Can You See It Now? -- Day 8/365

Welcome to Week 2 of of 365 straight days of non-stop business growth blogging.  This stuff is straight from the front lines of capitalism, folks.  Not theory.  Not an intellectual exercise.  These are the make-or-break battles I help real entrepreneurs fight and win in the marketplace...

"Real People.  Real Business.  Real Life."

One of the most often discussed (and yet most poorly applied) concepts in small business is vision.

I'm not talking about a "vision statement" or anything cliche.  I'm simply talking about your ability to see where you are going with your enterprise.

Where are you trying to take it?  Where is is actually going?  Can you actually see the future in your minds eye, and are you confidently pursuing it?  Or are you in a fog?

Whether start-up or 7-figure operation,

I consistently see this issue divide the successful from the struggling.

The people who are advancing, making things happen, and seeing their plans materialize --- they have a clear, compelling vision of what they are doing and where they are headed.  They have a strong grasp of it, and they can communicate it to people in a way that makes others believe the vision is real --- not just some pipe dream.

The people who are stuck and struggling... well... they're in a fog..  They might have a few notions about what might become of their venture... but they are operating mostly on hopes and dreams that are largely disconnected from any sort of concrete reality.

Which one are you?

Scenario 1:  Imagine driving your car down the road.  Imagine totally clarity about where you're headed.  You've got a clear view of the road.  You can see the world around you.  And you can see up the road... and have a sense of what lies around the bend.

Scenario 2:  Now imagine driving in a total fog.  You can't really see around you, or in front of you --- let alone up the road a ways.  Now imagine that you aren't even sure where you want to go.  Imagine you are just kind of turning here and turning there, hoping you'll suddenly look around you and say "ah hah!  I've arrived!"

Which scenario is more akin to your situation?  Do you possess clarity?  Or vague notions?  Do you know your destination, or are you just "driving" and hoping you'll know when you've found what you're looking for?

TAKEAWAY:  No one can actually tell the future... but possessing a clear, compelling, near-concrete vision of what you are trying to accomplish is pretty stinking close.  The more clarity you possess, the faster you will move and the sooner you will get where you want to go.

ACTION STEPS:  Honestly answer the question:  "Do I have a clear, compelling vision?  Do I have clarity about what I'm doing, where I'm at, and where I'm going?  If you can't "see into the future" as clearly as you'd like to, take these actions:  Create a list of 6 concrete, tangible actions you can take that will take the dream or vision in your heart and force it to clash with reality.  Something that involves bringing it into contact with the real world in a way that will give you some feedback.  Pitch an idea to a potential JV partner and listen to their feedback... launch a test ad campaign... conduct a customer survey about your customer service... anything that allows you to get real world feedback --- which will then reveal the next actions you can take to gain even more clarity about where you're headed.

"To make your dream a reality,

you must confront your dream with reality."

To Your Enduring Success,