Today, not tomorrow, or at least the next time you are inspired to (for me it sometimes takes some time to get in the right “mood”) I want you to do something for your biggest project:
Paint a Picture
Use words, crayons, photoshop, clay, mud, or whatever media is best for you, just get that first vision captured in a tangible, or electronic form.
The topic? Your vision for that project. What you want or strive to have it be, and do.
This might be in regards to an organization you are working with (job, non-profit, start up, team, etc) or even your personal life. My plan is to do this with every major project that I am the champion of, including, but not limited to my personal website, a not-for-profit Real Estate Investor organization that I am committed to help, and a portion of the Boy Scouts of America.
Just writing this post is a part of this process for me. It’s a part of my systems. First to provide me some accountability, but also to share with people I am working with, or supporting. This is something I really want my clients and business partners to do. Not for me to “approve” or “disapprove” but first for them to remember and gain better understanding of themselves, and then to help me understand how I can better help them.
Once complete in one form, I might strive to make it in additional media. Since talking is sometimes the easiest I might start there, and then move to text, or a visual medium. Having those two versions is also important because it helps the iterative improvement process.
One thing I tend to do when building a system or business is to talk to lots of people about the idea. Even if the other people have nothing of value for me; the act of explaining, or telling the story, or painting the picture in and of itself helps me to improve the plans in real time. Thus, if you write out on a piece of paper your future story, taking and putting it into a computer will improve it, because you are working with it again.
Over the course of this year, I intend to review, revise, and rework the pictures I have painted in the past. This in turn will help me to be more focused on my goals, more motivated to get more done, and in the end more productive.
What is the picture you are working to create?
