Now, what?
When we get to the top of a mountain, by all means, it's important to take time to enjoy the view and relish our success. But after the celebration, the next step, and an important one, is deciding which mountain do I choose to climb next? And, what will the view look like from the top of that mountain? This is more than goal-setting.
For twelve weeks in the Dale Carnegie Course, we work on developing the ability to paint pictures in the minds of our listeners. Starting in an incident, we help our audience form a picture in their minds that matches the picture in ours.
This is basically the same. Imagine you are the speaker, describing an incident to you, the audience. It's merely a moment in time – that just hasn’t happened, yet. Your job is to paint the picture of what you want for yourself.
- What are you doing?
- What are you seeing?
- What are you saying?
- What are you hearing?
- What are you smelling?
- What are you sensing?
This is not difficult despite how others have made it sound.
- What do you daydream about? (Or, what do you worry about? Then, imagine what the opposite would look like.)
- When you think about what you want your life to look like, what excites you?
- To where does your mind wander when not thinking about a specific problem? Let your imagination run wild and dream.
It's vital to create a clear and compelling vision of our future. Without it, we'll lose interest. When it gets hard, we'll give up. So, how do we know it's compelling? You'll know what's compelling to you when:
- You think about it automatically when you wake up in the middle of the night;
- It's exciting enough to cause you to change;
- It's exciting enough for you to want to get better;
- It's exciting enough for you to to work harder and it doesn't seem harder;
- It's exciting enough for you to want to be more effective.
A compelling vision fuels the changes we need to make.
Maybe, the long-term goal, the long-term vision, is way off in the future. As you pursue it, what would your life look like three to six months down the road toward it?
Determining and deciding on your vision may be one of the most important things you ever do. Most people don't decide to go anywhere in life, so they never get anywhere in life.
According to insurance statistics, of 100 individuals beginning at age 25, by age 65, 95% will be dead, or dead broke. Only the top 5% will be successful.
95% of people never write down their goals; 5% do. Coincidence? I don't think so.
MY WAGE
- I bargained with Life for a penny,
- And Life would pay no more;
- However I begged at evening
- When I counted my scanty store;
- For Life is a just employer,
- He gives you what you ask,
- But once you have set the wages,
- Why, you must bear the task.
- I worked for a menial's hire,
- Only to learn, dismayed,
- That any wage I had asked of Life,
- Life would have gladly paid.
--J.B. Rittenhouse
Decide what you want, write it down, and go for it.
Success will come. (Just remember: opportunity is often missed because it arrives dressed in work clothes.)
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