Up to this point, our articles have focused on your current financial situation, on knowing from where you are starting. Now we are going to take you to the other extreme - where you want to end up. Where you are going is almost as important as your starting point. It gives you a destination, a target, a place on which to set your sights. If you think about a successful business, you can be very sure that behind the scenes there is a successful business plan, one that was put in place when the organization was born and one that is centered on a Vision. The company will have laid out in this business plan where they want to be in 1 year, 3 years, 5 years. They will know what their ultimate goal is in very specific terms. They won't just say they want to be the best. They will say that their goal is to be at the top of the Fortune 500 list in 5 years.
Think of your financial life as a road trip. You know from where you are starting - New York. You know where you want to go - sunny Miami. Now that you have your starting point and your destination, you can plan how you will get there. You can plan it in stages and you can even stop to see some of the sights along the way. You can travel as quickly as possible or you can take the scenic route. This is the same as your financial journey.
How do you decide on what your Vision is? It is a very personal thing and it may involve only you or it may involve your family as well. The one thing that must be made very clear right form the beginning is that a Vision is not the same thing as a dream. A dream is a someday thing. A Vision needs to be detailed, measurable, achievable, compelling, and timetabled. The difference between a Vision and a dream is: I will be a wealthy entrepreneur someday vs. in the next calendar year my business will generate an income of $150K. This is a target and while it is not carved in stone (after all sometimes our Visions change) it is something you can then work backward from to see that you hit the target.
An important process we take our clients through is the "3 Year Vision" exercise. Begin by asking yourself a few simple questions: How much will you be making monthly? What kind of car will you be driving? Where will you be living? What specific services and/or products will your business offer? Have fun with this exercise and be incredibly specific. When you read your vision you should feel happy - you should feel a sense of excitement and joy as you paint a vivid picture of where you want your life to be.
Once you are clear about where you want to be, you can then break this journey down into smaller steps. For example, when creating the Vision and plan for your business income it is not enough to say, "I want to make a lot of money." Think about what you want your monthly revenue to be - a specific number. Then break it down into how much you will need to earn every week and how much you will need to earn every day to make it happen. Then you will know how much your current income falls short and can begin to look for options. Perhaps you might develop new products or add offerings for your clients in order to bring business revenue to the desired level.
Writing down your Vision and your plan, which is your journey broken down into manageable pieces, will play a huge role in whether or not you reach your destination. Do not underestimate the importance of writing down and fully visualizing the goal. Study after study has proven that people who write down their goals reach them significantly more consistently than those who do not. Set yourself up for success right from the beginning by doing a simple writing exercise that is both fun and practical. Then you will be able to draw your own road map to get from point A to point B and you will reap the benefits of careful planning and hard work.
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