How Do We Turn Dreams Into Action?
This world is a world of possibility. How do we go after that possibility? How do we turn dreams into action?
First, uncover the things that you're really passionate about. These are not simply goals, but passions and dreams that call to you, and excite you!
Next, find a way to make your dreams seem possible and tangible, and stay focused on your strong feelings that can help move you in the direction of your dreams.
Creating a Video Vision Statement, and watching it, is the best way that I've found for getting clear on what's really important to you. It helps you build and maintain the motivation and the focus to achieve your dreams.
The Law of Attraction asks you to stay focused on your dreams. Video Vision Statements provide you an easy, enjoyable way to maintain that focus.
What is a Vision Statement?
The original use of the term "Vision Statement" was in the context of corporate strategic planning, to define the future direction that an organization would take.
Burt Nanus, an expert on Corporate Vision Statements, defines several aspects of a good Vision Statement. The aspects that I've included are equally relevant when crafting a personal vision statement:
- Idealistic - sets standards of excellence, and reflects high ideals
- Clarifies purpose and direction
- Inspires enthusiasm and encourages commitment
- Well articulated and easily understood
- Reflects the uniqueness of the organization [person]
- Ambitious
In summary, a Vision Statement is a way of describing what's reallly important to you, that you want to achieve.
A Video Vision Statement is a way of expressing what's important to you in a Video format that engages your senses and your feelings. It keeps those feelings alive and strong, and keeps you motivated to take action to pursue your passions. (Malcolm Cohan has recently popularized the idea of a Video Vision Statement. Thanks Malcolm!)
Video Vision "Statement" or Video Vision "Story"?
The term "Vision Statement" is commonly used for personal planning, just as it is used for strategic planning in an organization.
However, a much better term for personal planning would be "Vision Story".
Why?
The word "statement" is way too bland and intellectual, and betrays the term's origin in corporate planning.
However carefully and thoughtfully we consider what's important to us, the thoughts don't stand alone. We need to express them in a way that's deeply meaningful to us.
We need to tell a story about the life that we want to have. A story has personality. We care about the characters.
A story takes facts and events and brings them alive.
A story reveals the meaning that our dreams have for us.
The word "story" is the right metaphor for what we want to accomplish when we plan our life, not a "statement".
Still, the term "Vision Statement" is commonly used, so we'll still be using that term in this lens, sometimes in combination with the word "story".
Powerful books on possibility and greatness
Leadership and Self Deception: Getting Out of the Box
Amazon Price: $10.85 (as of 10/06/2008)
The Anatomy of Peace: Resolving the Heart of Conflict
Amazon Price: $13.77 (as of 10/06/2008)
Coaching Into Greatness: 4 Steps to Success in Business and Life
Amazon Price: $36.00 (as of 10/06/2008)
The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life
Amazon Price: $10.20 (as of 10/06/2008)
NLP: The New Technology of Achievement
Amazon Price: $10.85 (as of 10/06/2008)
Quotes on Greatness
#1
Muriel Strode
Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.10 points
#2
Albert Einstein
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.9 points
#3
Fernando Flores
Great work is done by people who are not afraid to be great.6 points
#4
John L. Motley
Deeds, not stones, are the true monuments of the great.5 points
#5
Eric A. Burns
Greatness is more than potential. It is the execution of that potential. Beyond the raw talent. You need the appropriate training. You need the discipline. You need the inspiration. You need the drive.3 points
Finding Your Passions: Brainstorming
Each of us is always changing. As you change, your goals and passions will change and grow. The Vision Story that you create isn't final, and doesn't have to be perfect, or satisfy anyone else!
The List
Focus on what you're passionate about.
Approach this like brainstorming. In brainstorming you write down all ideas that come to you without criticism. (Later, you'll review the list, and select the items that you're most passionate about.)
Make a list of what you want to be, do, or have in the future.
Think in terms of your spiritual/religious life, jobs/businesses, finances, relationships, health, and your community.
Include incomplete ideas, feelings, place names, and names of people who inspire you.
Include items that you're afraid to want and be, but that you feel are important.
A Vision Story is more effective when it focuses on what you're trying to achieve, rather than what you're trying to get rid of.
Nevertheless, it's often easier to think about what you don't like, what you're trying to move away from, or what you want to change about your life.
Then, you transform the "negative" that you've found into an opposite, positive goal that's focused on what you're trying to do, or have or be.
Let the ideas simmer in your unconscious
After you've collected an unstructured list of actions, emotions, things, people, places, and ideas, ignore it.
Put the list away for a couple of days without looking at it.
Add to the list
Then, once a day for 3-4 days (or up to a week, if you feel that you need the time), review your list.
Are there additional items that you want to add?
Remember the categories of:
- Spiritual/religous life
- Jobs, businesses, and finances
- Relationships
- Health
- Community
- Knowledge
- Actions
- Things
- Behavior
- What I don't like about myself or others
- What I want to get rid of
Books that help you explore your passions
Finding Your Own North Star: Claiming the Life You Were Meant to Live
Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 10/06/2008)
The Passion Test: The Effortless Path to Discovering Your Destiny
Amazon Price: (as of 10/06/2008)
I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What
Amazon Price: (as of 10/06/2008)
Creating a Life Worth Living
Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 10/06/2008)
The Attractor Factor: 5 Easy Steps for Creating Wealth (or Anything Else) from the Inside Out
Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 10/06/2008)
Finding Your Passions: Your Ideal Life
For the following step, you need to find 30-45 minutes when you won't be interrupted.
Take all that you've written down about your passions while brainstorming.
Now, write 8-15 sentences, where each begins: "When my life is ideal, I am ..."
Use this format to capture your greatest passions.
Even if you see your passion as something you want to have, express it as an action or experience or feeling. This will give the words more power to motivate you, and bring your passions to life.
For example, if your passion is to have a beautiful house you might write "When my life is ideal, I enjoy beautiful days in a spacious 12 room house overlooking the ocean."
Use words which touch on your feelings, and convey imagery, sounds, and movement.
Your goal here is not poetry, it's to find words that are meaningful to you.
When you've written down your dozen or so statements, do the following.
Let's say that you've written 12. Pick the first one on the list. Now look at the second one on the list. Ask yourself, "If I could only have one of these two passions, which one would it be? Which one would win out?
Take the "winner", and continue through the list, comparing the winner with the next item on the list. Continue until you've come to the end of the list. This is your number one passion.
Now, set that item aside.
From the remaining list of 11, pick the first two, and ask the same question ("If I could only have ..."). Continue this second pass through the list until you've identified your number two passion.
Continue the above process until you've numbered your list of passions.
You'll use this prioritized list to keep you focused as you create your Video Vision Statement.
Keep all the ideas, words, and feelings that you wrote down while brainstorming. You'll use some of them as you flesh out your Vision Story.
Hold on to the other items. You may end up using them for a future Vision Story.
Recommended Course on Law of Attraction
Creating the Video
Typically, a Video Vision Statement/Story lasts 3-5 minutes, and is a slideshow of photos that reminds you of what you want to be, have or do.What software do I use?
You need software which lets you import and arrange digital photos, add text to the photos, and export the slideshow in video format.
In Windows there are many programs. Two adequate (and free) Choices are Photo Story 3, and Window Movie Maker. (You need XP or Vista)
In the Mac world, try iMovie.
Tie your list of passions to photos
Take the list of items you've selected, and hunt for one or more digital photos that represent each item in a way that's powerful for you.
Where do I find the photos?
You use your own photos, find photos on the web, or download photos from free photo sites such as stock.xchange.
What do I do with the photos?
Arrange these photos in an order that you like, that tells the story you want to tell.
Add some words to the photos, or on title pages between the photos, that clarify the idea that you want the photos to express.
How do I pick the words?
Write the words yourself, find key phrases in your favorite books, find quotations on the web, or look for interesting phrases in articles or blog entries on the web. Use words that are powerful to you.
Find music which expresses the right feelings (according to you) to accompany your photos.
How do I use the video once I've made it?
Watch this video twice every day, once when you get up in the morning, and once before you go to sleep at night. Your conscious and unconscious minds stay focused on your passionate goals, and your feelings stay revved up, so you have the energy you need to go after your dreams.
While you watch the video, speak the words aloud, and imagine yourself doing, having, or being what's shown on the video.
First Example of a Video Vision Statement/Story
Visions of Personal Development
That's just me. Whatever balance of having, being, or doing that you choose is up to you.
The style of this vision statement is to put the title at the bottom of the graphic, like a subtitle, in a relatively small font.
Each "slide" lasts for 3 seconds.
Vision Statement: The Secret Of Personal Development
My Video Vision Statement with my dreams for myself and my family -- dreams of doing and being and having. Touch the future. Applying the law of attraction and the secret to create my future.
Runtime: 2:40
15188 views
10 Comments:
Favorite quotes on imagination
#1
Peter Nivio Zarlenga
I am imagination. I can see what the eyes cannot see. I can hear what the ears cannot hear. I can feel what the heart cannot feel.12 points
#2
George Bernard Shaw
You see things; and you say, Why? But I dream things that never were; and I say, Why not?10 points
#3
T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia)
All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible10 points
#4
Sean O'Faolain
There is only one admirable form of the imagination: the imagination that is so intense that it creates a new reality, that it makes things happen.10 points
#5
Pablo Picasso
Every child is born an artist. The trick is to remain an artist.9 points
#6
Eleanor Roosevelt
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.9 points
#7
Walt Disney
Every child is born blessed with a vivid imagination. But just as a muscle grows flabby with disuse, so the bright imagination of a child pales in later years if he ceases to exercise it.8 points
#8
John Barrymore
A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.8 points
#9
Mark Twain
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.7 points
#10
Helen Keller
No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit.4 points
Quotation Sites for your Video Vision Statement
Here are some good quotations sites. This is one source for the text in your Vision Statements
#1
Quotations in the Yahoo! Directory
Search sites featuring famous quotes, sayings, qui more...6 points
#2
quoteland.com - Quotations on every topic, by every author, and in ...
Literary Quotations Beautiful quotations from work more...4 points
#3
The Quotations Page - Your Source for Famous Quotes
Your source for quotations from famous people and more...2 points
#4
Quotes at Daily Celebrations
2 points
#5
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations
Searchable quotations site, provided in electronic more...1 point
Sharing the Video
While you may want to share your Video with others (on YouTube, or elsewhere), this is all about you. You pick images, music, and words that get you excited, and remind you of your passions.
Create a Video Vision Statement to keep yourself motivated, and move toward your dreams. It's not about impressing anyone else.
I've included some examples below.
Notice that when a person lets her heart show in the Video, you can't help but admire her courage at revealing what's important to her. The video may not be technically perfect, but the feelings are always inspiring.
If you choose to share your video, you'll give others the courage to create their own videos.
Example Two of Video Vision Statements
Vision Statement: Journey Of Change
Inspired by Malcolm Cohan's Video Vision Statement. This is a video vision statement, but not focused on specific goals. Instead, it's a vision of the journey we all take where we make great breakthroughs and move on to new worlds. We go through the process of change again and again as we reach for new goals. Enjoy!
Runtime: 2:10
3405 views
3 Comments:
Links: Create a Video Vision Statement or Vision Board
#1
Malcolm Cohan
On-line seminars, membership, and seminars that yo more...6 points
#2
Sample Video Vision Statements (Malcolm's students)
Link page on Malcolm's site to several Video Visio more...6 points
#3
Creating a Video Using Photo Story 3
It will get you started, but there's much more to more...2 points
#4
Christine Kane Blog: How to Make a Vision Board
How to use a vision board. Though not as powerful more...2 points
#5
MovieMaker Tutorials
Site with great information on MS Windows Movie Ma more...2 points
Background Music
Then there is music which is really free for you to use, as long as you give a credit to the performer.
- Partners in Rhyme Royalty Free Music : Free Sound Effects : Free Music Loops
- Royalty Free Music and Sound Effects. Download the music and sound effects you need for your multimedia project today at Partners In Rhyme.
- Kevin MacLeod Free Music
- Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Wide variety of music available from a single artist, with a very useful search engine for finding the kind of music you want. There is an optional donation of $5 for each piece of music. - Music Loops Low Cost Music 1
- Royalty free Music Loops and Full Length Tracks. Preview, pay and download.
- Squidoo Lens: Free Sounds: Legal Audio Samples, Loops, Software, Music and Video Downloads
- This is an incredible guide to finding free sound files, free audio software, free music and video downloads. For artists, musicians, content creators, games developers, podcasters, Web designers and indie music enthusiasts. Focusing on Copyleft, Creative Commons, Open Source and Public Domain works.
- opsound: free music
- Free music. Read the license terms for each piece so you know exactly how it can be used, and whether it limits the copyright on the derivative work.
Personal Development Radio/Podcasting
Including The Law of Attraction
#1
#2
Hay House Radio:Radio For The Soul
4 points
#3
NEWS FOR THE SOUL
2 points
#4
EvolvingTimes
1 point
The Secret | Law of Attraction Visualization Videos
1) Daily Reminder Video
It's kind of like a generic Video Vision Statement.
Use it for inspiration, and for ideas on what to include in your own personalized Video Vision Statement.
Great to start with before you make your own. But don't settle for someone else's goals and feelings. Your own personalized Vision Statement with your own words will have 100 times the power of any generic one, however beautiful.
2) The Secret Riches Visualization Tool
This is a beautiful video which helps you focus on your relationship to wealth and abundance. It's professionally done, and has all the video tricks that we're used to seeing in movies.
Use it as much as you want.
And here's the but.
My comment from above applies here. Don't settle for anyone else's words and feelings.
The concepts apply to everyone, and generic videos are useful for everyone.
But the way to bring what you want into your life, as fast as possible is to focus on what's most important to you, expressed in the words that you find most powerful.
Make your own prosperity/riches/abundance video in the way that we've described for the Video Vision Statement. Use photos, music, and words that you choose and arrange.
Your video doesn't have to look like it came from Hollywood. The more of yourself and your feelings you put into its creation, the more powerful it will be to move you toward abundance.
Personal Development Forums
Including The Law of Attraction
#1
Forum: ABUNDANCE FOR BEGINNERS: NEW TO PI? FIND ACTIVITIES FOR ...
This forum is founded by melody larson. New to the more...5 points
#2
Steve Pavlina Forums
4 points