Do you know where you’re headed? Or are you lost and unsure of what you want out of life? I know I’ve been there … many times actually. When you unlock The Power of Clarity, a whole new world will open up for you!
The other day I was interviewed by my new friend Derek Loudermilk for the Art of Adventure podcast. It was a lot of fun. I shared a few stories about my journey and since then the same topic keeps coming to mind. That’s the “Power of Clarity”.
If you are not clear on where you’re going then all of your daily actions are likely wastes of time. Think about it, would you ever get on a plane if you didn’t know where it was headed? Of course not. There is always a plan regarding where and when the plane will land.
So, why are you living your life without know where you’re going?
For years, I struggled with this. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life.
Then I realized that I was looking at it wrong. I was trying to find a career that would define me rather than letting who I am and what I’ve accomplished define me. I thought I should be happy being an Engineer, or an Executive, or an Accountant, or an Employee. But, that just wasn’t me. I like variety and change. I like solving problems. I like a fast paced life.
So I gained clarity …. I am an Entrepreneur!
Great! Now what?
Well, that wasn’t enough. What did I want to do with my life? What did I want a typical day to look like? What did I want to accomplish? How would I accomplish it?
You see, I think we’re all in search of that … what do we want to accomplish?
So, getting clarity means getting really clear on that … what do YOU want to accomplish?
In my work, I help brands accomplish very specific initiatives. Often it’s with an event that has a specific set of purposes.
With NPE’s MEGA TRAINING events we brought the community together and upgrade a certain amount of clients into the VIP program.
With Infusionsoft’s ICON event it was to empower Entrepreneurs and spread brand awareness of Infusionsoft
With the Boot Campaign, it was to raise money for the American Troops.
You see, these brands and events are very clear on what was to be accomplished.
So should you! Be clear on what you want in life. What do you want to accomplish?
Success starts with a clear vision of what you want
I’ve been asked about this topic more than any other during my entrepreneurial adventure. I can’t tell you how many friends, family members, clients, and even strangers have in one way or another asked for help in getting clear on what they want.
They tell me that they don’t know what to do with their life. They aren’t sure how they’ll provide for their family. They are stuck at their job and want out, but don’t know how.
Often I need to tell them to pull up their big boy pants and follow what their gut is telling them even though it’s scary.
And by the way … this may very well be scary for you. Three times in my career I’ve left a good paying corporate job to pursue my own venture because that was what my gut was telling me to do. Was I scared? YES!!!! But I did it any way. And in all three cases I immediately felt better about life when I was clear about what I wanted and was on the path to getting there.
You see, when you lack clarity you also lack a few other key ingredients … focus and confidence.
How can you be focused on getting to your destination if you don’t even know where you are going?
How can you feel confident if you don’t have clarity on what you’re trying to achieve?
You can’t!
Let me give you a few specific steps on how to get clear.
Step 1: Start with Why
Now, for many of my readers the statement ‘Start with Why; is going to sound very familiar. And that’s because it’s not my statement. Simon Sinek is probably best known in this generation for using the moniker ‘Start with Why’.
You need to understand why you are living before you can figure out where you want to go. In your business, you need to understand why you are in business before you can define where you’d like the business to go.
This is something I’ve struggled with. My ‘why’ is my family. But for some reason I never thought this was enough. I’d read and hear about entrepreneurs who wanted to change the world or wanted to solve world hunger or poverty. I think those are great causes, but I was always more concerned about first taking care of my family.
Somewhere along the way I realized that this was enough. Providing for, teaching, leading, and inspiring my five kids and my wife was plenty enough “why.”
So they are my Why! They are why I get up in the morning, pull up my big boy pants and get to work. They are why when I wake up at 2 AM with a crazy yet brilliant idea I hurry down the hall to my office, sit down at the computer, and start working on that crazy/brilliant idea.
It’s so I can provide for them. And so I can teach them. And so I can inspire them. Because I have five kids that means I have five chances on helping forge leaders of tomorrow. My kids can be change agents. They can continue to make the world a better place. And how are they going to learn to do that? By watching their Dad. Not that I always do the right thing, but rather learning from my experiences. How much would they learn if I went to work every day and hated what I did? Not much. But if every day I live life with a fierce passion to do good, to help others and to provide for those in my care, than imagine the lessons they’ll learn!
Here is your first assignment, watch this video from Simon Sinek. It’s only a few minutes long. Watch it and figure out what your Why is!
Now it’s time for you to figure out your why. Here’s my advice … what ever is showing up in your mind and in your gut as you read this is your why. Go with it.
To give you an example, here are my Whys:
To lead, teach, support and inspire my family. To honor God with the gifts He has blessed me with and to serve others on their path in life.
What is your Why?
Step 2: Define what your perfect day looks like
Now that you’re empowered with your Why, you need to start thinking about how you’ll accomplish it. The following exercise is the best I know of to help you start accomplishing your why and creating a life you love!
Start thinking about what you want a typical day to look like? Throw out the window what you think you have to do. Chances are what you think you have to do is not really a priority.
Instead, I want you to think about what type of day will make you excited to get up in the morning.
Let’s first talk about why this is important and then I’ll tell you how to do it
I used to be stuck with the mentality that my day was always defined by my work. Meaning, I needed to be up by 6:30 AM so I could get ready for the day, drive to the office and be at my desk by 8:00. Then I’d work throughout the day and I’d have to stay until 5 PM because that was what the boss told me to do. Who cared if I could accomplish my work in less time.
Did you know that you could actually plan how you wanted your day to go? Don’t live your life based on someone else’s agenda. Be respectful, but remember you’re here to accomplish your why.
This is usually where I lose my friends. They are so stuck in the employee mentally of only doing what they are told to do that they forget to think for themselves. That’s not how we came into the world. (I know this … remember I have five kids?)
Throw out the window what your boss has told you about when you need to be at work. Instead, define a day wrapped around activities that will help you accomplish your why. (Remember this is an exercise, so try it.)
If you don’t define how you’d like your day to go, then it’ll simply go the way the ‘current wants’ to take you. And chances are that won’t get you to a place where you will be happy.
How to define your perfect day
Let me bring in one of my mentors Lewis Howes here. For years, I had in my head a typical day that I wanted to live. But, Lewis was the one who taught me how to early define it and then to live by it.
Here’s what he taught me. Pull out a piece of paper or open a text document on your computer where you can type. Write out what your perfect day would look like. You can either write in paragraph form or by using bullet points. Either way, be descriptive. List out when you get up, who you’re with, and what you are doing throughout the day. Again, this is YOUR perfect day so be descriptive about what YOU want.
Next, take what you wrote and place hour markers through out the day. So, for example at 6:30 you get up, at 8:00am you workout at the gym, etc.
Download a Perfect Day Sample –>(This includes a sample and a worksheet so you can create your own Perfect day)
You’ll never live life by your perfect day standards if you never define what your perfect day is.
Once you have this defined take steps to start making your perfect day a reality.
Step 3: The BHAG
It’s impossible to get clear on what you want without having a specific goal. What is one accomplishment that would change everything else?
In the book Built to Last, Jim Collins introduced the idea of the BHAG. The Big Hairy Audacious Goal. Collins talked about this for a business, but the principle also applies to an individual.
A true BHAG is clear and compelling. It serves as a focal point of your effort and acts as a clear catalyst for you.
Don’t think of this as the one goal you’ll have for the rest of your life. This should be big and scary to you, but also attainable.
Think about those people on the Extreme Weight Loss Shows. Their BHAG’s are to lose 100 pounds! I’m sure that’s scary to them; but it’s also achievable.
For many, this goal is financial like earning a certain amount or paying off debt
Or it may be a health and fitness goal
It could be a lifestyle goal like earning X amount of dollars while only working Y hours in a week.
As with all goals, be sure to set a deadline and make them specific.
Let’s say you’d like to be getting into the best shape of your life. Then define what that means and then set a deadline. For example, by July 15th, I will weigh 175 pounds and be able to run a mile in under eight minutes.
Once you have a clear goal, post it in a place where you will see it frequently every day.
Now, back to Lewis Howes for a second. Lewis has a Podcast called the School of Greatness. Take a few minutes to listen to his Podcast about Clarity. He gives instructions on the Perfect Day exercise and some other tips on getting clear.
Step 4: Take Action EVERY SINGLE DAY
Now that you have your Why identified, your Perfect Day outlined and your BHAG created, it’s really time to get to work.
Since you have a focus, your work should be easier.
I’m sorry to say, that I don’t know of any secrets on how to make your BHAG a reality other than through hard work … and generally speaking, lots of it
I put EVERY SINGLE DAY in all capital letters because you have to work for it EVERY SINGLE DAY … even on the weekends. And on holidays. And especially on days that you don’t feel like .
Take your BHAG and write out all of the things that would need to happen in order for the BHAG to become a reality. Now break these down into actionable items.
Let’s use weight loss as an example again and your BHAG is to lose 50 pounds over the next year. List all of the things you’d need to do … create a daily healthy menu, track calories every day, workout daily, walk 10,000 steps daily, etc.
Once you have your list, categorize this into items you need to do monthly, weekly and daily. Then, DO THEM!
It’s important to have a way to track if you’ve completed your goals or not. I’ve used a spreadsheet for years to track these activities (Nerd Alert!)
Recently though I’ve found a great app called Lyft that does the trick. You can download it here: https://www.lyft.com/app
This leads into habits and I’ll write about that at another time. If you’d like to be notified on when I post the habit article, please let me know here:
There you have it. The specific steps on getting clear. Start with Why. Define what your perfect day looks like. Create a BHAG. Then, take action EVERY SINGLE DAY.
I’d love to hear how you’re doing on this. Please leave a comment on this page or feel free to Contact Me here. Also, if you need help, feel free to ask for it!
To YOUR success!
ScoMo
PS – Please let me know if this article helped you, share it with someone else who you think it would help.
The Power of Clarity
