When I made the original reply, I was thinking of inspirational leaders, who, through their thought leadership and *articulated* vision (be it in spiritual, or more mundane domains), have resonated with those whom may not even know them—thus influencing others to gain new perspectives, and from those new perspectives, make different choices.

With your clarification, you brought additional focus and cogent reasoning to your own approach and choices here (for me). Therefore, no further argument from me!

Thank you for your careful consideration of my suggestion!

All the best,

~M

I especially like your list of self-reflection questions. I think some of them would be helpful in connecting with what you deeply desire. You might appreciate a few of my earlier posts on how to create a vision. Click on “vision” in the list of categories in the left sidebar of this page. And (at the risk of being a little self-promoting), I also suggest you check out our book Full Steam Ahead! Unleash the Power of Vision which outlines all of the steps in creating a vision in detail.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Mahesh.

You make an interesting point about why some people jump too quickly to set goals without being clear about where they are leading. It is overwhelming to try to figure out the “how” and crystalize the vision at the same time. To some extent it is an iterative process because the closer we get to our vision, the more clear it becomes, and we need to realign (and sometimes change) our goals. But I agree with your point about the importance of separating these as two distinct processes. Thanks for extending the conversation.

I enjoyed your post Vision, You’ve Got To See It

The issue is: I could articulate a wonderful vision, but you wouldn’t listen to me unless I had I had established credibility with you – either through my demonstrated expertise (my ability to articulate a vision that makes sense), our connectedness (my ability to communicate a vision that resonates with your values), etc.

Also, describing a vision is only one of several ways we can attempt to influence others.

It seems to me there’s another list to consider – the specific kinds of actions you can take — once you have established personal power and credibility. That list would include:
- Articulating a vision and build a logical business case
- Appealing to their values and emotions
- Inviting them to participate, create real opportunities for involvement and impact
- Making it easy for them to do what you are suggesting (offer assistance, remove obstacles, provide support)
- Making an appeal on the basis of friendship

You really pushed my thinking on this, Mark, and for that I thank you. It may be that I am unduly complicating this topic, and if you still want to lobby to add vision to my original list, I would not argue further with you.

Second Step : Reality Check
What Kind of person I will have to be in order to achieve that vision?
What are the ways to make it happen?
How is my life going to be in next 5 years if I fail to achieve those milestones?
What I will loose?? What I will suffer from if I failed?
What are the joys of living that dream? How I will Creat? How I will Contribute?
What I will be thankful for?
What I’m thankful for?

Third Step: Getting Back on track

Series of action steps, thinking process and questions , when I will be struggling