The human mind is a powerful tool. We can have grandeur visions of success and envision our accomplishments even before taking our first action step toward our goals. In fact, this vision is a necessary step toward moving forward and achieving our goals. We realistically might not know exactly where we will end up but we do have a vision of where we want to be and a desire to get there. Knowing where we want to go or where we want to be allows us to conceive a plan of action of how we are going to get there. Without a plan of action or some sort of road map it is unlikely that our destination will be anywhere in the vicinity of our envisioned goal.

A vision without a plan is just a dream. Dreams are good and dreaming is an important part of the process of attaining of goals. When we dream we see ourselves moving forward and we unconsciously realize that we have a purpose and a destination in life. These dreams set the stage for us to mold and create our visions. These visions are based on our past experiences and our knowledge that we have acquired throughout our lives. From the day we are born we begin learning and experiencing new things and it is these experiences that make us who we are. They are like building blocks, setting up a foundation of who we become. Who we are as a person, based on those experiences, unconsciously sets the stage for who we want to become and where we want to go. You can think of our lives as a brick building. The foundation is set and every layer of brick that sits upon that foundation brings us to another level. The more we experience and the broader we reach, the bigger we can become. If our foundation is small or weak we cannot build a very big building on it but we can continue to expand our foundation and set the stage for something larger.

As one of the earliest authors of personal success, Napoleon Hill is quoted as saying ”What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve”. While this is true to a certain extent, it is ACTION that makes these visions possible. It is up to the dreamer and only the dreamer to take action. Nobody else is going to make your dreams happen. It is up to you to take the first step and get the ball rolling. We can dream and have the grandest of visions but until we create a plan of action and put those plans into motion they remain just that, Dreams.

-Mike Zschunke, Shift1 Solutions