Dear Visitor, OBA, Arch.F. (You don't mind if I use your official titles, do you? Remember, you are your company's Official Business Amplifier and Architect of the Future!),
Welcome to the second lesson in your business amplification course. Last time, I encouraged you to create your vision, and provided a tool to help you think about that. This week we'll focus on Amping It Up!
How did you do with the creation of your vision? Remember, your vision should be about the "what," not about the "how" of bringing it to life. That's because the universe has about a kabillion ways to bring your vision to fruition, some which might be quite surprising to you! By focusing on the "what," you can stay open to all of the possible ways your vision might come true.
As I mention in the Amp Up Your Business! audio program, your vision should also describe the ultimate state of your business. But have you given yourself permission to have a big enough dream?
Our goal today is to streeeeetch your dream envelope! How does that help? By stretching your dream envelope, you open yourself up to even more of the possibilities available to you. The ideas that come from this exercise will help you to remain open to even the most outrageous opportunities, the ones that seem impossible to you now. Have you ever been presented with an idea and said, "Oh, I could never do that!" This is the mental blockage we're trying to remove.
It turns out that most of our roadblocks and obstacles are psychological ones versus real ones. Let me give you an example. At one point in our history, the whole world believed that it was impossible for a human being to run a mile in less than four minutes. The time barrier had stood for so long that we believed there must be a physical reason why it could not be broken. One man did not believe that, however, and his name was Roger Bannister. Roger was both a physician and a runner. In one day, in one race, he changed the minds of the planet by running a mile in less than four minutes. But the most amazing thing happened next: runners all around the world, one after the other, started breaking the four-minute barrier. Their personal dream envelopes, their ability to believe what was possible for them, had been made bigger by the irrefutable evidence of Roger Bannister's run.
There is evidence all around you that any business dream you have can come true. Have you looked for that evidence?
If not, that's Homework Assignment #1: find your role models. Who out there is has achieved what you will achieve? What vision did they start with? What possibilities became available to them? Collect these stories and know that the path has already been paved for your success.
Next, take each specific fact in your vision, and push it to the extreme. (This is a technique I call SuperSizing it.) Some examples:
"What if I wanted to turn this into a $10 million business, instead of a $1 million business?"
"What if my vision was to sell my business in one year instead of five?"
"What if my products or services became bestsellers not only in this country but in other countries around the world?"
Get the idea? Homework Assignment #2: Amp up every single part of your vision to the extreme, and see what that new vision feels like! Does it make you feel uncomfortable? Good! That means you're stretching your dream envelope. Does it excite you? Good! That means you're getting more in touch with your amplification powers. Does it scare you? Yeah. But remember, you don't have to do it all. You just have to imagine it and take the first steps. The universe will do the heavy lifting.
And lastly, speaking about feeling...have you considered the emotional impact of bringing your vision to life? Does your vision include the way you will feel as one piece of your vision after another starts to fall into place? Is it pride? Confidence? Gratitude? Relief? Calm? If you have not already done so, Homework Assignment #3 is to add the emotional landscape that will prevail once your vision has become reality, and begin practicing those emotions now.
Be the person in your vision starting today. (I call this "Cary Granting It." Cary Grant was born a not-so-suave Archibald Leach, but he said that he pretended to be Cary Grant until he actually was.) Put your vision on like a skin every day, as if it had already come true. Once you are clear about the business outcomes you will create, and begin to operate as if they are inevitable, you have laid a firm foundation for what comes next. This is how an Architect of the Future begins!
Next time: Mastering Personal & Organizational Alignment.
Until then, wishing you every possibility!
--Kim
