%20(4).png)
6 truths about a strong vision and why all People Warriors need one.
John Maxwell infamously says that "Leadership is influence, nothing more and nothing less." I also believe that in order to be a great leader, you have to be a great influencer. But I also believe that before you can become a great influencer or even start the journey towards becoming a great influencer, there is an even more important journey you must go on and that is understanding some key fundamental things about who you are as a person, such as what you want to achieve, what you want to be known for, and what motivates you and brings you joy.
In order to become a great leader, a great person of influence, a People Warrior - you must first understand and build your firm foundation. The firm foundation of a People Warrior is built around these 4 areas - vision, values, strengths and passion.
Vision
Where are you now? Where do you want to go? What do you want to achieve? What do you want to become?
Values
What are your core set of beliefs? What type of person do you want to be? What do you want to be known or remembered for?
Strengths
What are you really good at? What do you do better than others? What makes you stand out?
Passions
What brings you joy? What motivates you? What lights your fire?
So today, let's start with vision.
Here are six things to understand about vision:
#1 - Visions should not be exclusively tied to a career.
This is tricky shift in mindset because we are trained from a super young age do this simply by answering the one question that every single child and teenager in the world is asked by their parents and teachers - what do you want to be when you grow up? We are encouraged to answer that question with a choice in career- doctor, astronaut, or as young Heather would have answered - a trapeze artist.
At a young age, we don’t answer that question with “I want to be a loving and devoted mother and wife, create balance in my household, be a great role model for others and raise disciples of God.” But in a cemetery you don’t see gravestones that say “great CEO, great accountant, worked 80 hours a week and loved it, hit his quota 5 years in a row.” No, you see loving mother, loving father, sister, spouse, etc.
While a successful career may be a part of a great vision, it is certainly not the entire vision. Having a great vision, just like a becoming a great leader, is holistic and inclusive of not just a career path or career success but what type of friend, family member, community member you want to be. What are your goals for your family? What types of relationships do you want to have? How do you want to be remembered?
#2 - Visions change. Visions mature. Visions evolve. And that's ok.
Very rarely does a person become exactly what they thought they were going to be when they were, let’s say 22. Life happens, change happens and our visions tend to mature and evolve with those changes. When I was 18 I wanted to be a Broadway star. Then I got vocal nodules. Boom, vision shifted. I wanted to become a casting director in NYC. Then my dad was diagnosed with ALS and I suddenly was craving a lifestyle and sense of stability that casting in NYC wasn’t going to offer me. Boom, vision shifted. Vision matured.
I wanted to be a super successful leadership speaker, consultant and influencer before I was 30. Then I got married and had a baby. Boom, vision shifted. Vision matured. Vision evolved. My vision was not just about me and my career any more, and it was a vision that my husband and I created and shared together. We talked about and created a vision for our family that became the epicenter for all other visions and decisions we made and still make today.
Life happens, seasons happen, change happens. And if you arm yourself with a solid understanding the other three foundations - values, strengths and passions, you will be able to successfully navigate your way through those seasons of change, adapting your vision or creating new and better visions along the way.
#3 - Visions force you to focus on what you want vs. what you don't have.
Valerie Burton, CEO of CAP Institute, said "too often we focus on what we don't want. You can be in a work environment talking about how tired you are, the person who gets on your nerves, you could be a relationship and all you think about is what about that person you don't like so you focus on what you don’t want. It becomes the focus of every conversation - why you can't have the thing that you want. Too often we get caught up and we never pause to ask yourself - what do you want?"
When you catch yourself complaining or focusing on what you don't want or what you don't have, force yourself to pause, reflect and look at the situation through the lens of "what do I want?" If you are complaining about not getting a promotion, what you may really want is to be valued, appreciated, recognized for your hard work. When you complain about feeling stuck or unmotivated, what you may really want is to be given new challenges and opportunities to learn new skills. When you complain about friends or family members what you may really want is an environment with people who share your values.
Instead of asking yourself what you are doing wrong or what others are doing wrong, ask yourself what you want to see happen or what could go right. The answers you will find from this shift in mindset, this different set of lenses, will begin to shape a vision for what you want in the future.
#4 - Visions become a compass.
Understanding your vision will help you know what to say YES to and what to say NO to. This is super super important. It helps you navigate through life's various seasons - seasons of joy like marriage and having children, but also tough seasons like getting laid off or losing a family member. It also helps you make the right choices when faced with tough decisions, and gives you resilience and perspective. Resilience allows you to bounce back from set backs or obstacles. Perspective can allow you to slow down or take a needed step back.
#5 - The kryptonite for a great vision is fear.
There is a great song by Zach Williams that says "Fear, he is a liar. He will take your breath, stop you in your steps. He will rob your rest, steal your happiness. Cast your fear in the fire, 'Cause fear he is a liar".
Nothing will rob you of or deter you from your vision faster than fear. Which is tricky, because fear is a part of life. No one goes through life without fearing something. It is a natural, human emotion. A normal response to danger. And there is healthy fear and unhealthy fear. Think of fear as a spectrum.
On one side you have the healthy fear which is pre-programmed in our nervous system. Healthy fear is good for you because it keeps you away from danger, can allow you to change behaviors and perspectives, and helps you make good decisions.
On the other end you have unhealthy fear, which is constant, sometimes paralyzing. Unhealthy fear keeps you in a state of being overly cautious and never taking risks. It prevents you from doing things that are actually good for you, that will help you grow, that will bring you joy - it keeps you from fulfilling your purpose. Unhealthy fear doesn't creep in as much when we are comfortable or in our safe place. He likes to rear his ugly head when we are out of our comfort zone, taking risks, putting ourselves out there. And he will show up with his two brothers guilt and doubt and they will try and hijack your life, your responses, and your decisions.
Having a strong vision, a firm foundation, will help you recognize and lean into healthy fear, kick unhealthy fear to the curb, maintain your confidence and belief in yourself and stay on the right track.
#6 - Visions cannot be achieved alone.
There isn't a successful leader in the world, or in history, that got to the top by themselves. You have heard the phrase "it takes a village." This certainly applies to successful businesses and leaders in business, but it also equally applies to successful families, relationships, communities…and yes, working towards your vision!
Ask others for help or insight who have gone through what you are going through before. Lean on your spouse or other trusted family members or friends to hold you accountable, to let you know if you start to stray off path or if your vision doesn't uphold your values.
Create circles of accountability by creating shared visions with your family or close friends. What kind of spouse or partner do you want to be? What kind of family do you want to raise? What do you want your family finances looking like?
Understanding Your Vision
In a recent podcast on "Becoming a Difference Maker" John Maxwell talked about 4 voices of vision:
Inner Voice
The pull. The voice saying you are better than this. You were born to do something great. Yes, you can. You can do this. You can be successful.
Unhappy Voice
The voice of discontent. The voice that tells you that you aren't happy with where things are, that says things could be better or they should be better, there is something I could do to make it better.
Successful Voice
The voice of successful people who inspire others by giving a vision that has credibility. All of the sudden you hear them and think "yes, I can do that. I want to become like that." Someone who has already made it to the top and encouraging and helping others do the same.
Higher Voice
The God voice. The voice of the one who believes in you more than you believe in yourself. That knows what you’re capable of, that knows what you were born to do. That knows your purpose in life.
John says successful leaders listen to those voices and they respond accordingly. So take the time to pause and listen to each of these voices. What are they telling you?
Once you have listened to those voices and have started to answer those questions, you are ready to begin defining your vision.
Defining Your Vision
As I mentioned before, your career should just be one aspect of your vision. People Warriors is about becoming exceptional in all areas of your life that matter most - not just your career. So to begin defining your vision, think about what are the most important areas of your life and what success looks like for each one. Here are some examples:
Career
What do you want to do or create or build?
Self
What kind of person do you want to be? How do you want to be remembered?
Relationships
What kind of spouse, daughter, son, sister, brother, friend (etc.) do you want to be?
Family
What kind of family do you want to raise?
Friends
What kind of friends do you want to surround yourselves with?
Finances
What does financial success look like to you or your family?
Make the Shift
As you begin to think about what you want in the most important areas of your life, there is a mindset shift that should happen before ink meets paper, or fingers meet keyboard. When you write down and declare your vision, write about your best possible self in the present tense. Not "I'm going to" or "I want", but "I am" or "I have". Valerie Burton said "the power of your vision multiplies when you write it in the present tense. When you write it, you believe it. When you tell it, it starts to come true. It becomes real."
Declaring Your Vision
Download this free tool to help you understand, define and declare your visions. Write them down, keep them in a safe place, frequently check back in and make sure you are on the right path. And when life brings you a new season or throws you a curveball or when you are facing a tough decision, come back to this worksheet. Listen to the voices of vision. They may steer you back to the original path as planned, but they may also tell you it's time to adapt your vision or create a new and better vision.
This is a profound exercise that should fire you up, motivate you, give you clarity, but also make you a little bit nervous! You are setting a high bar for yourself and you know what? You can do this! Remember, fear he is a liar!
Comments