How to start with the end in mind

 

Dr. Covey's book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, had the # 2 habit of starting with the ending in mind.

 

This is my last tribute last week to a personal mentor of mine, Stephen Covey, who died last week of Auto Accident Lawyer Boise that resulted in a bicycle accident. I've never met Dr. Covey in person, but I had the opportunity to hear him speak on Boise and have read most of his work. He was a great leadership guru and we will miss him.

 

How to start with the end in mind. This is very easy to do when we are small. It's quite natural for you to be asked the question, "What do you want to do when you grow up?" What's better is that we often have an answer. For me, owning a business was always one way or another. I would work with my dad in his business, a lawyer, and an accountant. Even in the last two, I assumed it would work for me.

 

The problem is that as we get older, we tend to lose vision. Life happens! Even if we go to college and get the degree we want, about 72% of US graduates work in a field not directly related to our degree.

 

So what can we do about it and how can we regain that vision? What I call vision search is necessary. The vision quest is a 4-step process where we can better understand how to start with the end in mind.

 

Step One: In a lonely area, preferably early in the morning, before the worries of the world have begun to invade your mind, step into a comfortable chair, close your eyes and think! This may sound crazy, but we don't really think much anymore. We always have some form of entertainment. If you have a smartphone, I bet you can't even wait for a traffic light for more than 30 seconds without looking down to see what the latest update is! I remember when I was a kid, looking out the window and just thinking! Now we have DVDs in the car, PSP, iPod and any other device to entertain us and our children. Have you ever tried to drive without the radio and allowed yourself to think about things? Either way, sit down and think, but think specifically about the future and what you want from it. Some possible questions:

 

How much money will I make?

How should I spend the money? Be specific! Even create a budget for you with this income

Where would I live

Which car would you drive?

What organization would you contribute to?

How would you help the community?

What holiday would it take me?

How often would you take them?

You have the idea Enter the details. This can be a process for the next few days if you only have ten to 15 minutes to do it. For real details, it will probably take more than an hour or more to really achieve this first step.

 

Step Two: Now that you have visualized your ultimate goal, start establishing the organization to achieve your goal. This does not mean you can go out and hire your butler right now! However, it does mean that you start writing your vision, including all the past questions and all other things you have been thinking. Write it all down. Have clear expectations and set a timetable with specific milestones. Then design the plan for how to reach those milestones.

 

Step Three: Just do it! Get out of your head now and implement the action plan. You cannot achieve anything without intervening to do so. I know this seems obvious, but this is also the step where most fail, including me. I am excellent at putting it on paper and visualizing my ending, but then I let fear or negative internal dialogue outweigh my ability to act. Don't let that happen to you! If necessary, start with small steps, but start. Preferably, however, it will take a massive action as it is the only way you see the results. We often underestimate what it will take to reach our ultimate goal, and as a result, we fall short. To truly reach our goal, we must spend 10 times the effort we think it will take! That's right, 10 times the effort.