February 19, 2013 | Dan Sullivan
Vision, especially a vision of something bigger than yourself, has a way of drawing the most useful talent and resources to you and igniting the passion of like-minded individuals who can contribute to making it a reality. Progress depends on your ability to see a bigger future in any situation.
When you know where you’re going, you instinctively start looking for, and finding, all the multipliers that will get you there. The most direct and powerful way we’ve found to evoke a compelling vision of the future is to ask a very specific question:
“If we were meeting here three years from today, looking back over those three years, what has to have happened, both personally and professionally, for you to feel happy with your progress?”
Why three years?
It’s the year after the year after next. One year can feel a bit too short to make major improvements, and five years can seem too far away and unpredictable.
Three years feels about right:
You can imagine life being a lot better without it being a complete mystery. Unless it’s something you revisit regularly, your vision is going to get lost in the shuffle. It just happens. There are so many day-to-day concerns demanding your immediate attention that staying connected with your vision can be a real challenge.
Regular, focused attention on, and conversation about, your vision has a dramatic effect on your progress. Without this focus, you can still grow,
just more slowly. With it, you’ll experience exciting improvements in your client base, your health, your personal relationships, the quality of your support team, and your satisfaction with your work and your life. That’s why, every quarter, participants in the Strategic Coach Program articulate, clarify, and discuss what’s most important to them with other highly motivated, growth-oriented entrepreneurs.