3 Steps to Build your Vision Map

Success

Feb 2

A Vision Map is a tool that combines your clearly defined dreams and ideas WITH A plan detailing the specific goals, steps, and tasks that must be accomplished to achieve them.

Your vision is the dream - the vision map is the detailed plan on how you’re going to make the dream a reality.

Vision Mapping empowers you to achieve three significant benefits in your life that nothing else will.
1. Enables you to transform fuzzy, and unclear dreams into perfectly clear well-defined visions.
2. Makes your impossible dreams possible and your possible dreams probable.
3. Enables you to expand your dreams and achieve them much more efficiently.

Okay so how do we get started? I have 3 steps that will set you on your way to successful Vision Mapping.

STEP #1

Create a list of the most important areas of your life - here are the buckets I recommend you have a vision for. And as you’re brainstorming on these, remember there is no right or wrong, it’s all about intentionality.

Spiritual + Personal Growth

Want to be more consistent with your spirituality? Anything you’d like to accomplish? Write a book? Read a certain number of books?

Marriage
- Hello! divorce proofing here! Are you single? What are some hopes and dreams you have for the mate you are looking for?
Family
- What do you want your family to be known for? Generosity? Fun? Stability?
Health
- What type of shape do you want to be in when you’re 80? Do you want to live to 100?
Business/Work
- Are you content and fulfilled in your business/work life? If you were at the same place next year, in five years, would you be content? Is there a dream you’ve always had that has yet to be fulfilled? What is it?
Finances
- Do you have savings goals? Is there a particular purchase you see on the horizon (a new car) that you should begin saving for? College savings? Hoping to get out of debt? If you live until you’re 100 are you going to have enough money?
Recreation
- What’s on that bucket list? What are those things you’ve always wanted to try?
Friendships
- Are there any relationships that need to be restored? Are you actively cultivating your friendships?

STEP #2

For each of these areas, you are going to define your dreams. Defining your dream should be 1 page or less. It can even be 1 or 2 sentences or if you’re visual - draw a picture. For those that have heard about Vision Boards - this is where that could come in.

STEP #3

We have our buckets, we have our visions, now we strategize!

For each of your buckets, you need to write down the goals that must be achieved in order to accomplish the big vision.

Then you break down each goal into steps needed to achieve the goal.
And for each step you break down the tasks needed to achieve the step.
Finally, assign a completion date for each task, step and goal.

ADDED STEP

Go back and mark any task in your Vision Map that you can’t achieve on your own.

For each mark, write down a person, company, or resource you might need to recruit to help you accomplish that task.

Let’s go through an example. These maps can get in depth, so like I said at the beginning this isn’t an exercise you’re going to implement across all those buckets in one weekend.

VISION - Raise capable and hard-working adults who love God, love to learn, and know how to love others well.

GOAL 1: Learn what it takes to be a great parent for each of my children’s age group

STEP: Read new parenting book

TASK: Read book - COMPLETE BY JAN 30

TASK: Pull out principles - COMPLETE BY JAN 30

TASK: Make a plan to implement in day to day - COMPLETE BY FEB 28

STEP: Start a mentoring program with older mother

TASK: Ask friends and family for recommendations - COMPLETE BY JAN 30

TASK: Ask pastor for recommendations - COMPLETE BY JAN 30

TASK: Interview potential mentors - COMPLETE BY FEB 15

TASK: Choose mentor and set up monthly calls - COMPLETE BY JAN 28

GOAL 2: Discover my children’s dreams so I can help them vision map

STEP: Create Vision Board with each child

TASK: Create time each week to sit down with each child to talk - COMPLETE BY MAR 1

TASK: Compile a list of questions to ask them - COMPLETE BY MAR 1

TASK: Buy poster board, magazines, craft supplies - COMPLETE BY MAR 1

TASK: Have them find images/words that align with their dreams - COMPLETE BY APR 1

TASK: Talk with them about their goals, steps, and tasks that might need to be done to achieve their dreams - COMPLETE BY APR 30

"Vision without execution is hallucination." Thomas Edison

The examples I gave are just that. Ways you could potentially break down a vision in the vision mapping process. Yours will be different! Also, you’ll notice each goal won’t only have the steps I listed but might have many more.

Many times your goals, steps, and tasks will change as you gain more info and work through them. So, give yourself time to work on developing your vision maps and then the grace to pivot when and if needed.

Now, where do we start? I’d recommend getting started writing out some of your visions, even if they aren’t perfect, get in the practice of thinking big picture! Start with the one area you either know what the vision is or the area giving you the most grief.

Then look at your day-to-day, what areas need some TLC? Where are you struggling? What three goals could you implement now that might help a couple areas...as you start working on this you’ll start to notice how many issues in one area might be the result of an issue in another. Everything is connected! For example, for me, when I’m not working on my spiritual life, I’m not as good of a mother or wife.

Then once one is accomplished...add another.

We did it!! You now know how to Vision Map! WOOP!! But we aren’t quite done yet...

Now - We need to implement it within our day-to-day! Here are 3 tips to help you get started.

TIP 1 - Organize Your Map

We need a tool to keep these road maps organized, as you noted there can be a lot of steps and tasks. A notebook or app can work great! Something that easily connects to your calendar for due dates, even better!. Personally, I love Trello, Trello is a free project management app you can use almost like a big whiteboard. I would have lost my mind years ago without Trello. It's a great way to get started mapping out your vision because you can easily create checklists and assign due dates. It even will sync with your google calendar.

TIP 2 - Take Daily Action

Consistency is key here. Even small steps are still getting you closer to your goals. If you wanted to write a book, and completed a page per day, you could be an author in a year! One of my favorite quotes is imperfect action is better than perfect inaction. Do not wait for it to be perfect. Just get started!

TIP 3 - Accountability

Accountability is key in staying the course. Share your visions with a spouse, a friend, a biz buddy. Ask them to keep you accountable. It's human nature to be totally fine letting ourselves down, but many of us find it hard to let others down. Use that nature to your advantage. Any time I'm on deadline I tell someone. it works!

Remember this is a process and takes time. I’ve been implementing Vision Mapping in my life for about 5 or 6 years and still get off track, forget to work on the goals, steps and tasks. Give yourself some grace. And Happy Vision Mapping!