When you look at your future, what do you see?
More of the same? Is it fuzzy and not clear? Is it wishes, hopes and dreams?
Instead of looking to the past and creating more of the same, how about you create your future from the future?
I spent 30 years working for big name media brands like Martha Stewart and I was most recently at Fast Company in a C-Suite position. I believed success was directly correlated to the job title I held. I was perfect on paper.
I was outwardly happy, accomplished, and inwardly I was unhappy and unfulfilled, and disappointed with myself for not reaching my potential – or success on my terms. I was struck by the lack of support from women around these types of conversations.
So I wrote a vision for my extraordinary future in 2019. I put pen to paper. The vision I wrote brought clarity, specificity and possibility to the dream that I could have the life and career I wanted on my terms.
I wrote in great detail where I wanted to be, who I wanted to become, how I wanted to feel, and what fulfillment would mean to the quality of my life and my work.
In that vision I was looking back from a year in the future which saw me opening up a high performance coaching practice and organizational development business. I now help extraordinary people walk into their extraordinary future.
In my vision, I found a mentor who would give me the boost of confidence I needed.
In my vision, my business grew exponentially through a network of referrals.
In my vision, I delivered workshops that would change people’s lives.
In my vision, I would find a partner who would up my game.
I even had the vision that I would be a featured guest on a podcast.
I envisioned myself surrounded by women who would lift me up and make me stronger.
The vision had me finally working in my hometown achieving my dreams, my potential and where I was both inwardly and outwardly happy and feeling accomplished.
My vision took hold when I walked through the doors of The Co-Co, a co-working and co-learning organization, in September of 2019. From the first day, it felt like the Co-Co founders were saying ‘come with me to say hello to your future’.
The vision for my extraordinary future came with hard work and grit and with the help and support of a community of women dedicated to women supporting women.
After 30 years, I had found the support system that lifted me up and made me stronger.
My daughter is almost 3 years out of college and into her career. My hope for Caroline is that she won’t have to wait 30 years to find a group of women supporting women.
Find your tribe. Look for your network. Seek out your community. On the other side of that, ask yourself what you can do to help and support someone today. Make an introduction or a connection that is unexpected.
When you role model the behavior you want for yourself amazing things begin to unfold. Generosity is a gift that gives back.
I’m now writing my vision for my 2021.
I hope I can inspire you to write your own vision.
Simon Sinek, one of my favorite authors, said in his book Together is Better:
A vision is like a dream.
It will disappear unless we do something with it.
Do something big or do something small.
But stop wondering and go on an adventure.
We are 3x more likely to achieve our goals if they are written down. Start putting pen to paper today.
Your extraordinary future awaits.