There's Nothing Worse than Failure

“Your vision of where you want to be is the greatest asset you have.”

~ Paul Arden, It’s Now How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be ~

It’s scary to put your vision down on paper, to talk about it, to share it with the world because, if you do this, if you take the risk of putting it out there and you FAIL, everyone will know. Including you.

And there’s nothing worse than failure. (Oh the horror!)

The other thing that happens when you establish your vision is that you have to commit to it, don’t you? There’s no wishy-washy dabbling, playing around, considering to be done. When you establish your vision and share it with the world you make a commitment and if you bail on it then, well, you’re a flake, aren’t you?

And being a flake is almost as bad as being a failure. Almost.

Yes, the task of creating and sharing your vision can be daunting. But here’s the thing: If you don’t do it, then you’re destined to fumble around where you are from now until forever.

There is one, and only one, sure fire way to never risk failure. If you never set a goal, if you never establish your vision and you never really go for it, then you are certain to never fail.

You’ll never fail, but then, you’ll never really succeed. You’ll be stable but you’ll stagnate.

Are you happy with stable? Maybe. Are you happy with stagnant? I hope not.

There’s one more syndrome that comes with lack of vision. I call it “Bouncing Ball Syndrome.” You might also call it “Shiny Object Syndrome.” There’s always some fun new thing coming along to try, a new technique, a new theory, a new piece of advice, a new piece of equipment, a new client with a new perspective. Without a clear vision of what YOU want YOUR business to be and where you want to go, it’s easy to become distracted by all the shiny objects and just bounce from one to the next, never fully committing and confusing the hell out of your clients along the way.

“So I can never change my mind?” you ask. “I can never find a new way or a new perspective? I have to close my eyes and ignore what’s happening around me and just STICK TO THE PLAN??? What if the plan isn’t working? What if I realize I don’t like it? Do I have to go down with the ship???”

Breathe!!!

Establishing your vision is not about creating a concrete mold that can’t be broken. It’s not about being immovable, inflexible, outdated and stuck. (That’s a whole other syndrome…) It’s about having a plan that’s true to who you are. And if it changes over time, that’s okay. You’ll be able to make decisions based on your long term goals that are authentic to you.

Your vision will evolve as YOU evolve.

But changes won’t be shocking to your clients or your audience because your core vision is about who YOU are. And that will be strong and stable. Because you took the time to do the soul searching and establish the fundamental values that define you and your business.

So, where do you start? As Simon Sinek titled his best selling book ~ START WITH WHY

“It all starts with clarity. You have to know WHY you do WHAT you do.”

“If the leader of the organization can’t clearly articulate WHY the organization exists in terms beyond its product or services, then how does he expect his employees to know WHY to come to work.”

Does the same not apply to your customers? If you can’t articulate WHY you do WHAT you do, then how can your clients/patients/customers know WHY to come to you rather than your competition?

You must establish your VISION and you must start with WHY.

Now is the perfect time to get to work on establishing your vision. Start the next year with a clear vision of your purpose, your passion and your goals for your business and see how this year compares to the last.

Once you have established your vision… Share it! Put it on your website, post it in your office. Incorporate it into everything you do. When you get distracted or discouraged, go back and read your vision. It will be your guide to make sure you stay on a path that is authentic to you, and if you do that, you can’t go wrong.

Need a Hand Creating Your Vision?
Kick Start 2012 by Creating Your Vision in a 90 minute Coaching Session where you’ll find the clarity you need to establish your vision and get started making 2012 your best year yet! A $250 value, the first 10 entrepreneurs to contact me will get a special year end price of just $150. E-mail Admin@RachelAnzalone.com to secure your Kick Start 2012 Coaching Session!