Welcome to November! We are winding down the year now. I find that as we begin this process, it is time to take stock of all you have accomplished this year. Keep in mind the many challenges that we have faced individually and collectively.
Our business lives have changed. We are more online doing just about everything from networking, making presentations, attending meetings, and yes, even selling online. The fact that we have adapted to such huge change is staggering. That is why you must give yourselves a big pat on the back. We made it through 2021 (or pretty well made it), and that is worth honoring.
If I took you aside in 2018 and said, “Yes, in 2 years, you will be working from home; Zoom meetings will be the way to connect with clients and colleagues; you’re going to have to get used to change and adapting how you do business; attend a networking event in person, or go to that annual conference, well, not so fast!” Moreover, I would get some odd looks from you, if I told you that.
However, as important as it is to reflect on what has happened and what you have accomplished, it is also important still to visualize, dream, and plan. In your week, do you take time, to do these three things?
Visualize
The power of visualization has well been documented to work ― and work wonders at that! The head coach of the Chicago Bulls back in the day (when they were winning championships as much as we can down a bag of chips), Phil Jackson, would not only lead his team in a practice, but he would have them meditate and visualize them winning the next game. This act alone, led to Phil Jackson, being called, the “Zen Coach”.
Visualization of your goals and aspirations has been discussed and taught by Dr. Joe Dispenza, author and teacher of the book, Becoming Supernatural. He teaches about tapping into the “Quantum field” — a reality you can design.
Have you ever studied human behaviour? How can two successful people get great results, but each one has a different upbringing, beliefs, and responses? Each took different steps to get to where they were going! This proves you can create your own reality.
Alternatively, think of when Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute mile mark. It was May 6, 1954, and his time was 3:594. No one had achieved that feat before. Nevertheless, guess what? Within 46 days of this amazing feat, John Landy, one of Bannister’s rivals, broke the 4-minute mark, with a time of 3:579 — just a second and a half faster.
Once, you believe it, see it, and feel it, you can achieve it. This season, begin to visualize what you want to accomplish, and then do the work, needed to have it happen!
Dream
The other key is to dream again. I am going to show my age here as I share a movie, I would watch it with my family, my mom in particular. The film was made before my time, but we would watch it if it was on television then. In addition, my parents bought the soundtrack to the movie in the form of an album. That movie was called, “South Pacific,” which was a love story and a musical.
One of the songs in the movie and on the album was titled, “Happy Talk.” In it are the lyrics, “You gotta have a dream. If you don’t have a dream, how are you going to make your dreams come true?” When was the last time you dreamed about a future?
In these times we have been in for the past nineteen or so months, we lost touch in dreaming, in joy, in magic, and in wonder ― and life got serious. It is vital to dream again.
- Martin Luther King had a dream.
- John Kennedy had a dream of going to the moon.
- Even, actor Sylvester Stallone had a dream about the movie “Rocky.”
- Look at Richard Branson, who flew into space in the sBVBummer — he is always dreaming.
Take time to dream, write it down, do a vision board, share your dream with others, and do a video about it. Share it with stake holders, investors, employees, and customers. Get them to get behind your dream. Now, if they do not get behind your dream, trust that someone will. So, keep going!
Plan
Lastly, as the late great Napoleon Hill once said, “When you put your ideas into writing them down, you will have given concrete form, to the intangible ideas.” I am paraphrasing a bit, but the idea is that a vision or dream is not going to manifest if you do not have a game plan and clarity as to how you will accomplish it and see it happen!
I am not asking you to write a new business plan, but you can write an action plan with concrete goals or tasks you need to make it happen. Roger Bannister did not believe he could run a 4-minute mile. He planned to make it become a reality.
Now, run your own race, in the New Year ahead, but take the time now to get ready: On your mark, get set, and GO!
David Cohen
