Boiling the vision down to a usable clarity calls for refinement by fire. Again, from yesterday’s blog, mushers take a pot that can hold 3 gallons and the items needed to build a fire. The task,for today, is to take the components and mix them together to ignite the fire.
I have a system that I call HAB 22 when it comes to vision, refinement, and execution.
The H in HAB 22 stands for “Have” a vision.
It starts with the dreaming and possibilities thinking portion that we talked about for the first two days of this week.
Next we turn to gaining clarity and definition. This blends the H in with the A. The ‘A’ for me stands for ABC’s. In other words, we must get down to the basics of vision, refinement and execution AND much like a remedial school setting – we must write it down!
The components of fire – or the ABC’s of fire are Oxygen, Fuel, and Heat. The components of vision are similar Oxygen relates to those things that give you air. What are your desires? What are your passions? What do you enjoy? What have you dreamed about? What are you good at? All of these are going to give air to the REAL possibilities in the vision.
Fuel is growth. To be great at leadership and vision, you need to be thirsty. Just as thirsty as the mushers and Husky’s on the trail. Thirst for knowledge, thirst for wisdom, and thirst for best practices! Learning and growing are the fuel for the fire. Learning about yourself refines the vision down to what is more in your particular sweet spot – where is vision success more natural. Learning about your desired arena leads you to become a Subject Matter Expert (SME). To have so much knowledge in you that it spills out of you – is a much better position than having to run to wiki for the answers at every turn!
Finally, for today, we have Heat. You have to turn up the Heat on your dreams by writing them down. I’m not saying that just because you write your dreams and goals on a sheet of paper that they will come to pass – but I can tell you the old saying, “Out of sight, out of mind” is true when it comes to personal and professional achievement.
Once they are written we can turn up the heat and look at them in a more systematic – How do we accomplish these dreams / goals – this is done in the last section.
For the trail today, spend some time writing and refining – it will pay huge dividends!
What is your Oxygen (passion)? Are you fueling up (growing)? Have you turned up the heat on your dreams (Write it down)?