What do you want to accomplish in life? What do you want to experience? And what possessions do you want to acquire? In the journey from where you are to where you want to be, you have to decide where you want to be.

In other words, what does success look like to you? One of the main reasons why most people don't get what they want is that they haven't decided what they want.

They haven't defined their desires in clear and compelling detail. They don't know what they want …

MAKE AN "I WANT" LIST

One of the easiest ways to begin clarifying what you truly want is to make a list of 30 things you want to do, 30 things you want to have, and 30 things you want to be before you die. This is a great way to get the ball rolling.

Another powerful technique to unearth your wants is to ask a friend to help you make an "I Want" list. Have your friend continually ask, "What do you want? What do you want?" for 10 to 15 minutes, and jot down your answers.

You'll find the first wants aren't all that profound. In fact, most people usually hear themselves saying, "I want a Mercedes. I want a big house on the ocean." And so on.

However, by the end of the 15-minute exercise, the real you begins to speak: "I want people to love me. I want to express myself. I want to make a difference. I want to feel powerful" ... wants that are true expressions of your core values.

IS WORRYING ABOUT MAKING A LIVING STOPPING YOU?

What often stops people from expressing their true desire is that they don't think they can make a living doing what they love to do.

"What I love to do is hang out and talk with people," you might say.
Well, Oprah Winfrey makes a living hanging out talking with people.

And my friend Diane Brause, who is an international tour guide, makes a living hanging out talking with people in some of the most exciting and exotic locations in the world.

Tiger Woods loves to play golf. Ellen DeGeneres loves to make people laugh. My sister loves to design jewelry and hang out with teenagers. Donald Trump loves to make deals and build buildings.

I love to read and share what I have learned with others in books, speeches, and workshops. It's possible to make a living doing what you love.

Make a list of 20 things you love to do, and then think of ways you can make a living doing some of those things.

If you love sports, you could play sports, be a sportswriter or photographer, or work in sports management as an agent or in the front office of a professional team.

You could be a coach, a manager, or a scout. You could be a broadcaster, a camera operator, or a team publicist. There are myriad ways to make money in any field that you love.

But first you must decide what you would like to do. Don't let yourself be concerned about the size or audacity of your vision.

As Michelangelo said, "The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it."

HIGH ACHIEVERS HAVE BIGGER VISIONS

I want to encourage you not to limit your vision in any way. Let it be as big as it is.

When I interviewed Dave Liniger, the CEO of RE/MAX, the country's largest real estate company, he told me, "Always dream big dreams. Big dreams attract big people."

General Wesley Clark recently told me, "It doesn't take any more energy to create a big dream than it does to create a little one."

My experience is that one of the few differences between the superachievers and the rest of the world is that the superachievers simply dream bigger.

John F. Kennedy dreamed of putting a man on the moon. Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed of a country free of prejudice and injustice. Bill Gates dreams of a world in which every home has a computer that is connected to the Internet. Buckminster Fuller dreamed of a world where everybody had access to electrical power.

These high achievers see the world from a whole different perspective — as a place where amazing things can happen, where billions of lives can be improved, where new technology can change the way we live, and where the world's resources can be leveraged for the greatest possible mutual gain.

They believe anything is possible, and they believe they have an integral part in creating it.

When Mark Victor Hansen and I first published Chicken Soup for the Soul®, what we called our "20/20 vision" was also a big one — to sell 1 billion Chicken Soup books and to raise $500 million for charity through tithing a portion of all of our profits by the year 2020.

We were and are very clear about what we want to accomplish.

THE VISION EXERCISE

The following exercise is designed to help you clarify your vision and what you want to accomplish.

Although you could do this as a strictly mental exercise by just thinking about the answers and then writing them down, I want to encourage you to go deeper than that.

If you do, you'll get deeper answers that serve you better.

Start by putting on some relaxing music and sitting quietly in a comfortable environment where you won't be disturbed. Then, close your eyes and ask your subconscious mind to give you images of what your ideal life would look like if you could have it exactly the way you want it, in each of the following categories:

    * First, focus on the financial area of your dream life. What is your annual income? What does your cash flow look like? How much money do you have in savings and investments? What is your total net worth?

      Next ... what does your home look like? Where is it located? Does it have a view? What kind of yard and landscaping does it have? Is there a pool or a stable for horses? What color are the walls? What does the furniture look like? Are there paintings hanging in the rooms? What do they look like? Walk through your perfect house, filling in all of the details.

      At this point, don't worry about how you'll get that house. Don't sabotage yourself by saying, "I can't live in Malibu because I don't make enough money." Once you give your mind's eye the picture, your mind will solve the "not enough money" challenge.

      Next, visualize what kind of car you are driving and any other important possessions your finances have provided.

    * Next, visualize your ideal job or career. Where are you working? What are you doing? With whom are you working? What kind of clients or customers do you have? What is your compensation like? Is it your own business?

    * Then, focus on your free time, your recreation time. What are you doing with your family and friends in the free time you've created for yourself? What hobbies are you pursuing? What kinds of vacations do you take? What do you do for fun?

    * Next, what is your ideal vision of your body and your physical health? Are you free of all disease? How long do you live to? Are you open, relaxed, in an ecstatic state of bliss all day long? Are you full of vitality? Are you flexible as well as strong? Do you exercise, eat good food, and drink lots of water?

    * Then move on to your ideal vision of your relationships with your family and friends. What is your relationship with your family like? Who are your friends? What is the quality of your relationships with your friends? What do those friendships feel like? Are they loving, supportive, empowering? What kinds of things do you do together?

    * What about the personal arena of your life? Do you see yourself going back to school, getting training, attending workshops, seeking therapy for a past hurt, or growing spiritually? Do you meditate or go on spiritual retreats with your church? Do you want to learn to play an instrument or write your autobiography? Do you want to run a marathon or take an art class? Do you want to travel to other countries?

    * Finally, focus on the community you live in, the community you've chosen. What does it look like when it is operating perfectly? What kinds of community activities take place there? What about your charitable work? What do you do to help others and make a difference? How often do you participate in these activities? Who are you helping?

You can write down your answers as you go, or you can do the whole exercise first and then open your eyes and write them down. In either case, make sure you capture everything in writing as soon as you complete the exercise.

Keep your vision someplace where you can see and refer to it often, such as on your computer or bathroom mirror. Every day, review the vision you have written down. This will keep your conscious and subconscious minds focused on your vision.

Once you have your vision for what you want to accomplish in your life, the next step is figuring out how to get there.

Fortunately there are as many ways to achieve the personal and financial goals identified in your vision as there are people; the difficulty is selecting the right path for you ... the one that leverages your "core genius."

 

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