Think As Inc

STEER CLEAR OF VENN DIAGRAMS

November 6, 2009 on 1:50 pm | In life coaching | No Comments

Venn diagrams are visual representations (in overlapping circles) of the commonalities among two or more categories.  For example, one circle of red things might include tomatoes, and one circle of white things might include soap.  The venn diagram of the two includes things that are both red and white, such as candy canes.  When clarifying your mission – your life goals – you may think effectively of a venn diagram of what you want and what is attainable.  You think $1 million because it’s high enough to fulfill your wish list but still real enough to imagine.  But did $1 billion instinctively come to mind?  If so, steer clear of your venn diagram and focus exclusively on that circle of what you want.

This doesn’t mean that your goal should be $1 billion.  But that is a more accurate starting point than $1 million.  If you focus just on what you think is attainable, you may underestimate.  You may knock out some options entirely just because you can’t imagine them for yourself.  Once you have $1 billion or whatever resonates in your gut as something you want, then you can start chiseling out steps to the goal.

Why do you want $1 billion?  Is it to have certain things that this money can buy (e.g., travel, fine furnishings, a big house)?  Try to isolate if there is something more specific than $1 billion.  Perhaps that more specific item is what you want rather than the actual money.  An item is frequently not your life’s goal, but at least you’re getting closer to how you really feel.  Is the $1 billion supposed to buy freedom (e.g., time freedom to do as you please, financial freedom to live a certain lifestyle)?  If the cash is buying a feeling (security) or a value (freedom) then this is another clue to your life’s mission.

To be successful, you need a mission that you can plan against.  One tactic to find your mission is to identify why you want what you want.  But to find the why, you first need to be honest about the what.  This means steering clear of the venn diagram that overlaps what you want with what is possible.  When carving a mission, everything is possible.  Focus first on what you want.