Success Planning: Mapping Your Vision of Success

Written By: Anthony on September 26, 2009 No Comment

How do you define success? Well believe it or not success is a lot more than financial gains, college degrees, and high social status. Success is a journey, not any one point, product or destination.

Success is best measured by the personal victories in your life; the obstacles and hurdles that you have overcome in your Quest For Excellence.

No matter what your definition of success is though, the way to get there is by way of a definite success plan.

As you may have heard, failing to plan is planning to fail, so regardless of what your goal actually is, it is critical to create a plan for your own success. Success planning is all about creating a road map or blueprint to follow in all of the different areas of your life.

Along the same lines as following a map on a journey, you need to define the following points of interest: the starting point, your destination, your method of transportation, your baggage, milestones, and of course, the route.

Let’s take a look at these points of interest and how they fit in to the overall success plan.

“I have learned that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” Henry David Thoreau

The Starting Point: Where you are now

Every journey has a starting point. Your starting point is where you are right now in life; who you are right at this very moment. Stop and ask yourself “who am I.” When your answer is something to the extent of a mother, a father, a husband or wife, a doctor, a lawyer, a nurse or any other title or occupation, you need to stop and realize that this does not define who you really are. It only tells your present preoccupation and representation.

To gain true insights about yourself, you need to examine your core values, beliefs and principles apart from your financial, professional, cultural, and public status. Furthermore, you can also reflect on your experiences in life to give you a better perspective on both your positive and negative traits, skills, knowledge, strengths and weaknesses.

Upon self examination, you may realize many things about yourself that you never knew. You may also discover that your life must indeed serve a purpose, and only through deep introspection you come to this realization.

Stop and take time to answer the question “Who am I”…

Your Objective: A vision of who you want to be

Where exactly do you want to be in life? A better question would be to ask yourself who exactly you want to be in life. This is the question that needs to be asked at the beginning of your journey and it will then clearly light the way to your vision.

Now it is imperative that you truly know yourself at your core so that you would have a clear idea of where exactly in life you want to be. This includes all of the things you want to change whether they are attitudes, habits, or core beliefs.

If you don’t really know yourself, then your vision and goals for the future will also be unclear. Your objective should cover all of the different aspects of your being: the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.

Continuing on, after you have defined your beliefs, values, and principles, you will be able to decide what you really want to have in life.

Stop and take time to answer the question “Who is this person that I truly want to be?”…

Your Method of Transportation: Your mission

Now it is time to get moving. Since you have determined who you are right now and who you want to be in the future, the next step is to create a process to get there.

Any method of transportation is the medium by which you can reach your ultimate objective. In this instance, it can be comparable to your mission or purpose in life.

To a great extent, your purpose would depend on what you know about yourself. Based on your self-assessment, you can then discover your perfect vocation.

Your chosen profession may be a doctor, lawyer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, business owner etc. Taking that one step further and describing your mission fully, it may be to live a life dedicated to providing a benefit and serving the people in some specific way shape or form.

You may want to change the lives of millions in a positive way. That would define your mission in life and provide the method of transportation to get you to who you want to be.

Stop and take time to answer the question “What is my purpose in life?”…

Your Baggage: Knowledge, skills, and attitude

No, we’re not talking about the type of “baggage” that some people bring into a relationship or even the outside distractions that some people bring to work everyday that they should have left at the door.

We’re talking about the type of baggage that will provide for you with the tools to provide sustenance throughout your journey.

Clothing, personal care items and other travelling necessities are all things you pack for a trip in a travel bag. Applying this same idea to your success map, you also bring with you a certain amount of knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

These key fundamentals will ultimately determine your true capacity and help you in attaining your vision.

With that being said, there is a need for you to make an assessment of what knowledge, skills, and attitudes you have at the present moment and what you would need to acquire along the way. This personal assessment will give you awareness on your milestones or measures of success.

You may find that you need to gain knowledge and learn new skills in a certain area of your expertise so that you could achieve your ultimate goal. The next step would be to make the necessary advancements in personal development to acquire these skills or knowledge.

Knowledge truly is power. Whatever your journey is, be prepared for a lifelong learning endeavor. Always be a student learning from everyone and everything.

Stop and take time to answer the question “What skills or knowledge do I need to acquire in order to attain my vision?”

Milestones and The Path: S.M.A.R.T. goals

Milestones will let you know if you are on the right track with your success plan while the path will determine if and when you are going to get there. Thus, in planning out your journey, you also need to set up milestones and embark on a clear path ahead.

These milestones, or rather short term goals, will be the measure of your current success; marks along the road that let you know just how far you have come.

Milestones are in fact very important markers along your path to success. Oftentimes you may not realize how far you have actually come in on your journey and may face discouragement. The only way to alleviate this temporary roadblock is to focus on the accomplishments that you have made, or rather the milestones you have passed on your path to success.

The smaller goals that you have set must be S.M.A.R.T. That is, like any goal, they must be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time bound.

Stop and take time to make sure your goals are S.M.A.R.T. and acknowledge any short term accomplishments you have made…

Anticipate Detours, Roadblocks and U-turns

The purpose of your success plan is to minimize the possibility of having to make any abrupt and spontaneous decisions that can take you off your course.

Oftentimes you may find though, that your original game plan is modified along the way due to unexpected inconveniences, detours, and other situations that are well beyond your control.

Just as on any journey, there are u-turns, re-routs, and roadblocks that we must anticipate and adjust accordingly. The key is to adjust accordingly. Remember, it is not the obstacle that matters; it is how you react and deal with the challenge that ultimately determines your success or failure.

Be prepared to make any necessary changes along the way by keeping your eye on the prize and staying on the path. By keeping your focus on your ultimate goal then you will in fact make wise decisions when necessary and follow through with your success plan.

Stop and ask yourself this final question “How will I maintain a positive mental attitude when the going gets tough?”…