How Clear is your Roadmap?
By Kaila Pilecki, Inspired Results Group Associate Coach
This week, Inspired Results Group is focusing on the fourth puzzle piece in the Courageous Leadership Framework: Clear. Diane talked about clarity within the context of your leadership - how people understand you, and how you understand others.
Read Diane’s article on how to get clear in your leadership, here. I am going to take another angle on Clear and talk about how you understand yourself. Do you know what you truly want for your life, your career and your family? Have you created a strategy to get there?
In Brian Tracy’s book, “Goals! How To Get Everything You Want - Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible” he likens our personal vision and goals to a roadmap:
“ Imagine arriving on the outskirts of a large city and being told to drive to a particular home or office in that city. But here’s the catch: There are no road signs and you have no map of the city. In fact, all you are given is a very general description of the home or office. The question is, How long do you think it would take you to find the home or office in the city without a road map and without road signs? The answer is, probably your whole life, if you ever did find the home or office, it would be very much a matter of luck.”
Using this simple example, the importance of clarity is easy to understand. I don’t know about you, but I get an immediate feeling that searching for a foggy, unknown destination is a panic-inducing waste of time. Later in the book, Brian Tracy goes on to say that you are the CEO of your life, the master of your destination. In essence, you are 100% responsible for creating the detailed map and road signs that you will follow to squeeze the most out of your one precious life.
Now we’re talking - what an opportunity!
Here are 3 simple steps that can help you create or refresh your roadmap:
1. Clarify your values
Your values are your core tennents, or inner beliefs that guide your actions and decisions. Which values do you hold dear, and why? To explore deeper, check out the list of values on Brene Brown’s Dare to Lead hub here. Which ones resonate most with you? How do you live in alignment with these values?
2. Practice limitless thinking
When you take the time to set a Clear unlimited vision of your life, 5 or 10 years in the future, your subconscious mind can get to work, guiding you toward what you really want. The more you cultivate your vision, by thinking and acting as if it’s true, the closer you get to your limitless life. It’s essential that your vision not be based in your current reality. It must tap into your deepest desires and be beyond what you know is true.
A few evenings ago, I caught myself in limited thinking. While my husband and I were walking on the beach at dusk, we saw a big, beautiful house with a killer view, complete with a hot tub and beach front access. I thought to myself, wow. I would love to have that lifestyle. And then quickly limited myself by thinking, that’s never going to happen for us; what we have now is just fine.
When reading through Brian Tracy’s book for this article, I was reinvigorated and inspired to hold a bigger vision for myself. Maybe a house like that is in the cards—who knows? The essential piece of the puzzle is acknowledging that everything which exists is made-up. All material things begin with a thought, and are invented and created by humans. Success is about deciding what you want and getting to work to make it happen.
3. Determine your true goals
Working backward from your vision, set 10 year, 5 year, 3 year and 1 year goals that correspond with what you are doing to reach the best version of your unlimited self. Set Clear goals in the areas of career, relationships, health, personal and finance. Feel free to add categories that are meaningful to you.
For example, if my 10 year vision includes owning that house on the beach, worth $5 million, I will figure out what kind of mortgage that is going to take. And from there, how much cash flow I’ll need to be comfortable in that position. Of course, this may not be the way it happens. I may never get that house; another awesome beachy house may come up that I fall in love with. Sure! But for the purpose of setting your goals, and the laser focus it takes to live an unlimited life, we need to be Clear.
So my 10 year personal goal would look like this: By April 2030, Scott and I own a house on the beach in Cadboro Bay, worth $5 million. We easily make mortgage payments of $14,500 a month.
This would feed into my 10 year money goal: By April 2030, I generate $40,000/month in cash flow from my coaching, speaking and writing biz with ease, joy and grace
This process can apply to any area of your business or your life that you’d like to clarify and grow.
Here are 3 questions to get you started:
How could you apply limitless thinking to grow your business?
Where and with whom do you need to clarify your personal, professional or business goals?
Can your team or your family clearly articulate your joint values and roadmap to success?
To learn more, sign up for our FREE 7 day Courageous Leadership Micro Course. Get the support you are looking for to show up as the leader you want to be, for the people you lead.