there is buried the greatest treasure of untapped potential.” While it’s tragic to watch people meander through life, just going through the motions, and living without purpose or vision, it’s far worse when someone has a vision but lacks the ability to execute on that vision.  Highly successful people are proficient at three skills: creating a compelling vision of the future, developing plans to achieve the vision, and executing on those plans

Dream Big

Think back to your childhood and your dreams of greatness.  We all had dreams of fame, fortune, and greatness. As adults, we’ve heard words like no, can’t, impossible, and failure too often, and they’ve tempered our dreams. It’s time to dream big again, starting now. Don’t process, don’t evaluate, don’t squelch your ideas, and don’t say the word “impossible.” Simply dream:

• What’s the legacy you wish to leave behind for generations to come?
• What’s your purpose in life?
• What’s your vision for your spiritual life?
• Where do you see your family in 5, 10, 20, 50 years?
• What’s the vision for your health and well-being for the future?
• What would you like to accomplish in your career and/or for your organization?
• What are some crazy bucket list items you’d like to achieve?

Translate Your Vision Into Action Plans

"Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.” ~ Joel A. Barker.  You just created statements of vision, and now it’s time to set the stage for action:

• Compel - take the vision above and make it compelling.  Ask the question, why is this important? Let’s say your vision is to someday run a marathon.  The vision is far more inspiring and motivating if there’s a “why” behind it.  Maybe you want to be a role model for your children of health and longevity. Perhaps you have a vision to improve processes in your workgroup.  A compelling story like, “This will help us improve our productivity and quality, while also improving our work-life balance by reducing overtime” will go a long ways in rallying the troops.
• Communicate - engage everyone impacted by this vision.  If your vision is to someday climb Mt. Rainier, you’ll need support from loved ones when you’re gone doing training climbs. If your vision is to transform an organization at work, you’ll need not only the awareness, but the full engagement and support, of the team.  Communicate early and often
• Empower - allow all affected groups to take ownership in refining the vision and the compelling story behind it.  Make sure everyone is (or can be) equipped for success. For example, if your vision is for your an innovative idea at work, make sure the team has the right tools and training for success.
• Plan - this is where most dreams go to die. This happens every New Years Eve as dreams and visions become resolutions, but without proper planning, they fail. If this is new territory for you, look to others for help.  Ask people who’ve already been there to help you plan. If your dream is to run a marathon, research plans and adopt one that already works.  If your dream is to transform how your organization works, talk to other senior leaders who’ve already done this. Identify the necessary steps and timing that will move you towards your vision. You need some realistic actions and milestones that will bring the vision to life.

Execute

You now have a compelling, well-communicated vision that is inspiring and motivating.  You also have a step-by-step plan of attack, with actions, due dates, and milestones.  It’s time to get busy.

• Prioritize - make sure this action plan is properly prioritized to ensure it gets attention. You may need to sacrifice in other areas, and if so, identify those areas now.
• Schedule - does this require meetings, trips, or concrete blocks of time carved out to achieve the action plan? If so, get them on your calendar.  If you’re planning to run a marathon, put your daily running time on your calendar.  If this is a team vision, get their time blocked for meetings, working sessions, etc.. Whenever the action is delimited to a finite start and end time on a given day, put it on your calendar.
• Act - do you need to put action items on your to-do list? In the running example, maybe you need to buy running shoes, running clothes, or gym memberships.  Maybe you need to set milestones every month to evaluate progress against plan. 
• Fail and Course Correct - allow yourself to fail. You will encounter setbacks, you will have challenges, and you need to overcome those failure moments and use them to propel you forward.  The plan you start with will likely change considerably, and you need to be flexible while keeping the end in mind.

Putting It Together

As an overweight, unhealthy forty-something, the vision of me becoming a role model of health and fitness for my children seemed like a dream not worth dreaming. I shared my vision with a coach and a nutritionist, and they helped me marry-up the dream with the right action plan. Every workout was on my calendar, every action was in my to-do list, and those impacted by the vision have been with me every step of the way.  Fifty pounds of weight lost, six marathons completed, three Ironman triathlons completed, and the dream has become reality.  I did it, so can you.  Just imagine the possibilities...

Welcome to the new you.  Enjoy the journey... 

Check out Enjoy the Journey on Amazon.com at  https://goo.gl/G9BM8O

Learn more about Dave VanEpps or request a speaking engagement at www.davevanepps.com 

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