Can you see it?

This past weekend, I held a training morning for the leaders in my company. One of the things we discussed was defining what “success” means to each of us. I’ve mentioned this before at a high level but I want to dive in a little deeper to the importance of being specific about your mental picture of success. Definition creates direction. Not until you can clearly see what you’re shooting for can you take steps toward it.

Vague and non-specific descriptors of success will accomplish several outcomes.

1.)  Frustration

Every action is a cause. Every cause creates an effect. When you take an action that lacks a direct articulation to the DESIRED end result, you will experience an effect apart from that desired result. Embedded in this principle is the assumption that you know – inside and out – your desired result. Unless you do, you can’t tie your actions to it. And unless your actions are tied to it, you will experience the frustration that comes from ending up in a place you weren’t intending to go.

2.)  Waste

I hate waste. I hate wasted time, energy, money, attention…I hate it all. To me, waste equals a lack of stewardship of the resources God has entrusted to each of us. I take it very seriously – and I know I’m not alone. Knowing that I could have chosen to spend my time effectively and didn’t causes me literal grief. How much resource do we waste every day simply because we don’t have a goal to direct those resources toward? How potent could our lives, our businesses, our families be if we took the time to stop and asses where we really want to be in 20, 10, five years? In one year? In one month? Thanks to Dave Ramsey, most of us know the difference it makes when we tell our money where to go instead of just letting it go where it will. This is a powerful principle that, through our finances, affects our entire life. How much more impact would we see in our lives if we applied this same principle to our time, our attention and our energy?

3.)  Apathy

When you fail to accomplish a vague task, it’s easy to make excuses. It’s easy to find all the reasons why we couldn’t get around to finishing it because it wasn’t very clear what we were actually doing anyway. Lack of clarity and definition around what our lives are about allows us to live in a lazy way without much consequence. I don’t want to be apathetic. I have a tremendous amount of resource, talent, time and earning potential. God has given me everything I need for life. I have a responsibility to create as much good with it as I possibly can – for others AND for my family. I want to figure out where I’m going and then floor it. I don’t want to get to the end of my life with a bunch of unused resource and potential. I want to use it all in a magnificent effort to create good.

Consider the difference: “I want a better life for myself and my family” versus “I want to put my kids in private school, take four learning-centered vacations each year, learn a foreign language with my family and own a beach home where my family and my friends can vacation and recharge.”

Another difference: “I want to make more money” versus “I want to make enough money each year to call the charities of my choice and ask them what their most pressing needs are – then write a check to finance it. I want to build a well in each country on the African continent by the time I’m 40. In the next five years, want to purchase an RV, a boat and a hot tub. And I want to visit each of my sponsored children on their birthday in the next five years.”

And lastly, “I want to travel” versus “I want to take vacations to Greece, Italy, French Polynesia and Lake Tahoe over the next ten years.”

Do you see the difference? One is generic – the other is personal. One is bland – the other is vibrant. One is boring – the other is exciting. One seems distant and static – the other creates movement and invites you.

The way I’ve chosen to create this definition of success in my own life is to use a Vision Board. I found creating it to be a fantastic and useful exercise for me. On it are pictures of things, ideas, people, places that I want to be part of my life before I am done with it – many of which you just read about. I highly encourage you to make one.

One of my leaders said to me after the training this weekend, “Look how much we’ve accomplished without focus. Imagine what it could look like if we aimed all of our firepower in the same direction.” That’s what I’m talking about.

Lean Forward,

Bekka