You’re Dying on the Inside Because You Don’t Live out of a Personal Vision

If you don’t have a personal vision, You’re on the Path of Slow Death. Statistics show that less than 3% of people live out of any kind of person vision. This is a modern day catastrophe. If you are part of the 97% not living out of your vision, not only are you doing yourself a disservice, you are cheating those of us who need you to live in the fullness of your passions, talents and energies. It’s time to grow up, take responsibility and start living your visions now.

The sad philosophy of a visionless life is: Ready…Fire…Aim. There is no target to aim for. Visionless people aren’t sure where they are going so any old target will do. This is the modern day dilemma.

WHY DON’T PEOPLE LIVE OUT OF A PERSONAL VISION?

Fear, lack of knowledge and distraction are all reasons at the top of the list to why visions don’t exist in our lives. They are real and we need to address them, but under no circumstance can we make peace with these excuses and live in any form of mediocrity.

#1 Fear. Fear is the great pretender. It pretends to keep us safe and out of harms way but it does the exact opposite. It causes us to cower when we are uncertain of our path. Worst of all, many times it keeps us from taking any risk whatsoever and so often the risk we need to take propels us into the life we’ve always desired.

#2 Lack of knowledge – Most of us don’t know how to find our vision, we’ve never been taught. We’ve gone along with the crowd and tried to play it safe. We get an hourly job, pay the bills, and hope something better comes along. People don’t know how to live out of vision because they don’t know their vision. They’ve never taken the time to go deep inside and uncover their buried treasure. It’s time to invest in yourself. Do whatever it takes to get your vision out from the inside. It might be difficult, birthing a new baby is rarely easy, but it’s the most beautiful thing to show the world when the process is over.

#3 Distraction – we are the “Generation of Distraction.” The latest research proves that on average, we are exposed to 63,000 words per day, we are distracted every 11 minutes, and we check our smartphones 110 times a day. When we are this disconnected, there is no way we can fulfill our dreams and live out any kind of vision. That’s a waste of an amazing life.

We are hardwired on a neurological level to come fully alive once we start living out of our visions and passions. What’s a cause so important to you that it keeps you up at night? What have you always longed to do that could make a huge impact in the lives of others? What kind of life would make you feel incredible fulfilled and satisfied? Once you are compelled by your visions at an emotional level, nothing will stop you from seeing those visions come to pass.

Think of some of your greatest heroes, people like Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, Jesus, or Steve Jobs. Every single one of them had one thing in common: they were “cause-fueled.” They believed in something so compelling to them, they gave everything in their life to see if fulfilled. They lived out of a personal, compelling vision. When your “WHY” is big enough, the “how’s” in your life will line up.

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” ~ Mary Oliver

How Can I Live Out of My Personal Vision?

This is what I love to help people do. It’s one of the most amazing revelations anyone will ever have. Let me give you (3) simple steps that will begin to get you down the road:

1. Start vision casting – what do I mean by this? Get out a piece of paper right now. Don’t wait, don’t hesitate. Clear everything else off the desk or table in front of you so there are no distractions. Now, let yourself dream. I want you to think about what you would do if anything were possible. Where would you go? What would you do? Who would you serve? Where would you live? How would you add value to others? Describe it exactly and don’t be limited to what you can’t do. On this paper, anything is possible.
2. Find the common themes – start circling, and color-coding the common themes, words and sentences that arise. What subject keeps coming up over and over? Find the patterns. Which of these themes gives you butterflies inside? What gets you the most excited? Now write those themes down separately on a different piece of paper.
3. Write a Vision Statement – take the words, ideas, and phrases you’ve just discovered and craft them into a one or two sentence vision. Be sure it is compelling to you and is something that moves you on a deep level. Make it as specific as possible. Now, write the vision statement in a journal. Look at it everyday when you wake up and when you go to sleep. Make changes as you feel necessary. This vision is a work in progress so it needs refinement and clarity in order to get traction.

The more you read and meditate on your vision, the more you will find ways to live it out on a daily basis. This is one of the most important things you will ever do in your life! Give it time, focus on each word in the statement, and your life will begin to take on the reality of your vision. I’m cheering you on and believe that your vision is going to change the world around you and the lives of so many people that are waiting for you to live your destiny!