Part 2: Create a Compelling Future: Take Courageous Action and Achieve Success
0
0
In Part 1, “Discover Your Passion and Purpose” we identified steps to take to help identify your passion and purpose. Passion and purpose aren’t found in a job description – they are found in understanding who you are, what excites you, and how you can use your unique strengths to contribute to the world. Your purpose isn’t about fitting into a mold; it’s about uncovering what sets your soul on fire and stepping boldly into it.
Think about this: Imagine you're handed a treasure map, but instead of following your own instincts, you let others tell you which path to take. You walk for miles, only to realize that the “X” marking the spot doesn't lead to your treasure, it leads to someone else's. Finding your purpose is about charting your own course, trusting that the clues to what fulfills you have been placed within you all along.
In Part 2 we’ll dive into specific steps we can take to move passion and purpose into action.
Step 1: Develop a Compelling Vision or Outcome for the Future
Passion fuels your vision, and vision gives your passion direction. Without passion, a vision is just an idea – something that sounds good but lacks the energy and motivation to bring it to life. Without vision, passion can feel scattered – like having an engine without a destination. When passion and vision align, they create momentum, clarity, and a deep sense of purpose.
Imagine passion as the fire inside you – the thing that excites you, energizes you, and makes you feel alive. But fire without direction can burn aimlessly. Vision is the map that tells you where to go and how to use that fire to create something meaningful.
Passion alone can fade when things get difficult. Vision helps keep you anchored. When setbacks happen, having a clear vision reminds you why you started and helps you push through.
Chris Grosser said, “Opportunities don’t happen. You create them.” Vision is the bridge between where you are and where you want to be. Oprah Winfrey challenged, “Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life, because you become what you believe.” A compelling vision gives your life direction and purpose.
To create your vision or your desired outcome:
1. Clarify Your Vision with Precision:
a. Picture yourself in five or ten years from now. What does your ideal life look like in terms of relationships, faith, family, fitness, career fulfillment, personal growth, or impact? What brings you energy? What is the fire that is burning within you?
b. Describe what type of things you do each morning? What do you look forward to each day? What fuels your energy?
c. Be specific and vivid in the description of your vision. What time are you getting up? What do you do each day? What excites you?
2. Identify Key Words that Describe Your Future Self:
a. Choose single words that describe your life, career, or relationships. For example: Relaxed, abundant, engaged, healthy, etc.
b. On a second sheet of paper describe or define in more detail what the word means/represents putting your name or “I” in each statement. For example: “I feel relaxed because my job isn’t something I dread.” “I see opportunities today that excite me….” “I am engaged in meaningful conversations with my spouse and children.”
3. Write a Vision Statement:
a. These statements described above become affirmations. Write out the affirmations, put them where you can read/review them daily.
b. Start doing or becoming each statement today. Aristotle is often attributed to have said, “We are what we repeatedly do.”
c. Studies show that people who write down their vision and goals are 42% more likely to achieve them (Dominican University).
4. Create a Vision Board:
a. Use images, quotes, and symbols that represent your vision. This becomes a powerful tool for turning abstract dreams into tangible goals. It becomes a daily visual reminder of your aspirations, reinforcing your commitment and aligning your focus with what truly matters.
b. Keep your vision board in a place where you’ll see it daily. Consider taking a picture of your vision board that you can keep on your phone or be placed in other meaningful places.
5. Journal your Future Self:
a. Write a letter from the perspective of your future self, describing what you’ve achieved and how if feels to be there. This becomes a seed of intention today that your future self will harvest.
b. Remind yourself of your strengths, your passions, and challenge yourself to stay disciplined.
c. This process helps you define what you truly want. It forces you to articulate your goals, desires, and vision in a way that makes them real.
Action Step: Strive to be the Person You want to Become
Write a vision statement or outcome statement for your life. For example: “In the next five years, I will….” “In five years, I am…. (describe the person you aspire to become).” Be bold but realistic. Read this statement every day. Prepare a vision board and journal your future self.
Step 2: Set Milestones and SMART Goals
Now that you’ve defined a compelling vision for your future, it’s time to turn that vision into measurable progress. This is where goal-setting and strategic milestones come into play. Dreams without actionable steps remain wishes. To reach your destination, you must first acknowledge where you stand today. At this point, we may feel shame or guilt. However, we are where we are…now let’s get going to where we want and need to be.
Imagine you’re on a long road trip to your dream destination – a place you’ve always wanted to go. You have a clear vision of where you’re headed, but if you only focus on the final destination, the journey can feel overwhelming. Instead, you rely on mile markers along the way – small but significant indicators that tell you you’re making progress.
To achieve your desired outcome, or to make your vision a reality, break it down into smaller milestones. A milestone is an indicator that tells you, I am on the right track to accomplishing my vision. Additionally, milestones remind you of how far you’ve come.
A vision without a plan is just a dream. By setting SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound), you create actionable mile markers that guide you forward:
For example:
Vision/Outcome: I want to empower women through education.
Milestone: Workshops to teach women about financial literacy; increase access to scholarships and grants for women, especially single mothers; create an education support group.
SMART Goal: By the end of the year, I will host two workshops for 20 women each to teach financial literacy.
Action Steps: Identify a venue for each workshop; Create an Event; Design and send a personalized invitation to 10 people each morning for the next 30 days, etc.
“Success is something you attract by the person you become….Small, consistent actions over time create significant results” (Darren Hardy).
Action Step: Identify Milestones that Help You Know you are on Track
Create one long term milestone that align with your vision.
Create one short-term goal (1-3 months) that will lead to accomplishing the milestone.
Break each goal into action steps that need to be accomplished to achieve that goal and identify/safeguard specific time to focus on each action step.
Step 3: Overcome Challenges with Faith and Resilience
When driving to a destination, you don’t turn around just because you hit traffic or have to take a detour. You keep going, knowing that every mile marker brings you closer. Even when you find yourself off track – you identify how you can get back on the right path. Adversity is inevitable. However, our response determines our growth. As Viktor Frankel, a Holocaust survivor and author of Man’s Search for Meaning, said, “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”
Faith and resilience allow us to navigate setbacks with courage. By grounding yourself in your divine worth, identity, and purpose, you can weather challenges and emerge stronger. Like any journey, you may find a road closed. You may have to pivot or find yourself on a small detour. Just get back on track and keep moving forward. “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time” (Thomas Edison).
Action Step: Reframe Difficulties with Gratitude
Start a daily gratitude practice to stay focused on the positive. List three things you are grateful for every day and why. Maybe just take a meaningful picture and send it to yourself with a few words about what the picture means. Do this practice every day but especially during difficult times. Consider creating a daily reminder for a particular time to do this gratitude practice.
Step 4: The Courage to Act
Uncovering your passion and purpose and deliberately working to accomplish your vision and goals is not about having all the answers upfront – it’s about having the courage to take the first step…and then the next. This means you have to step initially into darkness to see the way is lit for just another footstep or two.
Finally, action transforms vision into reality. We start where we are, take action, and trust that every step forward is shaping the future you are passionate about creating. President Theodore Roosevelt once said, “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the next right thing....The worst thing you can do is nothing.”
Taking the first step is often the hardest but it’s also the most important. Done beats perfect any day. Celebrate your efforts and be proud of the steps you take – even when they feel small. Start with one step, then stack another win by taking one more step. The only way to build the future you envision is by taking action today. Write down your vision, take the first step, and then another. Progress happens one decision at a time. Start now!
In your efforts to accomplish your compelling vision, there will be times you struggle, you may feel that you “failed”, or you may feel that you are not measuring up to your expectations. Nelson Mandela said, “The greatest glory in living lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall.
Action Step: Momentum Starts with a Single Step
Identify one small act that you can take today towards your vision. What is one action you can take this week towards your vision, no matter how small? Commit to it – schedule the action into your week. Then go do it…even if you do it imperfectly.
Final Thoughts: Rise to Thrive
The future may seem uncertain, but it's also filled with possibility. By discovering your passions, identifying your strengths, and aligning strengths with meaningful action, you can create a life of purpose, joy, and impact. The future is bright and is just waiting for you to contribute – in whatever way you are passionate about. Remember, you were born to rise and thrive, even in the face of adversity. Your passion, purpose, and vision are within reach – it’s time to pursue them relentlessly. As you craft your compelling future, keep this truth close to your heart – THE BEST IS YET TO COME.
If you’re serious about turning your vision into reality and to create a compelling future, I can help. As a coach, I will work with you to help you level up your faith, your relationships, fitness, leader development, and overcome those things that are holding you back. Let’s connect and get started! https://www.inrelentlesspursuit.com/contact-us
-------------
Questions for Reflection and Action – Drop a comment below or share this with a friend who needs a vision for their future!
1. What’s one goal you’re working on right now?
2. What is one small step you are taking today to move towards your fulfilling future?
3. How can this community support you to take action towards your goals?
